Trade Plate Driver ?

coffeehound

Has anyone worked as a trade plate delivery driver? i.e. collection and delivery of cars. Wonder if you can advise, please:

Presumably this is some sort of self-employed role. Would that be limited company?

They specify you must have 'off road parking' at the home address. Would that have to be a driveway for the house or would communal parking be good enough?

The job ads suggest 18-21k is 'easily achievable' -- realistic?

What costs might there be when starting out? Is there unpaid training etc required?

Any other info / advice appreciated.

Thanks.

gardner1

Well presumably when you've dropped a car off 150 miles from home and have nothing to drive back its up to you how you get home.......hence why i see loads of people trying to hitch a lift carrying trade plates

System

As a trucker I've given a lift to enough of them at silly o'clock and listened to enough tales of woe to know it isn't something I'd do.

Quite sure you can earn £18-£21k but don't expect for one minute you'll be doing a 40hr week or even getting home every day for it.

tacpot12

The off-road parking is required because the vehicle isn't legal to be on the road without your trade plates, and you really don't want to leave them in the car overnight as they are too valuable, so you need off-road parking where the police can't get to. A gated communal parking area would be ok, but not a open communal parking area.

I looked briefly at these jobs, they don't pay very well, and deliveries will usually be made to very out of the way places where you need hire a taxi to get back to a railway station, and you will be paying full fare on the train to get home because you can't book in advance. So expect to spend most of what you earn on getting home. I would also worry about how long you have to wait to get paid - you might need a couple of thousand pounds of credit on a credit card to pay for your return travel for the deliveries you are asked to do before the first payment comes in.

You should also look into the insurance aspect carefully to make sure you have the right insurance to cover the value of the vehicles you are delivering.

I'm sure you can make it pay but you will have to be resourceful.

coffeehound

Thanks for the useful info folks. I've got a folding bike that can be taken on buses and trains so maybe that would help with the logistics. Presumably the expenses like travel and other incidentals can be offset against tax, but I don't know how that affects take-home. So anyway, it sounds marginal as a full time job.

avoidtheupsidedownbottles

Does anyone know what the realistic daily pay for collection/delivery trade plate drivers is please?