Tales of a "plater"...........

[Rocket88]

You know, one of those poor bastards standing at the side of the road, waving trade plates, and mournfully hoping for a lift...................been doing it for about 6 weeks, since arriving over here to live.

It's not a job for those who  a] like sleep b] can't get up in the morning.....................15 hour days are the norm ,and I'm averaging about 1800 miles a week.

Driven a wide variety of stuff, and three things are becoming apparent

1] The speed and comfort of modern vans, especially Transits, comfy, quick, well equipped, and pretty good on juice.

2] The crapness of French stuff with auto boxes. Drove a 3008 auto, it was 'orrible

3] The way everything modern has reasonable handling, but dreadful ride quality. Drove an new A class through London the other day, and my spine shortened by at least four inches.

 

More soon...........

[warren t claim]

Much hitchhiking involved?

[michael1703]

I'd always seen these guys waving plates and wondered what they got up to?

 

How long do you wait before you give in and catch a train?

[tooSavvy]

I'd always seen these guys waving plates [ & butchers knife under coat] and wondered what they got up to?

 

WCPGW.....

 

 

TS

[messerschmitt owner]

I once gave one a lift, he had three mobiles, all ringing constantly, especially the one with the 'pick up the bastard phone' ringtone.

[purplebargeken]

Mate of mine does this. Looooong hours.

[nacho man]

Tell us more, always wondered what's the dosh like?

[Lord Sterling]

Thinking myself about giving this a try.

[Pillock]

A friend of the wife's was a fireman who did this on his off duty days, mostly for hire firms. Did it for ages and he doesn't put up with shit so can't be bad

 

I would. It's on my list of jobs to apply for if I get in a stick.

[Matt]

Seems like a neat way to try different cars, see different places and meet new people. Fifteen hour days though... eh.

[2MB]

So what does the job entail, delivering cars and somehow getting back to base? I always thought it strange that they thumb a lift, do they have to cover the cost of returning from the drop themselves?

[Hendry]

I remember a guy coming in to our work to collect a defleet car who did the whole trade plates thing, mostly the guys get dropped off to collect a car, or they get a train or bus but this guy was one of few who plated it up, he didn't say much about how good a job it was, the money or anything like that, he did however say he had been caught speeding dozens of times and had been banned for a few days a dew times and that getting done and banned "was just a hazard of the job in the same way that chopping your fingers off was just a hazard of being a butcher." At that point I thought fuck that.

 

Another guy I worked with didn't do the whole trade plates thing but he had to collect and deliver cars from dealers and home addresses to auction sites etc and he said sometimes they'd get dropped off for cars (based in Glasgow) in Carlisle or drop a car somewhere and take another one from that location to another and get expenses back up or hopefully another car to drove part of or the whole way back, but sometimes they'd call him (he stayed in East Kilbride) and ask him to make his own way down to Ayr or Clydebank or wherever to a dealers to pick up a trade in and take it to auction sites, they were paid say £20 for the job but had to pay expenses from their home address to the location of the car meaning sometimes they only earned a couple of quid for 2 hours work. He said he was OK with the main guy at the auction site so they agreed to pay his travel expenses most times within reason, but other drivers who were arseholes and knocked back jobs, refused to go top certain places or do certain things were not paid expenses. He also said they got fined by the auction company for running out of fuel (didn't matter if you collected a car with the fuel light flashing and the nearest petrol station was 50miles away) and fined if the car was delivered to the auction site with more than say 1/8th of a tank as this was money spent unnecessarily that they wouldn't get back.

[EssDeeWon]

^ The above makes it sound more like doing someone a favour rather than a way of making a living.

 

I think this is *normally something semi retired people do, I remember our company cars were always collected and delivered by old boys. Its something different but probably not something your ever going to get rich from.

 

*Edit. Now you mention it Fordperv I also remember one of the old boys asking where the nearest bus stop was after dropping off a new Astra.

[fordperv]

I had one drop a courtesy car off to me, he asked where the nearest bus stop was so he could go to the train station, i drove him to the train station as my good deed for the day.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Sounds like a pretty shit way to make a living if it's your main income.

 

Not having a go I've been there myself but surely even tesco would be better conditions / dough?

[Justin Case]

I know someone who did this for a while when his decorating business was quiet. He seemed to be OK as he worked for a leasing company and he normally dropped the new one off and picked up the old one.  In the end he got a full time job but he wasn't upset to give up the driving. It would often be something like Birmingham to Canterbury one day, Birmingham to Newcastle the next and about six drops in Brum the day after.  He got paid a fixed sum plus something per mile; I think it worked out out at about £80 per day on average, but that was for a very long day. It didn't work out so well for one way journeys, he had to find his own way back, and the expenses never covered the fare.

[dollywobbler]

Sounds like a pretty shit way to make a living if it's your main income.

 

Not having a go I've been there myself but surely even tesco would be better conditions / dough?

 

You wouldn't believe how shit working for Tesco is. A mate used to be one of their home delivery drivers. It sounded pretty bloody awful. 

[They_all_do_that_sir]

You wouldn't believe how shit working for Tesco is. A mate used to be one of their home delivery drivers. It sounded pretty bloody awful.

I worked for them for a year. That was near 14 years ago now. Treated staff like dirt. I was young and desperate

[gordonbennet]

Platings a funny old game, some have done it for donkeys years, but the good days of plating, getting your train fare and pocketting the cash whilst you thumbed around are long gone.

 

I did it for several months waiting for a car transporter to become available (transporters still dead mens shoes then), some good days but more bad ones, lots of hours but not lots of money to go with it, thumbing lifts all over the place, catching odd buses no travelling ex's, getting cold and soaked to the skin, i carried a brolly in the end cos if you're dripping wet you stand less chance of a lift, if you make a point of looking clean and presentable you get lifts easier.

 

Platers don't thumb it as much as they used to, there's some big companies now that have the job sussed quite well so you get ferried about a lot more than before, but there's still sod all money in it, maybe suit a retiree best and i suspect the cushiest jobs are working directly for dealer groups who do pay for trains etc.

[holbeck]

I remember one driver who delivered a car to my work being astounded when I offered to drop him off ("Yes please, customers NEVER do that mate", was inside the M25 mind).

[brickwall]

Surely they are self employed as to avoid driving hours legislation, or does that not apply?

[DSdriver]

I have always picked them up whenever I could, some of them were quite interesting to chat to and it helped while away a journey. Can't say as I have seen any in the last few years. Must get eyesight checked.

[Pillock]

I've always wanted to pick up a plater. I never see them when I'm on a long trip though and I reckon they'd be dead pissed off if I took them 500 yards down the road.

[Forty-two]

Surely they are self employed as to avoid driving hours legislation, or does that not apply?

I think drivers hours in a tacho sense, only apply to vehicles over 3.5 tons. Not driven for a living for over ten years so I would not be surprised if the rules have changed since.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I used to give these chaps a lift quite often, it always sounded like you ended up working for about half the minimum wage if you bothered to divide the income by the hours worked.

[UltraWomble]

Ive picked up a couple when I have been on my own in the car, but then I'll pick up hitch hikers too. Partly for someone to chat to but partly because it must be no fun watching scores of cars go past with everyone thinking you are an axe murderer.

[stuboy]

guy delivered our new lease vehicle to college and said what way to train station, i said its ok ill run u too main station.. as i got to drive it first 14 miles..

[tooSavvy]

My employers enforce 'no one in van but staff', for insurance.

 

 

TS

[plasticvandan]

i work for a company selling accessories for 4x4 pickups,so meet a lot of platers/delivery drivers who bring trucks here for me to fit stuff to,most of them either work for the dealer,and wait with the truck,but sometimes it is someone dropping it off with sod all fuel left(comes out of their wages if they are deemed to have put too much in)I always take them to a train station or soemwhere where they can at least catch a lift,as we are in middle of nowhere.They have some pretty shit runs to do in a day as well.Most are over 50.

[twosmoke300]

My one experience of trade plate hitch hiking was when I delivered a car to a dealer in Taunton who dropped me to the services . I wasn't there ten minutes when a range rover with massive wheels and blacked out windows pulled up . I must admit I was nervous when the window went down . The driver was a hot 30 ish year old woman !! And the range rover turned out to be a nearly new Project Kahn .

She had had a bit of a scare on the m5 the night before and wanted some company after she stopped over in the travellodge .

She dropped me back down to within half a mile of home in cornwall and wouldn't take a penny .

That was a good day .