You will never be able to eliminate dead beat customers. If you fail to eliminate most of them, you bottom line suffers. Even when you successfully collect you have often spent a lot of time on the effort that you didn’t get compensated for. There has been some efforts to have on-line posting of warnings for dead-beat customers, although it is difficult to separate simple trash talk from accurate information it looks to me like this can be an effective way to vet potential customers.

Bankruptcy has been abused by many as a way to side-step paying. I think the broker bond is way too low. If they had to be bonded in excess of what they owe to carriers then bankruptcy wouldn’t be such an issue. Here is a post off of autoexpeditors forum the illustrates my point well:

Be very selective about who you work for, and keep good records of who you got burned by. At least don’t let them do it to you twice! I tell my carriers to keep problem customers in their data-base but rate them as “DO NOT USE” or something similar so that it will pop up if they try to ship with them again even years later.

While I would agree that it is harder now than in the past to make a good living hauling cars, I have customers that are still doing it, so I know it is possible. From where I sit here is the top 5 reasons a car hauler isn’t making money.

5. Wrong truck for the job. A short run with a stacker rig or a long haul with a 7-car quick-loader are both detrimental. It is important to have the correct equipment for your customers. It’s pretty tough to compete on rates if you competition hauls 50% more per trip!

I’ll try to tackle the top 4 reasons in future posts.

4. Working for customers that don’t pay.

3. Not maximizing truck capacity.

2. Damage claims

1. To many brokered loads.

Harvest ford was recently Purchased by the Lithia Group so they should be in solid hands now.

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Over 100 units available.

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According to Clarionledger.com Deuce McAllister Nissan of Jackson will be liquidated following a settlement reached yesterday. Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. agreed to convert the dealership’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy into a Chapter 7 proceeding prior to a scheduled hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Jackson.

According to their web-site they have been in business for 29 years. Their phones are forwarded to a broker that will take load requests but they report that AAA advantage is finishing up their last loads and closing their doors.

We reported in a previous post that Auto Transport America had vanished and the office was closed. According to the SunSentinel.com the office is now open and being run by EAST COAST AUTO TRANSPORT

“Kenneth Correra, president of East Coast Auto Transport, a broker based in Rhode Island, said he bought Auto Transport America’s customer list and is now doing business out of its West Palm office and using its phone number.”

I am a bit confused because I have East Coast Auto Transport based at 2906 ELMHURST LANE Portsmouth, VA 23702 . Maybe there is more than one East Coast Auto Transport.

According to the article the Feds have taken over the Investigation into Hector Iglesias and Auto Transport America, and their bond with insurer Pacific Financial was depleted back in August.

• December 2nd, 2008 at 5:48 pm

  Melba Rudiger Says:

  The East Coast Auto Transport, Inc. that you have shown in your article is not in anyway affiliated with Kenneth Correra or the East Coast Auto Transport in Rhode Island. There are in fact at least 3 companies named East Coast Auto Transport which have no affiliation with each other. Since we are not the company you are referring to in Rhode Island, I would appreciate if you would kindly remove our logo and link from this article.
  Thank you
  Melba Rudiger

• DAVE SAYS: I apologize for the mistake. Could you help us out with the correct info Melba?

• December 3rd, 2008 at 10:33 am

  Melba Rudiger Says:

  Sorry, can’t give you much help. I just know that there is an East Coast Auto Transport in Rhode Island and one in Georgia. I have received checks for the one in Georgia that were sent to us in error. I have also heard of the one in Rhode Island but don’t know anything about either company.

  Melba

• December 3rd, 2008 at 5:10 pm

  Jamie Says:

  There are infact 3 East Coast Auto Transports in the US. There is no website information for the East Coast out of GA. Below find the Website information for East Coast Auto Transport of VA and East Coast of RI. ECAT of RI is the one I believe you are posting information about. Also not to be confused with East COast Truck & Trailer Sales which sells Carhauling Equipment @ http://www.ectts.com.

  http://www.eastcoastofva.com/
  http://www.eastcoastautotransport.com/

Judge grants Nixon’s request for temporary restraining order against St. Peters Auto Transport service

Jefferson City, Mo. — A St. Charles County Circuit Court judge today issued a temporary restraining order at the request of Attorney General Jay Nixon against a St. Peters automobile transport service and its owner. The order prohibits Caran R. Vinson and two businesses she owns, Chipmunk Transportation Inc. and Chipmunk Auto Logistics Inc., from advertising and engaging in the businesses of providing automobile transportation and transportation brokerage services and from accepting money from consumers for transport services.

Nixon sued Vinson in May 2002 for defrauding consumers of money paid for auto transport services that were never provided. The lawsuit alleged that at least 22 consumers from around the country paid more than $5,400 total to Chipmunk Transportation to have their vehicles picked up and delivered to another location. Nixon said that the company did not inform consumers that their payments or down payments were nonrefundable or misled them into believing that refunds would be forthcoming.

Nixon said that since the time the lawsuit was filed, his office has received at least 21 additional complaints from consumers, including reports that Vinson has operated under other business names, including AAA Ark Auto Transportation.

Judge Lucy D. Rauch set a July 17 date on Nixon’s request for a preliminary injunction against the defendants.

County officials, customers are unable to contact firm

By Diane C. Lade |South Florida Sun-Sentinel

9:29 PM EDT, July 3, 2008

Is my sense of fair messed up when I think it is UNFAIR for a driver with seniority that lost his job because he voted to strike rather than accept a pay cut to take a position at Allied, that results in either less work or possibly no work at all for a guy that has been driving for a year at Allied under the wage concessions!

This post on The car hauler is what set me thinking about this:

1. Active Car Hauler says:
   June 21st, 2008 at 10:17 pm – EditIf PTS workers came to work and the doors were locked I wouldnt have any arguement for their seniority rights, but this is not the case.. Allied drivers understood what would have happened if they didnt except the pay reductions, they did and their still working..PTS drivers rolled the dice and lost…now me and 40 other drivers some of who transferred cause our work was given up by the our company now face losing our jobs cause PTS drivers struck their company out of business…PTS drivers opened a can of worms…Ur former owner is still in,changing ur PTS logo to Allied as we speak, Uniited road is hauling PTS freight ,some of ur drivers who are being absorbed are looking at pay cuts. So who benefits from the strike and closure..the most senior men..and the question is asked why united road and others are taking our freight? maybe because the junior guys the future of the teamsters are dissatisfied and fed up with constantly being stepped on. But realize this, PTS went out of business while u guys struck..at that point You had no work 2 claim your own, you gave up that right ,just as u gave up the right 2 claim severence, vacation, and unemployement . The union has scrabled to force u guys down our throat but were not going 2 stand by and get stepped on cause u guys lost.. In my barn my shop steward went out on comp the day before u guys struck, that was the first sign., he wont return any active drivers call, and he has said he will not take any greveinces….see a pattern here? The teamsters is a democracy not a autonomy….Cassens and Allied have sent u 2 the bottom of their list……why isnt Active doing the same?