Maybe you have a passion for cars and trucks, or maybe you just want to make money – a lot of money. Either way, becoming a commercial truck trader might be the right career path for you.
Never heard of a commercial truck trader, it’s actually a great business idea. As the name implies, a commercial truck trader specializes in buying and selling commercial vehicles. This could include box trucks, dump trucks, cargo vans, flatbed trucks, tankers, and just about another other truck variation you can imagine.
For an experienced commercial truck trader, this can be a lucrative and exciting career. Not only do they make money on the buying and selling of commercial vehicles, but they also get to travel around the country, and even the world, seeking out the best deals they can find. In addition, they also work with lenders to finance their acquisitions and depending on the trader’s business model, will either resell or lease the vehicles they acquire.
Why truck trading works better than truck dealing?
You might be saying to yourself that no one would pay a trader to get a vehicle which they could get from a dealer, but you would be wrong. The reason is simple – commercial vehicles are expensive. As such, few operators buy new vehicles. Instead, they opt to acquire used vehicles, then either refurbish them to suit the purpose or run the vehicles into the ground. There is a method to this madness as it is a way to decrease the capital cost of operating a business which relies on commercial vehicles.
It turns out a key component of this cost-cutting is the commercial truck trader and they scour the market for the best deals, inspect the vehicles to make sure they will operate properly, and in some cases, help to organize delivery. The latter is necessary when the vehicle in question is specialized and not built for long drives on public roads.
How can you make money as a truck trader?
So, the question is how can you make money? Assuming you have worked with commercial vehicles in the past, then the answer is quite simple – buy low and sell high. However, this presupposes that you already are familiar with the vehicles and how potential buyers will use them.
In addition to spotting the best deals, you will need to be able to refurbish the vehicles and know who your potential buyer will be. This is one of the secrets to making money as an experienced trader will almost never acquire a vehicle without knowing who the buyer will be.
By following this approach, you are minimizing the capital you have at risk. Think of it like house flipping, the quicker you get in and out of a transaction, the quicker you can move onto the next deal – or even better pocket the profits.
Check for the legal laws in your state
One thing to be mindful of is that some states will regulate who can buy and sell vehicles – especially when it is their sole source of income. As such, you will want to check out the regulations governing truck trading in the state when you operate as well as in any state where you might have a customer. This will ensure that you won’t run into problems later for selling vehicles without a license.
Another reason to check out the rules and regulations in your state is that many have what they call “lemon law” on the books. These rules are meant to protect used vehicle buyers in the case that their purchase does not perform as it should.
For a trader, this means that you will need to not only have a keen eye to spot the best deal, but will also need to make sure that every acquisition can live up to the job. After all, commercial vehicles are not built for leisurely country drives – they are workhorses and, in many cases, this means they need to be ready to handle the abuse coming their way.
Alternative ways to make money as a truck trader
What are other keys to making money as a trader? Have financing in place as this will limit your capital exposure when acquiring a vehicle. This is the concept of “Other People’s Money” and if you can use leverage to complete a transaction, then you will eat up less cash per transaction. The result is that you can make more purchases with the same amount of capital. Just be careful not to overextend yourself by acquiring vehicles on credit with no idea who will buy them from you.
Two other ways to make money are to specialize (for example, only trading dump trucks) or to provide additional services, such as delivery or maintenance. In this way, you can become value-added component of your customers’ businesses.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
