Are you one of those people who need Dealer Plates or tags to run your business? Maybe you are in the logistics business, or you’re a professional car flipper. I get these calls everyday.
But it’s been harder and harder to get Dealer Plates, for many reasons (not necessary to go into). Because of this problem, my business partner and I in Miami, have been setting up Transporter Plate companies for people instead. What is a Transporter plate or tag company? It’s a logistics company that is registered with a state agency, and has the ability to issue Transporter Plates. These plates are used similarly as Dealer Plates are, in that they can be used to transport vehicles on the open road, and they contain insurance. You just cannot use Transporter tags for personal business. You can’t take your wife out on a date with a Transporter tag on the back of your car. You’re asking for trouble if you do. I know, we all love the Dealer lates, you are able place them on an unregistered vehicle and drive them around like your daily driver. But times have changed.
So the demand for plates has not dropped off, but the supply chain has gotten very tight. I know, I get a lot of requests daily. When we originally started promoting the Transporter tags, it was because I was hearing a lot of horror stories from people who said they had Dealer Plates in the past, and would find out the insurance was invalid when they got pulled over for a traffic stop or whatever. The Transporter tags are a cheaper alternative, on the insurance side. We so used to have this spreadsheet keeping track of all of the people who had Transporter Plates with us. This got kind cumbersome after awhile. Then we were like, “why don’t we just set up entrepreneurs with their own company and let them do the tracking themselves”? An owner will know that the insurance was paid and a plate is valid. Problems solved. Now was the issue of educating people about the benefits of using Transporter Plates to move their cars to and from Dealer Auctions, automotive shops, etc. My partner and I even came up with a few business marketing ideas based on having access to Transporter plates.
Business Strategy for Transport Plate Company #1
I actually got into the Trucking business, by way of transporting cars individually for Dealerships and shops that brought cars from my local Manhiem. My partner and I were buying cars for people, and I would just have my wife drop me off downtown at Manheim and I would pick up the car from the auction. The auction would charge $110-$145 to deliver an average car in the metro Atlanta area. I would charge a flat $150-175 and guarantee same day service. So, I got to the point where I was doing 2-3 car a day and it started to get a bit cumbersome. And I would place a few lawn and yard signs all around the auction once a week, (Fast PickUp—Delivery/Drivable Cars/(000) 123-4567). You will get calls, just from these road signs. was putting about $100 a car in my pocket or more, after paying my wife $50 -60 for two rides to the auction per day. Can you see how you can easily scale this up? You can do it yourself of course with an Uber or Lyft driver and that would be one way rides for you of $10-$30. You should always be able to bet $100 or more per vehicle. Now this is only on using one person as an example. If you want to turn this into a full-time business, all you have to do is scale up. You would just need to put an ad in Craigslist or you social media accounts and get a few local college kids who have a valid driver license. Let them work in pairs by sharing a vehicle, or you let them work individually by using ride share apps like Uber and Lyft. Just save all of your receipts. Your job is to use the transportation load boards to arrange transport of individual vehicles that can be driven, or need to be drive. You may even find some long- distance driving gigs this way (over multiple states).. People are more apt to buy a car from one state, and have it delivered to another, sample because it’s cheaper that way for them, and they stay out of the physical dealership. More and more people are buying vehicles from their phone, tablet or laptop.
Another Business strategy for a Transport Plate Company #2
This if for the entrepreneur who can drive around to different smaller dealerships and automotive shops and offer your transport services. Simply get you a stack of nice looking business cards, and 1 or 2 of your Transporter tags and a copy of your insurance. Offer your pick-up and delivery services to these businesses. The larger companies will have their own in-house personnel, but you can serve the smaller Dealerships around town. Plenty of automotive mechanic shops buys cars from the auctions and need them picked (the ones that can be safely driven). These same shops, also have these cars delivered to the auctions for sale and to private owners. Auctions deliver cars to customers. For the smaller auctions you can make arrangements yourself if you can get thru to the right people to talk to.
The Craigslist Method
Another way to get customers, and I have personally done this too, is place ads on Craigslist. The Automotive section on Craigslist cost you $50. You place your ads every 2-3 days and within a couple of weeks you will have a booming, growing business.
If you want to get into the Transporter Business -with your own Drive Away Company, contact me right away and lest get you started.
Here is how to get your Transporter Tags
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