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How Can I Get a Job Delivering Cars?

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If you love cars or love to drive, delivering cars is an ideal way to make some extra money. Not only can you earn some extra cash working with local car dealerships, but if you have a sense of adventure, you can earn money while driving vehicles across the country. If you have a driver’s license, a clean driving record and some extra time, this could be the job for you.

Where to Find Positions

You have several options when it comes to finding car-delivery positions.

Local car dealerships may hire delivery drivers to bring vehicles to other dealerships, auctions or directly to customers. Often, these jobs are on a part-time, on-call basis, and you’re paid per delivery. Contact local car dealerships to inquire about delivery opportunities.

You can also get a job delivering cars through an agency that helps individuals transport their vehicles across the country when they move, or if the car has been sold. You can search for possible jobs with agencies like AutoDriveaway. If you take one of these jobs, you are given a full tank of gas, a mileage allowance and a deadline, and you are paid when you deliver the car. However, you are responsible for your own expenses on the road, and for your own transportation home, which can severely diminish your earnings.

Rental-car companies also occasionally offer opportunities for delivery drivers. You can be hired to transport vehicles back to their home agency after a one-way rental, or to body shops, repair shops or other local agencies.

Qualifications

Most dealerships or car delivery and courier services require drivers to meet similar requirements as car-rental agencies. While specific policies vary, you must be at least 18 years old (although some companies will only hire drivers who are at least 21 or even older) and have a valid driver’s license. In addition, especially for car courier services, you may be subject to a criminal background and driving record check. You may also have to pay a refundable deposit before taking the keys. In some states, like Texas, you will need a commercial driver’s license to deliver cars, so check your state requirements before you seek jobs.

Considerations

Most individual or private car deliveries only pay a few hundred dollars per job, and again, expenses could eat into your earnings if they aren’t covered by the customer. Shorter deliveries, particularly those for a local car dealership, are usually paid on an hourly basis or per job.

While driving is the most important part of a car-delivery driver's job, you will also be expected to conduct inspections of the vehicles before and after delivery, communicate with vehicle owners, dealers and others, and handle paperwork associated with the delivery. Usually, the dealership or delivery agency will provide checklists for drivers, but you must be detail-oriented to succeed in this profession.

References
Resources
Tips
  • Available course materials can help you to prepare for car delivery jobs. Travel For Pay offers a course for a fee (see Resources). Course materials include a directory of car delivery companies and a textbook on how to complete the job.
Warnings
  • Car delivery companies will usually provide business insurance, but you should also get travel insurance. If anything should happen on your delivery, you will be completely covered.
Writer

An adjunct instructor at Central Maine Community College, Kristen Hamlin is also a freelance writer and editor, specializing in careers, business, education, and lifestyle topics. The author of Graduate! Everything You Need to Succeed After College (Capital Books), which covers everything from career and financial advice to furnishing your first apartment, her work has also appeared in Young Money, Lewiston Auburn Magazine, USA Today, and a variety of online outlets. She's also been quoted as a career expert in many newspapers and magazines, including Cosmopolitan and Parade. She has a B.A. in Communication from Stonehill College, and a Master of Liberal Studies in Creative Writing from the University of Denver.

Photo Credits

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