I pretty much have gotten out of the vehicle hauling business. It used to be that people actually wanted the special treatment my service offered - a single car enclosed, direct door-to-door shipment. Now all everybody wants is cheap, cheap, cheap.

And I can't haul cheap.

I just put pen and paper to it, and I have averaged just less than $2 per hour for each hour of actual driving and loading/unloading time all total for the past 6 months - after all insurances, fuel, licenses and permits, and other associated costs. That isn't including the "dead-head" costs where I receive nothing and still pay those expenses. Thus I have been slowly going broke over the past few months. It would take at least half again what I have been charging to stay in this business, and very few people have been willing to pay anywhere near what I would have to get to stay in business.

That's the bad news, now the good news!! I can broker loads, and for Fiero owners I will broker them for anywhere from .40 to .60 per mile (depending on total distance) with a multi-car carrier. Those amounts are both less than my break-even costs have been, BTW.

So - - if anybody still needs a Fiero hauled, please feel free to give me a shout. I will still be able to beat most of the prices out there for you!

G

[This message has been edited by cadero2dmax (edited 10-07-2005).]

Time to see Archie in IL. I will send you an email with info.

Sorry to hear that you are getting out of the business, sort of. I haul my own car which probably ends up costing me more than if I paid someone to do it. But I enjoy being out on the road. I have several more cross country trips planned.

What exactly is brokering a load? Does thing mean you can cut a deal with the guys that are hauling, maybe by filling their empty spaces on the multi-car carriers? Someday I might be too tired to drive across country and might need that service. Thanks.

quote Originally posted by jscott1: Sorry to hear that you are getting out of the business, sort of. I haul my own car which probably ends up costing me more than if I paid someone to do it. But I enjoy being out on the road. I have several more cross country trips planned. What exactly is brokering a load? Does thing mean you can cut a deal with the guys that are hauling, maybe by filling their empty spaces on the multi-car carriers? Someday I might be too tired to drive across country and might need that service. Thanks.

Yeah, I truly enjoy being out on the road myself. That's why I have done this since 1996, hauling part-time on weekends (even taking vacation days to make longer hauls) before I retired, and why I expanded that into a full-time thing when I retired from my "day job".

What is brokering? More often than not when you contact a company that has an ad about transporting vehicles, the people you contact do NOT do the hauling. They simply list it on one or more of the broker listings. One website {for example} has over 10,000 listings daily, and is updated every 5 minutes. All haulers (and brokers, for that matter) are screened at least weekly to ensure they are still DOT legal, licensed, bonded, and insured. Wildcatters do not have access to these sites at all.

There are many scenarios possible when relocating a vehicle. Very seldom is it the same truck that will pick the car up as it is that delivers. And if it is (unless it is a single car carrier) very seldom has the car not been moved on the trailer at least once during it's journey. Here's the "normal" load: You call somebody that specializes in vehicle transport. You give them the details, and you arrive at an agreed price. They will tell you that your driver will contact you in a few days (some even guarantee a "move-by" date). Your car will be on the website within minutes. A driver or trucking company will check for a load near a specific location where their truck is, and sees your load. That driver/trucking company contacts the broker, and gets your info. Then the driver/trucking company calls you and arranges pick-up.

Another scenario is that they send out a rollback wrecker (or contract somebody like me to get the car for them), and your car is taken to a terminal where the car sits until the load is dispatched. If it is a multi-car carrier that hauls your car (an 8 or 9 car semi, for example), more often than not it will go to yet another terminal somewhere en-route - unless you are lucky enough to live in a terminal city.

They all call that door-to-door delivery (you don't have to take your car to them, they pick it up and deliver it). To specialize in true door-door where your car doesn't move from the time it is tied down in the trailer at your doorstep to the time it is delivered (and with a direct routing in between) is rare - and much, much more expensive. A multi-car carrier can split his operating costs between several cars instead of having to re-coup his costs on just one car! It used to be that owners of high-dollar or specialty cars (restored, race, vintage, etc) were willing to pay that increased cost for a single car trailer. But now you see these cars strapped down on open multi-car carriers. I have found that people no longer want the specialty service that they used to, all they want now is to get it done as cheaply as possible.

Anyway, I will still have my equipment (need the trailer,etc to haul my race car anyway - - that is actually how I got started). I am still insured, and DOT legal. But I will be hauling other commodities besides cars, even though I will still do an occasional auto/motorcycle haul. Right now (while I get the necessary license and bond) I have a broker friend that does my listings for me, but I will be doing my own brokering in the near future. For example, I just brokered a load from Ed's to WI (through my friend) that I personally would have had to charge $550 to do. I had it hauled for just $400 - and my friend got 10% of that for brokering ($360 wnt to the truck). Instead of same or next day delivery, it took 6 days to get that 500 or so miles from pick-up, etc. But the owners saved $150!!

I hope this gives a small glimpse into the very complex auto hauling world - - and brokering in particular.

G

[This message has been edited by cadero2dmax (edited 10-10-2005).]

I had no idea it was that complicated. In all those transfers are the cars usually delivered intact? I would assume so or the business wouldn't survive. Still I bet the cars see some abuse along the way. Saturday while we were setting up at the Ruckus I looked up to see a brand new Mercedes drifting down the road with all 4 tires smoking. I remarked that you don't see that often, but come to find out the car just came off a transporter at a local dealership. I bet they all get ragged on a little, especially the nice ones.

Not to be picking on anyone in particular, but over the last 9 years or so that I had my Fieros, I came to the conclusion same as you that for the most part, most Fiero owners are penny pinchers. Almost all seem to think if their selling, their stuff is worth a fortune and if their buying, its only worth $X.00. I know that same statement is pretty much across the board on anything, but Fiero owners seem even more tightwad than the norm. Ive even offered items for free if they paid the shipping, and that apparently was still to high. My philosophy has always been if you want the right stuff you have to pay for it so I spend the cash...i just dont waste it..........too much.

As a business owner myself, I know what your talking about. You cant survive long on too low pricing on anything.

same as construction..people expect things supercheap.. I recently was asked by a guy that I knew for years to build him a garage.. I figured out exactly what he needed in supplies and added on a slight amount (After the work involved, I would be making about $5. a hour) since I was cutting him a good deal and doing it in my spare time, but this was way too much and he wanted it still cheaper ????

(even though my price was less then 50% of what it would cost if he bought it at a home depot type of place and built better)

people always want better deals and it wll change

Sorry to hear you need to get out of the hauling.. Is it possible that you can broker shipping on Seadoos and jetskis? Would they need to be crated first?

Man, you should see what some guys want for some classic mustang parts, it's ridiculous.. Of course there are the others who are extremely generous as well.. Some guy sent me some free poly bushings for my front end, just because I didn't have them..

quote Originally posted by isthiswhereiputausername?: same as construction..people expect things supercheap.. I recently was asked by a guy that I knew for years to build him a garage.. I figured out exactly what he needed in supplies and added on a slight amount (After the work involved, I would be making about $5. a hour) since I was cutting him a good deal and doing it in my spare time, but this was way too much and he wanted it still cheaper ???? (even though my price was less then 50% of what it would cost if he bought it at a home depot type of place and built better) people always want better deals and it wll change Sorry to hear you need to get out of the hauling.. Is it possible that you can broker shipping on Seadoos and jetskis? Would they need to be crated first?

I will still be doing SOME hauling, but selective and at my pricing.

I can put a motorcycle, golf cart, at least one Seadoo or jetski (or snowmobile) in front of even a full size pickup in my 28' trailer. If I am not "going your way", I would suggest a site called Uship.com to find somebody to move them. And no, they do not need to be crated or palletized.

Hope this helps

G

Exactly why I am so choosy about the hauls I take, being one of the little guys, I'm forced to have as little empty road miles as possible. Dead heading (running empty) is at the expense of the transporter, running empty will shut you down. Sorry to hear you've had to cut back but I totally understand.

------------------
Ron
Freedom isn't Free, it's always earned.
My imagination is the only limiting factor to my Fiero. Ooops forgot about the money issue.

George "brokered" a deal for me when I sold my Pulse a month or so ago, it went very well and both parties were very happy. I'll definitely go to Gerorge next time as well.

------------------

quote Originally posted by Falcon Fiero: George "brokered" a deal for me when I sold my Pulse a month or so ago, it went very well and both parties were very happy. I'll definitely go to Gerorge next time as well.

In this particular case, that driver actually was working with me. I have only brokered one Fiero load so far, and that happened just this past week.

At one time I had 3 drivers (besides myself) working at Vehicle Valet, and one dispatcher. But now two drivers are on a "leave-of-absence" hauling FEMA travel trailers and modular homes into Louisiana and Mississippi for a few months. The third has quite driving altogether. So now I can dispatch my own loads - -

I will be very selective about the vehicles I haul until either the market catches up to costs (which at todays fuel prices would be around $1 a mile for enclosed and .75 for open trailers) or until fuel prices get back to around $2 a gallon or less (HA-HA!).

G

[This message has been edited by cadero2dmax (edited 10-11-2005).]