Dealer tags vs. Transporter Tags
At least once a day, I get asked the question. “So what’s the difference between Dealer tags and Transporter tags or plates?”.
which do you need?
This is a typical response I get, after telling that person that I no longer have access to Dealer tags like I used to have “back in the day”. I then proceed to tell them that I have Transporter Tags only. Dealer tags and Transporter tags are what independent dealers, their employees, and contractors use to pick up vehicles from the auctions, and transport them to and from mechanic shops and things of that nature. Being that I have been involved in the car business for several years, I have developed a small network of Dealers who make their plates available for a small fee. This is a small cottage business that has been served by a small base of dealerships around the country as well as the fringe “dealer plate windmills” for quite some time and still exists. Florida does not set a particular amount of Dealer tags that any one dealership can utilize. So, as a result, you had a lot of Dealer plates and tags issued out of this state. Granted, this may not be looked upon too kindly by the state and the insurance industry who underwrites the policies.
Just think about it, you have a Dealership let’s say in Miami, with 5 plates and only uses 2 plates. They can get additional income by charging a fee for a business entrepreneur to use their plate. This fee can be anywhere from $1500 -$2800 for the year, per plate. This has been going on for years, even before I got in it. But then around middle of 2019, the insurance companies started to tweak the underwriting for these types of policies, and it’s been a lot harder to get extra plates now if you are a Florida Dealership. The Dealerships who already had their share of multiple plates were “grandfathered in”. Newer Dealerships trying to get multiple plates, have to jump thru a few hoops now. You have to show proof of a driver license for each additional plate you wanted to add onto the policy. People are scrambling trying to find Dealer Plates and Tags for their car enterprises. Contacting brokers like myself and Dealerships directly. But what if I told you that I can get you a TRANSPORTER tag, and its probably good enough for what you need it for?
First of all let me go into the differences between Dealer Tags and Transporter Tags (also known as plates).
Dealer plates usually say “Dealer” or “Used Car Dealer”, stamped on them depending on which state issued the plates. Transporter Tags, will have the word Transporter stamped on them and may have a different color than the Dealer tags issued by the same state. For instance in Florida, Dealer tags are white and Transporter tags are orange. So sometimes there is a color difference. The biggest and most important difference between Dealer Tags and Transporter tags is the insurance behind them, with limits the functionality behind them. No matter which state issues the Dealer plate, you are generally allowed free range in terms of using the plate for business and personal errands because of the higher level of general liability insurance the dealer plates are attached to. The Transporter tags can be assigned to a (licensed) car Dealership or assigned to a transporter company (no license). That being said, the Transporter tags will be underwritten with a lower amount of liability insurance. The intent of the insurance policy is to cover the vehicle for limited driving, and no personal driving at all. When people ask me about not being able to use the Transporter plate after 8pm or 9pm at night, I tell them it has nothing to do with the time, it’s about the functionality. How are you using the plate at 9pm? You can conduct car business at anytime of the day or night. But don’t get into an accident at 3am while driving home from the club, with a Transporter plate on the back of your vehicle. You are in violation. However, you could very well be picking up a car from your mechanic at 3am, or otherwise transporting the vehicle at 3am to a variety of places, for a variety of things as it pertains to business of that car.
What are the similarities?
The similarities for Dealer tag and Transporter tags are the obvious, they both can be used to legally transport an unregistered vehicle on the open road with insurance coverage protection of some kind. Some Dealers will use the Dealer tag on a vehicle that they are selling, and drive around until they sell it. That’s the luxury of the Dealer tag, you can operate it as a daily driver. But just so you know, you are paying the extra insurance costs.
However, if you are just transporting cars from point A to point B, why not go with a cheaper option? Introducing the Transporter tag, the tag that people love to hate. It stands out a little more (color), and you can use it a little less (functionality)… but hey it still works. You can still use it for transporting cars to and from the auction, mechanic shop and run customer test drives on a Transporter tag (no law or regulation that says no, that I have seen). Ok, so let’s wrap this up. If you cannot get a Dealer tag, and need to move your cars around consider the cheaper alternative. Get a Transporter tag instead. If you want to own the company and control the insurance, we can set up a company for you for only $3500 and $250 per month maintenance. You can issue up to ten (10) plates in total on the same insurance policy. Each plate costs you approximately $175 each. They still have to go thru the DMV in Florida, but no worries, we take care of that too. Just call or send an email for service.
Yes…you can self-issue 10 Transporter plates …imagine the side money you can make by providing plates to your own clients and business partners!
If you only need a single plate or two, then we got you covered there as well. Only $1700 for a single individual transporter tag (for 12 months).
