Bentley's

[TowZone]

30 Nov 2006 00:50

Sherry said:

Just curious. How many of you are getting calls from CCAS to tow Bentley's?
We average at least 2 a week and turn them down for the simple reason of traveling 400-500 miles round trip at motor club rates.
It's hard enough to get paid accurately for local towing from them, especially with the "mileage audit game" they like to play.

 

certifiedautomall nj said:

 

Wow if there is anyone on this bored willing to two a Bentley for motorclub rates i truely feel sorry no disrespect or nething but i would never touch a 300K car for the 15 to hook and like 2 a mile that you guys get

Mike, Certified Auto Mall Howell, NJ

 

Sherry said:

We've done alot of direct transporting for the Bentley-Mazarati and Aston Martin Dealerships for quite a while. We've always set the rate.
It's been just recently that we've been getting calls from CCAS to do the same transporting to the same dealers for the Bentley's.
Can't even imagine why Bentley would even consider using an MC to transport these vehicles. Got to be alot of ticked off owners when they can't get a tow.

 

certifiedautomall nj said:

Sherry do they expect you to these at contracted rates?? if that is the case then over there at the big hq the bosses must be smokin something and I'm sure from the dealers you get real good money to tow those

Mike, Certified Auto Mall Howell, NJ

 

 

BigBerthasTowing said:

We have a different rate for luxury cars. It is more than double that of a Cavalier for example. Although I used to get nervious over Bentley, Rolls, Maserati and so on, I take them in stride now, but the risk of the finest scratch is taken very seriously and every precaution is taken. No metal touches the car anywhere. Straps to car then to metal tie downs. So far no damages what ever. That's a lot more than I can say about my backing up the rig on any given day. But, then I'm getting better in that arena too! No cat's tails in, well lets see, almost seven months now and mailboxes are almost a thing of the past.Be safe and always watch for oncoming traffic!
 

 

Sherry said:

We do local and out of state transporting for these dealerships, including Mercedes and we do get paid very well.

Evidently CCAS assumed that the rates we have for non-luxury vehicles would apply here as well. Notttttttt.

We tow all of LeBron James vehciles as well as his families, also Larry Hughes from the Cavaliers. During the play-offs against the Pistons, my husband went to Atlanta, Ga. to pick-up a Maybach M.B. being customized for LeBran. He wanted it (although not completed) to cruise, had to return it back to Ga., 4 days later to be completed, then back again to pick it up. Paid the bill in full with no question.......Nice!! Believe me the cost of transporting this thing back and forth was just a drop in the bucket compared to what he paid for it.
 

courtestytowing said:

Very interesting questions we all should ask ourselves:


Part 1: If the motor clubs require limits of only 25,000 on hook insurance to do business with them, then how come they are accepting warranty contracts that will require towing of vehicles 10 times that amount?

Part 2: If they required towers to match the insurance of the cars they are expected to tow then it would only make since that our cost would go up so their price should go up.

Part 3: Since they are not requiring us to maintain adequate in insurance, then do they share the liability when serious damage, (like the slightest scratch) to a 300,000 car occurs.

I once transported a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum car in a parade. They asked us to transport the car from the museum to the parade. We referred them to Exotic Car Transport. They use a special enclosed semi truck enclosed transporter with a very low approach angle. They work by appointment only. If you have an emergency be prepared to pay big and still wait long. It seems they charged $300 just to load, plus an optional $200 for a one time insurance policy per trip each way, and plus mileage. If you don't buy their extra one time policy you must sign an iron clad damage waiver. No exceptions ever period. I think that they have great ideas and policies. I don't know what insurance policy they were using but I think that if motor clubs were to take on these types of contacts they should use their massive resources to offer this service. Towers and customers would be guaranteed the extra protection they need when towing exotics. I know of a local towing company that towed for a Ferrari dealer for years and was always, "so so good"; until that one day happened. A miscalculation combined with all the right things at all the wrong times, and a new Ferrari is upside down on its roof lying next to the flat bed. That company was not insured like most towers with $300,000 dollars of on hook and even if he was he would still be in trouble because after you have a loss run with a claim like that you are uninsurable period. Either way; years of blood sweat and tears down the drain you are out of business. I feel that need is the mother of all change. If an independent transporter can find insurance for a one time transport to cover a 1 million dollar museum car; then why can't the motor clubs partner with that same insurance company to cover anything over $25,000?

I am not bashing motor clubs. I understand that they are trying to be competitive with others that are all doing the same thing. I am just suggesting a new standard to be put in place that will protect all parties when things go bad: the towers, customers, and even the motor clubs themselves. I feel that if the manufactures of $300,000 cars knew that the towers who are transporting their valued customer’s cars only had coverage for 25,000; they would be very concerned. I am sure that they are used to getting paid hundreds of thousands dollars more for the finest; now its time to pay more to get the service and protection their customers, (and towers) deserve.

 

interstow said:

With all due respect folk's. If you made the agreement to work for the autoclub at a specific rate, for all of their calls, then you need to do it, renew your rates or cancel the contract.

I'm not sure what type of equipment your operating, but it costs me the same to operate the truck per hour, regardless of the load being wood, a chevette or a lambo or whatever. And if you drive slower you can actually make more!!

Assuming that you are transporting these vehicles on a flatbed car carrier, it take A LOT to do $50.K worth of damage. $50. K should be your minimum on hook.

For the people that work with expensive cars on a daily basis they are really no big thing. Its just another car. Most sales people that sell them don't really care if you have major insurance coverage. They just want it done at the lowest price. PERIOD!!! Have any of them ever asked for your limits before they hire you??? They just ask how soon and how much.

I recently put a chip in a painted rim on a $$$$ car. Less than an 1/8 inch, but a chip I did none the less. The wheel repair guy was at the dealership and after telling the salesman and check in guy I asked him to estimate and fix. He charged $25.00 for the repair. I asked "Why so inexpensive" and his reply... its just a wheel. He charges the same regardless of the vehicle. Its just a wheel on a car!!!

 

kstowman said:

interstow, i understand what you are saying about it costing just as much to tow a ferrari or bentley as it does a ford escort, but on some of these high end cars extra precautions need to be taken to ensure the damage free loading of these vehicles, and we as business owners/operators need to be compensated for the extra time and care that they require, i try to personally handle all of the high end stuff myself, if i pay one of my drivers $10 an hour and it takes him the full hour to load one of these high $$$turds (sometimes it does by the time you are rolling after dealing with the customer too) i am in the hole by figuring the cost of fuel and hidden costs such as insurance, wear and tear on vehicle, because that driver could have been producing for me in another manner by doing another tow or job...but if we were compensated for the extra time, we might actually make a decent profit....

not to mention i guarantee if you dent/rip a fender on a bentley, ferrari or lambo it will be a lot more expensive than on a chevy.....if you play the averages damage will occur and if you do more high end cars, your insurance will sky rocket..insurance companies call it exposure and we know it very well being most of our towing is done on Interstate 35. i don't care who you are, how careful you are, you will eventually do some damage to a vehicle somewhere along the way.....

jason strickland
www.stricklandroadservice.com

 

interstow said:

kstowman, Thanks for the reply. I am not picking on you, or singleing you out in my comments as they can be applied to any tower. My comments were mainly addressing the issue of selective call taking when you agree to work for an autoclub and agreeing to work at there rates instead of what it actually costs you to make a profit. As I do not have any contracts with any autoclubs I am not familiar with their wording and polocies.

I agree that we need to make a profit on calls and the easiest way to do that is to know what it costs to operate your company, truck, operator per hour and charge that for every hour the truck is operating. If you don't get what you need to operate profitibaly, then why are you operating?? Also, you should not have any hidden costs for doing business. Everything goes into your monthly expenses including your salary. This way you know what it costs to operate. I agree that it takes a while to load some of the more expensive automobiles. 45 minutes to an hour is not uncommon when you take into account completeing a written inventory/condition report/receipt for the vehicle as well as pictures before, during and after. But again, when you are charging by the hour you are paid for all of your time.

As far as damage, it happens and the deductible is figured into my operating expense. I'll agree that with the more expensive cars they are more expensive to repair, but that is the cost of dealing with the more expensive cars. And also the reason for a per hour towing charge. Also been doing this for 34 years, so yes I have done my share of small damage. It happens, correct it, pay it and move on.

 

Twinbulls said:

A MC called me and asked if I know how to tow a Bentley ???
I said sure I got ALL the info and then gave a price MC said thats crazy and hung up.... I called customer and said MC doen't want to pay me my rates I just want you to know I can be there in 15 min if you need me...HE said GET MOVING NOW !! He was sittin there for 2 hours and was very upset at the MC. MC kept telling him they cant find a tower (LIES)

I towed him he paid cash and he was VERY happy with me...

On another call It was for a viper I again got all info gave my price and MC hung up... I called customer as he was in a very bad part of town...The mc was lieing to him to ???
I was there with the bed in 20 min and loaded and on my way when they called me again asking if I could go and get the viper.. I asked why did you hang up on me before ??? they said nothing and then called me by another tow companys name ??? and asked if I could just do them this one FAVOR ...

I said NOPE !!! well it was 1 hour later they called there customer to say we cant find a tow truck for you... SORRY fend for yourself....The customer was sitting next to me as we drove to his house 1.5 hrs away..HE paid me what I wanted ....

I have no problem doing HIGH end cars but you will pay MY RATES...
 

 

[thtdon]

Most of the jobs that you are referring to are cars insured by an insurance company called GRUNDY.  GRUNDY sells insurance to people who own classic cars.  One of my insurance agents writes insurance for Grundy.  Grundy also sells a roadside assistance plan.  Their customers are paying a lot more than they would for AAA.  But they get a lot more for their money too.  GRUNDY is contracted with Agero.  Agero tried to get me to tow a Ford GT one day.  That car was so low to the ground that I couldn't put my fingers between the ground effects and the pavement.  After a few minutes of trying to figure out how to tow the car safely, the car owner decided to tow it himself on his own car trailer.  Sounds good to me!  The following week, I was watching Jay Leno's Garage on CNBC.  One of the featured cars of the night was a Ford GT, identical to the one that I was requested to tow.  That car was valued at $350,000.  I will never tow a classic car for Agero, unless they pay me big money.  I would never tow a Ford GT because that car is worth more than my house.  And I am not about to raise my insurance coverage and consequential bill to do that.  These people are crazy.