Car Hauler

[HUMP DIESEL]

Does anyone who owns a fixed shop ever go and pick up the customers vehicle with a car hauler/trailer and then deliver the same way?

Curious as to what answers I get. I know a lot of us do pick up and delivery, but that typically means driving the customers vehicle.

HUMP

[allenk4]

Sounds like same liability if not more

[HUMP DIESEL]

Possibly, that would be for the insurance company to decide. I just think it would look very professional to show up with a fully wrapped trailer and take it back that way. You also are not using the owners gas to get back and forth to the shop.
I have people call me from farther than would be typical for a general pick up.
Just thinking about this and wanting some opinions, so thanks for yours.


HUMP

[allenk4]

Would be very high Cool Factor

What is the lease payment on a hauler?

You mentioned wrapping it, so i guess your are considering purchasing one?

What does a full wrap on a trailer cost?

What is the annual depreciation and maintenance on a trailer like this?

You can't get very good gas mileage towing a trailer that large?

How much more would you charge the Customer for pick-up and delivery?

How many details before you make your money back?

[bill walsh]

return on investment

[SameGuy]

One of my dreams...

http://f1.pepst.com/c/C077D3/906120/ssc3/home/067/rasgulla/albums/1954_mercedes_benz_blue_wonder_0.jpg_480_480_0_640 00_0_1_0.jpg

[CarolinasFinestDetailing]

What about flatbed transport? Work a deal with a company possibly. Not the same as a trailer but I imagine the cool factor would be close to the same but your expense would maybe be less.

[Aaryn NZ]

One of my dreams...

http://f1.pepst.com/c/C077D3/906120/ssc3/home/067/rasgulla/albums/1954_mercedes_benz_blue_wonder_0.jpg_480_480_0_640 00_0_1_0.jpg

Way cool!! :props: I'd roll in that for sure!!! :dblthumb2:

[HUMP DIESEL]

Would be very high Cool Factor

What is the lease payment on a hauler?

You mentioned wrapping it, so i guess your are considering purchasing one?

What does a full wrap on a trailer cost?

What is the annual depreciation and maintenance on a trailer like this?

You can't get very good gas mileage towing a trailer that large?

How much more would you charge the Customer for pick-up and delivery?

How many details before you make your money back?

All things that would be considered. I know there is an argument for going mobile for these clients as well, and that may be another option. Thing is, lets say a client calls with a rare muscle car. They want to have it detailed, but doesnt let anyone drive it. They cannot get it to me, so I tell them that is not a problem, I can have it picked up and delivered. There will be a surcharge, but it will be hauled to my location in an enclosed trailer, taken off the trailer directly to the shop, and once the detailing is complete, transported back to your home or garage.

HUMP

[allenk4]

If the Guy has a Rare Muscle Car and insists that no one drives it, two other things are likely true:

He has a very nice garage

He doesn't want anyone loading it up in/on a transport and dragged across town


Interested to hear what your research turns up though.
Get some quotes for Automotive Transport Companies and let us know what the pick-up and delivery charge would be

[cardaddy]

What about flatbed transport? Work a deal with a company possibly. Not the same as a trailer but I imagine the cool factor would be close to the same but your expense would maybe be less.

Ah yes, flatbed transport, IE: "Rollback". I owned my own company for 18 years, till retiring. Enclosed transport would indeed be cool, but BOY is it a pain to load/unload a vehicle in an enclosed trailer.... been there -- done that. Even an open trailer isn't all that easy, and I had a 41' triple axle custom rig built to haul behind a GMC 6500. Overall I was just over 73' driving around town. (Not exactly easy to get into and out of ANY dealerships.) :rolleyes:

If you were to contact local towing companies I'd ask if their drivers were trained, if they have taken any TRAA classes (Towing & Recovery Association of America) and how much experience they have in hi-line autos, dealer transport, and show/collector vehicles. You'd want to see their insurance certificate (and they'd EASILY be willing to provide it if they have $1,000,000 coverage).

Last Ford I had was 94, this was it. Not the nicest truck I ever had, but all my trucks were "dolled out". The truck below was the WORST POS I ever owned!!!!!! Shortly after buying it we went exclusively to the GMC 6500 with CAT power.:dblthumb2:
We went to shows generally twice a year, worst award was 2nd, best was 1st in the class as well as "best of show" beating out monster heavy duty rigs with well over $250,000~$350,000 in them. :D

Keeping nice rigs made it easier to specialize in hi-line auto's.


Hard to tell from the scanned photo, but the entire underneath was hand pinstriped in the old school swirly-Q way. :props:
My sign guy laid on his back for 4 hours going back to front!
Even the front axle had little swirly-Q's on it. :laughing:
(And it had green neon glow both above the stainless running boards, behind the running boards.... and underneath, behind the spoiler & behind the tool boxes.)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1682/medium/94_Ford_Rollback_-_Florida_Show.jpg

[allenk4]

CarDaddy,

Back when you had the flatbed, what would you have charged for the suggested scheme of having the vehicle brought to a Detailer, say 20 miles away and then returned to the owner two days later?

[cardaddy]

CarDaddy,

Back when you had the flatbed, what would you have charged for the suggested scheme of having the vehicle brought to a Detailer, say 20 miles away and then returned to the owner two days later?

My dealership rates (generally) ran from $45~$65 for the first 5 miles, then $1.25~$1.75 per mile after that. Later on it was a flat $55~$75 just to show up and $1.50~$2.00 a loaded mile.

Reasoning behind that is that quite often you'd end up having to drive 20~50 miles just to pickup the darned vehicle, only to tow it 15 miles afterwards. (Then leaving you to drive 35 miles back towards home base empty.)

For dealer trades they'd pay a flat rate $1.75 a mile (one-way only) for all three Atlanta Mercedes dealerships. So you'd drive 473 miles to Tampa with a car on the truck for the trade, bringing the 'trade' back. We argued for YEARS that our liability extended both ways, and that we should, (at the very least) be getting $1.00~$1.25 a mile each way. The dealerships however didn't see it that way. (They still don't!!!!!):rolleyes:

That is why I ended up having the trailer built, so that I could pull 3 cars at a time, not matter how big they were. (CARMAX had 3 dealerships around town and we'd pull a couple thousand a year of theirs both new and used, often pulling auction cars from after dinner till right before (or after) sunrise.)

I really don't think the rates these days are much different than what I was getting when I stopped back in early 2003. I know that in 85 local shops would pay $30~$35 for a 10 mile tow, with dealerships paying $45. It was like trying to take their kidney to get them to go up $10 over a 10 year period. Yet the cost of my first Ford rollback in 85 was $23,700 but that 94 in the photo above I had easily $70,000 in. (It was a lot nicer truck for sure, but living in one you tend to start going for the gusto after a while.) :D

The big GMC's are more expensive than that, but they cost a LOT LESS to operate. (Just don't have the maintenance issues with a bigger truck that a Super Duty has.)

[allenk4]

So if you were hiring a local towing company...roughly $100 to pick-up and return the Detail Customers car?

[HUMP DIESEL]

That what I think it sounds like allenk4. $55-$75, then per mile rate. Anything over about 20 miles and you start getting up there on the per mile.

HUMP