A lot of people are attracted to the car recovery business for several reasons. One of them is how relatively low the barrier of entry is. It’s also a business that doesn’t require you to have a large number of employees, and you can start with a moderate starting capital. With that being said, it is still a tightly regulated business and comes with many challenges newcomers are often unaware of. This is why you need to study the industry in detail before you start so you don’t end up with unpleasant surprises. Let’s take a look at a few things you need to know before you start a car recovery business.
One of the first things you need to start looking at is the licences you’ll need to apply for and the different types of insurance you’ll need to run your business lawfully and safely. To operate a car recovery business, you will need to first get an operator’s licence. You will also need to get a special driver’s licence if you want to drive a truck that’s heavier than 3500 kg.
When it comes to insurance, the most important one you’ll need is recovery truck insurance. If you’re looking for affordable recovery truck insurance, we suggest you check out Quotezone. They will help you find insurance that will cover everything from your employees to damage to vehicles you carry, and even breakdowns on your vehicles. They will allow you to compare multiple quotes straight from their site and find one that offers the most complete coverage at the lowest price.
As we mentioned earlier, the car recovery business is very tightly regulated, and there are many rules you’ll need to abide by if you want to avoid issues. You will need to look at the rules set forth by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and have the tools necessary for compliance. You have to know the regulation and guidelines governing working times, record-keeping, tachographs, and driver’s hours, among other things. If you want to learn more about what will be required of you to stay compliant, you can check out this guide.
Another thing you should know is that you may have to do more than just pick up vehicles to make money. Most of the time, recovery businesses operate a garage so they can perform repairs without having to partner up with other garages and split the money. Others decide to operate a junkyard so they can recycle totalled vehicles.
If this sounds like a good idea to you, start informing yourself about the rules governing these industries. Operating a junkyard comes with much more red tape than many people imagine, especially when it comes to planning laws, so make sure that you know what the rules are before you start.
These are all things you need to be aware of before you start a car recovery business. If you still have questions, we suggest that you speak with people who are or have been in the industry to give you an idea of what kind of challenges you might face.
