Is anyone a vehicle delivery driver?

[Eeksteek]

Apparently, one gets £80ish for getting themselves somewhere, driving a vehicle somewhere else and getting themselves home again on a self-employed basis. Clean licence and four years driving experience. I’d have thought loads of people want to do it - driving cars around doesn’t require much effort or skill (I mean it’s a skill. But an almost universal one. I wouldn’t imagine it’s hard to recruit to, surely almost anyone can do it?!)

I know it’s not exactly high earning, but I want something flexible a day or two a week in term-time. I just need some extra cash, not a full time thing. So I clicked on a few links and now I’m getting positively spammed with urgent vacancies in a slightly hysterical manner.

Is is scam? It feels like a scam. Do they not reimburse the train fares, or it’s £80, but you have to go to John O’Groats and back in a day, or they say they need you urgently, and then never call, like temp agencies. Or insist that you front up £100s for training or a franchise/MLM or something? Maybe the cars are nicked or unsafe write offs or it’s a front for drug running? It just sounds so suspiciously ideal. Indoors, no heavy lifting, not on your feet, low stress, No Karen Public to deal with, pick and choose your days. Beats shelf stacking or call centre aggro, surely? It’s a long time since I’ve looked for a job, I’m out of touch. What am I not seeing? Or am I being ridiculous and it’s just a zero hours, min wage gig that seems easy to me because I like driving and want flexible top up rather than a reliable living?

Bump! Anyone? Don’t want to get shafted. (Again)

I'm not one, but I got talking to a bloke on a train a few weeks back who did this. He had just dropped a car off in Macclesfield and was on his way to Manchester to pick up another one to deliver somewhere else. He said he was retired and did it 2 or 3 days a week, just to keep himself busy.

He lived up north somewhere (Newcastle upon Tyne direction I think) and said he could get sent all over the country, he spent a lot of time on trains and buses traveling to/from the pick ups and drop offs. He seemed to enjoy it though!

It's not local work. The hours can be dreadful. Public transport is on its knees just now, I wouldn't take a job that relies in a broken system of transport to get home/to a job. It's not regular or guaranteed work.

Thank you both. I’ll give it a shot. I don’t want regular hours. My kiddo is 12, so can handle being a latchkey kid some of the time, but I think she would struggle with it every day, especially in the holidays. I’m looking for one or two days a week term time that I can pick and choose around my existing business, which is flexible, but not providing the income it used to. I know it will be boring, but I’ll take boredom over stress these days.

it’s been a while since I used public transport though. That might be interesting! Has it really got that bad? (rail strikes notwithstanding)

The idea of driving cars around for extra cash does seem appealing, but it's essential to watch out for red flags. If you're feeling overwhelmed with urgent vacancies and spammy messages, it's wise to trust your instincts. Before committing, do some research on the companies offering these gigs. As for car transportation, reputable companies like https://www.a1autotransport.com/ offer reliable services, but always verify the legitimacy of any opportunity.

They don't generally need to rely on public transport, because ideally they'd pick another vehicle up for the return journey. Even if that return journey takes 2 or 3 drops. I did used to work for a company that did this, maybe around 5 years ago now, and the drivers didn't earn anything like 80k pa. Their busiest drivers might have done around 50k but it's long hours for that. Also, they'd quite often be hitching a lift to their next pick up - you've probably seen them around motorway slip roads carrying their trade plates, hence their nickname "platers".