Thinking of a career change, seriously

[TerryBPP]

Life just ain't as peachy as I expected in this engineering field. I make a decent living but I don't loved it anymore. I take unwarranted ***** from angry clients and contractors all day long. I'm just starting not to feel it. For awhile being a big shot professional got my rocks off, not anymore.

I have the same passion all of you do cars. My dream job would be working around cars and cars people all day long. Of course I don't want to work in or even own a shop. But I have been harping on a idea for years now. Its been brought up here a few times. Starting a car hauling service.

Growing up we had a family friend that made millions (no exaggeration) transporting cars here in FL. Of course he was transporting for cheap, large quantities, mostly for auctions, dealers, etc. Not what I'm looking for but maybe thats why it always stuck with me. The 1st millionaire I ever met. And that was in the early 80's.

Start out with a Freightliner FL70 and a enclosed 2-3 car trailer. Give personal service and attention. Only cater to the high end user. Drive myself for the 1st year then hirer on drivers. Expanded the fleet, then move into semi's with 5-10 car capability, enclosed of course.

2000 miles a month turns a decent profit for a fledgling company.

My question is, if you bought a $80k car on ebay would you use a service like this or would you hire DAS w/ an open trailer?

Or was that 3rd Corona tonight a bad idea?

[Chocaholic]

Sounds to me like you'd be working around trucks and truck drivers rather than cars and car people. And during a time of outrageous fuel costs. Why not consider a specialty dealership?

[legion]

Hey, I hear there are fluffer positions open....

Seriously, I got an offer about two years ago to drive a 968 to Arkansas for a buyer. I ended up declining because I was unclear on what liability I might face if the car were to get damaged on the drive. I'd sit down with your insurance agent and ask that question before starting. He might point you towards a commercial insurer. You might also try contacting someone like Hagerty. I think this would be an important first step.

BTW, I'd be curious how that conversation pans out. PM me if you don't want to discuss it publicly. Around my place of work, we have what we refer to as "the golden handcuffs". It's a cushy, well-paying job with 9-5 hours and pretty low stress in a relatively inexpensive area. Few people ever really leave, but we will ***** to each other to no end...

[ja78911sc]

Your 4th Corona may be in order.

I dreamed of becoming a truck driver when I was a kid -- must have been Smokey and the Bandit & BJ & the Bear. Oddly enough I landed in the transportation industry following college. If you are single, my suggestion would be to obtain a CDL. Hit the road for around a year. Determine if this is the industry for you.

Side note: I read an article about a young couple (college educated) who were in major debt. Sold everything and went to truck driving school. Drove for two years coast-to-coast. They lived in the truck. During this time they paid off all of their debts. Saved enough for a down payment on a home. Quit and resumed their careers.

Seriously, good luck & this country was founded on dreams.

[wcc]

So you're tired of Engineering. Big surprise! How long did you make it before your decision? Just wondering. I'm right there with you and I've tried a bunch of different aspects of Engineering and it just ain't doin' it. But for me, whether I like it or not, I'm 'stuck' in it. I have a family that I need to take care of first. I've tried lots of businesses on the side but they are owner/operated and I just get run down after a few years. Then I feel guilty when I haven't seen my family after a while. I ended up selling those businesses that were going well and closed those that weren't. I would LOVE to do something P-car related as my bread and butter but I don't know if that'll happen, at least for a while.

As far as insurance goes (in my LIMITED experience) just get an 1Mill umbrella policy and you should be set. One of my businesses was a minor body repair shop and yes I worked on porsches (rare) once in a while. Believe it or not, insurance was actually pretty cheap.

[Gogar]

Diesel is $4 a gallon right now, so I think you've got a pretty small profit potential with a small rig. I think you could - maybe - do ok with a bigger capacity rig.

If your rig gets ,let's say, 7mpg loaded, it will cost you about $1600 to get from NY to LA right now. If you don't eat or stop.

I don't know if you could have your own rig and subcontract for an established company or not, until you get a handle on it?

[on2wheels52]

ja, that's the way I'd do it. Don't try to maintain a house or apartment, put what you want to save in storage and keep the wheels turning. Have a time frame, save the max you can and then quit the driving to pursue the dream, only now have some capital behind you.
jim

[Instrument 41]

If you like dealing with people what about some avenue that is sales related to your Field of engineering?

[Hugh R]

2,000 miles/month=100 miles per day. 8 mpg, I'll bet if your lucky. $4.00/gallon= $0.50 fuel cost per mile. 100 miles/day = $50 in fuel alone, plus maintenance. 100 miles per day, I question whether you can make the monthly note of the rig and trailer.

[Palum6o]

How about working for Porsche? I hear you get nice company car to drive.

[TerryBPP]

All good points. I'm checking on the insurance tomorrow.

This is how I figured the costs:

DAS enclosed charges $1280 to go from Charlotte NC to Fort Myers FL. 712 miles

A freightliner FL70, quad cab fifth wheel w/ sleeper will do 12 mpg towing a trailer according to my google searches.

Diesel here is $3.70 a gallon.

3.70/12 = 0.308 cents a mile.

712 miles x 0.308 cents a mile = $219.30

Thats a grand profit per car (likely move at least 2 cars per trip)minus monthly costs like truck payment, insurance, etc.

Of course this is only covers gas but there is a decent margin in there.

As far as doing the driving myself, at 1st, then hire on a driver. Not having a house, the wife's not buying that. Maybe downsize back to a condo.

[Moses]

A wealthy friend of mine owns a high-end lease return car sales business. He only handles pristine Mercedes, Porsche, BMW and Jaguar. The 3 year depreciation on these cars is enormous! Most are still under factory warranty.

You know why his business model is brilliant? He has complete control over his costs. New car dealers are told by the factory what they must pay. Not my friend. Because he buys a lot of cars, he has developed great relationships with local dealers who want to get rid of lease returns quickly and with minimal hassle.

If I were starting over, this is what I'd do.

[ja78911sc]

Terry,
Your figures do not include maintenance cost, licensing & insurance. The 12 mpg would be with a strong tail wind. We have box trucks similar to the Freightliner you mentioned getting around 8-10 mpg. A class eight tractor trailer would get around 6 - 6.5 mpg with a pre (02) emission engine. Medium duty trucks (FL model) starting in 08 models have a dpf (diesel particulate filter) which will lower the fuel economy I listed above.

The biggest mistake I encounter with owner operators is not factoring their expenses correctly -- mainly due to the variable costs involved with maintenance -- especially if you purchase used.

Google Frieghtliner and I believe somewhere on their site they have a spreadsheet for owner operators which list the cost per mile on maintenance, ins., etc.

[berettafan]

find a nice rest stop on I95 and bring lunch. count the car carriers over a period of time and extrapolate a week/month/year's worth of work from that.

[aigel]

Have you ever driven long distances on a regular basis? I would compare it to torture. You are forced to stay awake, but yet, you can not do much while you are behind the wheel.

Anyone can drive a truck. Transportation has to be one of the most competitive businesses out there. You may as well start a lawn service instead.

I would look closer to home. Can you go back to school and get an advanced degree? Sometimes it is better if you are able to call some of the shots and not just do the grunt work. How about just finding another job in an area that is related but not the same than what you are in now?

Cheers,

George

[unclebilly]

I was disenchanted with engineering at my last job too. Then I switched industries. I love my current job / employer though my job description isn't a lot different than before/ Instead of designing Fuel cells (shoulda been the dream job), I am now running a team that designs down hole tools.

[911Rob]

Terry,
I hear ya buddy! Good call imo.

Go into real estate sales.
With your engineering background and people skills, you will rock!
Developers love realtors that actually know what they're talking about, give it a try buddy, you'll love the freedom and the money is outstanding!

Here's one of our projects; the developer just loves us and has referred us over $10Million in other deals now too; ha, ha!
LINK: www.PortSideCourt.ca

YOU can do it, make the break, you'll never look back!
Cheers,

[cab83_750]

Terry,

There is nothing worst than hating what you do. Work is already tough as it is, let alone hating it. Don't listen to me, but if you hate it, you should switch right away before it affects your mental and physical health.

Hating your job also affects your immediately family as you would tend to take your frustration home.

BTW, I hope that you or your parents did not spend $80,000.00+ for your education. I have friends who spent between 150K-$200K+ on their kids education, then BAMMMM! The kids said, "you know, I really wanted to do something else!" I am a parent with 2 kids (1 in college and 1 ready to go to college), and Oh Boy, this is what I do not want to encounter.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by cab83_750

Terry,

There is nothing worst than hating what you do. Work is already tough as it is, let alone hating it. Don't listen to me, but if you hate it, you should switch right away before it affects your mental and physical health.

Hating your job also affects your immediately family as you would tend to take your frustration home.

There's truth in that. I walked away from a Ph.D program after 2 1/2 years. Never looked back.

As a general rule set your sights higher, not lower.

[Dueller]

Wanting to be in the car world....hmmmm. I don't think you'd be thrilled with hauling cars for rich enthusiasts....where are your jollies gonna come from? Driving them off and on the trailer?

I'm not a big proponent of self help books, but pick up a copy of Dan Miller's "48 Days to the Work You Love." May give you a little perspective. Your business plan on 2000 miles/month transport is not realistic.