Car Hire Start up help

paulwf

superpup wrote: »

I've knocked up a website for him which google has started to find. It's not ideal but it didn't take very long and it'll do for now.

Why not go back and do the very best job you can do? Show some passion and strive for excellence otherwise why bother?

superpup

dacouch wrote: »

Hire Insurance is based on claims history (Your past years claims experience) it's similar to private car no claims bonus but takes into account the value of total claims against premiums paid.

As he has no previous hire business experience he will in effect be starting with no no claims bonus

This is the one I place my clients with, not necessarily the cheapest but the staff are great and the product is good. http://www.compuquote-insurance.co.uk/

Practical Van Hire offer a simialar scheme, it's normally cheaper but there were a few things in theirs I personally did not like

The annual fee you refer to is the licencing fee you pay for their software and technical advice.

These schemes are good for motortraders as he can hire any car he wants to (Providing it's acceptable with the Insurers) from his forecourt and only pays for the time the cars are hired out.

Get your friend to work out the costs including the licensing costs etc so he understands the figures.

Ah, I understand now. Thanks for your detailed response. He already has motor traders insurance but obviously nothing to do with hiring. To begin with he'll only be hiring Mazda MX-5s, the Mk 1s, so they're not worth a huge amount of money. I think he's worked out a rough cost with the figures I've given him and feels there is profit in it for him. He already has the cars so the main expense is out of the way.

Please can I ask what you didn't like in the cheaper policy if you don't mind? It will give me an idea what to look out for when I compare like for like.

Thanks again

superpup

paulwf wrote: »

Why not go back and do the very best job you can do? Show some passion and strive for excellence otherwise why bother?

Because I'm not a web designer and it looks good and he's happy with it. It's a work in progress.

Is this the very best job you can do? Show you can be less rude and strive for being a bit nicer, otherwise why bother posting?

paulwf

superpup wrote: »

Because I'm not a web designer and it looks good and he's happy with it. It's a work in progress.

Is this the very best job you can do? Show you can be less rude and strive for being a bit nicer, otherwise why bother posting?

I'm passionate about what I do in business, I have to be because there is always someone out there who is striving to be better. I just couldn't imagine knowing there is an area of my business that needs to be improved but saying "that'll do for now", I'd do something about it presuming it only takes time and not money.

I just couldn't get up in the morning knowing I wasn't doing the very best I could, but then I guess it is your friends business not your own so its not your baby and its not you making the money so understandable you don't want top give 100% on this project.

superpup

paulwf wrote: »

I'm passionate about what I do in business, I have to be because there is always someone out there who is striving to be better. I just couldn't imagine knowing there is an area of my business that needs to be improved but saying "that'll do for now", I'd do something about it presuming it only takes time and not money.

I just couldn't get up in the morning knowing I wasn't doing the very best I could, but then I guess it is your friends business not your own so its not your baby and its not you making the money so understandable you don't want top give 100% on this project.

Fair shout but to be honest you could've phrased it better in your first post then you wouldn't have come across so confrontational (IMO ). I actually spent a couple of long evenings doing the website for him and showed him how to make changes himself. I go in now and again and tidy up after him

I say I have some time available. I've given up full time work to become carer for my Grandmother. As she's not totally reliant on me right now, I also look after my Grandson for a few hours most days.

Also, yes, it's not my business but that doesn't mean to say I don't want to do the best I can for him. It's being found in Google and it looks nice and professional. I'm a perfectionist so I'm sure the website will never be perfect in my eyes.

paddyrg

When looking at insurance, remember CDW/excess insurance too.

For hiring MX5's it will be a bit of a niche market, so play up to that! If I want a family hatchback, you're no use to me, but you can be the world experts at MX5 hire! Justkampers.co.uk started just doing VW Camper vans, now they manufacture spare parts and are world leaders in rare VW parts. You can start by dominating your niche, then slowly spreading.

superpup

paddyrg wrote: »

When looking at insurance, remember CDW/excess insurance too.

For hiring MX5's it will be a bit of a niche market, so play up to that! If I want a family hatchback, you're no use to me, but you can be the world experts at MX5 hire! Justkampers.co.uk started just doing VW Camper vans, now they manufacture spare parts and are world leaders in rare VW parts. You can start by dominating your niche, then slowly spreading.

Thanks for this. He does when he sells them. He only goes for very specific models and knows his target market very well. I don't know whether he'll be up for manufacturing spare parts but it's interesting what could possibly evolve from this!

dacouch

superpup wrote: »

Ah, I understand now. Thanks for your detailed response. He already has motor traders insurance but obviously nothing to do with hiring. To begin with he'll only be hiring Mazda MX-5s, the Mk 1s, so they're not worth a huge amount of money. I think he's worked out a rough cost with the figures I've given him and feels there is profit in it for him. He already has the cars so the main expense is out of the way.

Please can I ask what you didn't like in the cheaper policy if you don't mind? It will give me an idea what to look out for when I compare like for like.

Thanks again

This is going from memory so may not be totally accurate.

The Insurer is an off shore Insurer, you will probably get some protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, but I try and avoid using offshore Insurers if possible as the reason they are off shore is the regulation is not as tight, the set up costs are much lower (They need less capital eg they don't have to set aside as much money to meet claims). I find off shore Insurers do not have a brand to protect so are often (Not always) not as good on claims etc.

The scheme appears to be set up to cover Practicals own fleet which they have rolled out to other hire companies. Whether you would be happy with your client details potentially being seen by a competitor is debatable.

The excesses could be high for certain claims.

Some types of theft were not covered, I think they were theft by the hirer which is the most common theft for SDH.

As I said these are my personal opinions, I tend to sell Insurance on cover and claims rather than price. So if price is your major concern then ignore my opinion.

It's important to read and understand any policy you are purchasing, so please read whoever's policy and terms you take on.

P.S Some of the SDH's I cover offer their customers an excess waiver eg they pay extra typically £10 a day or £25 a week. They put this aside and pay the excesses out of it for their customers who have paid the waiver. This normally generates an additional (Smallish) profit.

paulwf

superpup wrote: »

Fair shout but to be honest you could've phrased it better in your first post then you wouldn't have come across so confrontational

Ah, sorry, I can be a bit blunt on the boards. I'm not so bad in real life I promise

superpup

dacouch wrote: »

This is going from memory so may not be totally accurate.

The Insurer is an off shore Insurer, you will probably get some protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, but I try and avoid using offshore Insurers if possible as the reason they are off shore is the regulation is not as tight, the set up costs are much lower (They need less capital eg they don't have to set aside as much money to meet claims). I find off shore Insurers do not have a brand to protect so are often (Not always) not as good on claims etc.

The scheme appears to be set up to cover Practicals own fleet which they have rolled out to other hire companies. Whether you would be happy with your client details potentially being seen by a competitor is debatable.

The excesses could be high for certain claims.

Some types of theft were not covered, I think they were theft by the hirer which is the most common theft for SDH.

As I said these are my personal opinions, I tend to sell Insurance on cover and claims rather than price. So if price is your major concern then ignore my opinion.

Price, as always, is a concern but not if it means getting an inferior product.

It's important to read and understand any policy you are purchasing, so please read whoever's policy and terms you take on.

P.S Some of the SDH's I cover offer their customers an excess waiver eg they pay extra typically £10 a day or £25 a week. They put this aside and pay the excesses out of it for their customers who have paid the waiver. This normally generates an additional (Smallish) profit.

This sounds like a really good idea.

Thank you very, very much, really useful stuff.