TIPPING THE CAR HAULER DRIVER

[lou-q]

Our car is being delivered tomorrow. I would like to know how much to tip the driver.
The transport was from Oregon to Indiana and has taken about 10 or 12 days. The company (Thomas Sunday) seems to be a class act with very good communication, real nice trucks (they have five) and well seasoned drivers.
What do you all think is a proper gratuity.
Thanks,
Lou

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

What ever you do, wait till the car is out and on the ground, and undamaged.

As for tipping, I am lucky I live in Tasmania, as that is not a culture in Australia.

Bruce.

[76eldo]

I had a vintage airstream moved from Washington State to the Phila PA area.  It cost a lot of money.  I rounded off the balance to the next hundred so the "tip" was about $40.00.  He is a solo operator though, not a driver working for wages.  I'd say anywhere from $20.00 to $50.00 would be enough.

Brian

[Brian Dowell]

  Tipping is totally up to you. It is the drivers responsibility to do his/her job with care. However when the car arrives safe and unharmed you would hope because it was taken care of with care! Customary is 20% at a normal bill however a large bill of shipping could add up quick. I always tip a
single $100.00 bill. The driver always seams very happy with that. Believe me next time he has your car it will be very babied.
Brian

[txturbo]

I have never heard of tipping a delivery driver.

[INTMD8]

I've just done the same as Brian, round up to the next hundred.

When I had my Brougham shipped it was close to $3k. Transporter did an excellent job but I didn't feel the need to tip much considering how much I was charged.

[D.Yaros]

Certainly not required.

For me the question(s) is/are:  Did I have unusual demands/requirements?  Were they met?  Did the driver render either exceptional and/or extra service?  I feel when all of those circumstances are present, a tip is indeed in order.

Case in point:  On the transport of my car from NY to WI I requested that it not be moved once loaded.  I requested that it be on top.  I requested that it be covered.  When it arrived the driver had to move 3 or more cars just to get to mine.  Mine was on top, all the way in the front of the trailer and covered.

That called for, and resulted in, a tip to the driver.

[Smedly]

I would agree with Brian, I drove a tow truck for about a year, and towed a LOT of cars but the driver will definitely remember you the next time he or she is haulin you baby. as for the amount. I did a couple 1500km ( about 900 mile) hauls and the owner tipped about $75.
Sheldon Hay

[VandalRon]

I've had several cars hauled east coast to west coast and never tipped a thing. This is the first I've heard of doing so.

[Rich S]

I've shipped my '71 Eldorado Convertible from Pittsburgh to Fort Lauderdale seasonally for the winter months and fortunately the company, Horseless Carriage, always did an excellent job and I have tipped the drivers every time at least $100. Of course, the original quoted price was reasonable and they were professional and communicated well and delivered as promised. I've also had them ship a brand new Cadillac CTS Coupe from a Florida dealer up to me and I did the same--the car arrived unmarked and still with 14 miles on it. In my opinion, good auto transport service should receive a generous gratuity.

[76eldo]

It's optional for sure.  I mainly deal with drivers picking cars up and don't tip in that situation.

Getting your car on top of the truck is ok unless the driver clips something hanging down.
I had that happen on a 64 Coupe I sold.  Basically ruined a nice original paint car.

Never use the lowest bidder, that's for sure.

[Steve Passmore]

I'm really glad I don't live in an environment that requires tipping someone who is already being paid for delivering a service. I'm sure transport drivers wages are not lower because your IRS calculates they will have tips like a waitress or cab driver.   Do supermarkets tip their delivery drivers? Do you tip the UPS delivery guy? I suspect not.
I have had a few cars transported around your country and the hauler gives me a price to do the job, thats the price he requires, why would he even want a tip? if he wanted more he would just add it on the estimate no?  and to suggest he might not treat your car so well if he wasn't getting one is immoral.

[Quentin Hall]

Yes, Steve I agree. How much do you tip the priest after confession?

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

The best tip is "be kind to your parents".   And if you have none alive, then "treat others like you would like to be treated yourself".

Bruce.

[gross707]

I just had a '73 Eldo shipped from IN to LA.  The charge was $1200 ($200 to the broker by credit card then $1000 c.o.d. to the driver) for enclosed delivery.  While backing the car out the driver scratched the right fender skirt on his trailer's wheel well.  We then renegotiated his fee in order to cover the cost of repairing the minor damage that he had caused.  After agreeing on a new cash price he then added "well I guess there goes my gratuity?"  He was correct.
GR

[INTMD8]

How much do you tip the priest after confession?

Good setup but I'll leave that one alone 

[lou-q]

Well, we got our car yesterday.  Everything went great . . . the car was in the belly hold and was very well covered.  Thomas C Sunday, Inc. is a class act.  Along with our car, was a brand new 2014 Cuda with over 715 hp going back to a dealer after being re-worked by someone like Rouch or Shelby.  I gave the driver $50 and took him to lunch.  He will definitely remember us next time, since he was originally from South Florida like us.  Thanks for all the input.

Lou

[76eldo]

It's a cultural thing.  Over here we tip for certain things.  I ship a lot of stuff for my business, and we do tip the UPS man at Christmas time.  I also tip my Postman at home.  In a restaurant at least 20 percent for good service.

Glad that your car arrived safely.

Brian

[harvey b]

It never hurts to "tip" or reward someone who you do a lot of business with,any of the delivery men that come here I always give them something at Christmas,it seems to be paying off,i get my parts first and always seem to be not damaged,same for the car hauler,i sometimes feed him when he drops off a car,funny he always seems to land around lunch time . Everyone loves a free hot dog I always say. Harvey

[Bill Caddyshack]

I got lucky on a recent haul. Called the guy on Thursday, he left Georgia that day. He picked up the car (a 58 Cadillac Imperial Sedan Limo, 22 feet long, 6,000 pounds) the next day, Friday, in Springfield MO. Drove back to Georgia (700 miles) and unloaded the car on Saturday $500! Car was running poorly, had to winch it on and he helped me push it into our yard.

Yeah, I gave him a $50 tip. Damn right!!

He was able to schedule several other cars on the same trip.

When I first talked with him, I had told him that I had a good tip for him that was "getting smaller" every day!     

TIP is an acronym that means (To Improve Performance). I usually tip in advance at restaurants and tell the server that I expect excellent performance. Works like magic!!