I am interested in owner operator auto transport, what is the best way to get started?

Question

1.only want to carry 2 or 3 cars at time using a pickup truck.

Answer 1

Running as an owner operator in the auto transport industry is a pretty good way to make some money. In some cases (as you likely know) you don't even need a CDL to transport vehicles! Most two and sometimes 3 car haulers actually stay under the 26,000 pound weight requirements that require a CDL. Some states very this number though so make sure to check things out on all the states you are going to run.

With that said your questions is about THE BEST WAY TO GET STARTED. Well, the best way to get started is to call some broker/carriers or just carriers and see what it takes to operate under their authority. Broker/Carriers are going to be best because they have slightly higher margins. You also have a little more security against the possibility of them "hanging you out to dry".

So step one is call some broker/carriers. Where do you find broker/carriers? Try www.transportreviews.com. On the left side there is a link for "Broker/Carrier". Click that link and the middle information changes and shows companies that are broker/carriers.

I'd say just ignore the rankings, ratings and reviews for the most part. They are for auto transport customers. But you can use that report and click on the company name. In most cases you will then find the company's location and contact information.

I would recommend calling the companies and asking them if you can talk to whoever is in charge of hiring owner operators.

There you go. They will take care of the rest.

It looks like that page gives you 11 broker/carriers and another 4 carrier only's. So hopefully out of those 15 companies you can find someone looking for an owner operator. If not you may need to try the carrier types that are "Not Specified by Company" report and start calling them.

I hope this helps you get started. Good luck in the vehicle transport industry.

Answer 2

Owner Operator Auto Transport

Answer 3

Actually this is not a bad business to get into right now. I am from Chicago and I know quite a few older people who ship their cars to Florida every year. It usually cost about $650 for the trip to Florida to Chicago. I am assuming that you don't have a huge budget for advertising. I am also assuming that you have the equipment and insurance needed to get the job done. I would start small and place small ads in small local papers seeing that they are a bit cheaper. I also would place free ads in Craigslist.org. Make up some flyers and put them up on grocery store bulletin boards, you know when you walk in or out of the store they usually have a bulletin board. This is also usually free. Go to a golf course parking lot and put flyers in people windows there. A golf course parking lot is good because people who like to golf often have places in warmer regions and need their cars transported. I hope this helps you a little. You have to start small in order to grow. Good luck with the business.

Answer 4

advertise and see what kind of hits you get