Somebody buys a car at auction two hundred and eighty miles away. It does not run. He has three days to collect it, no idea what transport costs, and a seller who wants it gone.
He sends four enquiries. Three come back asking him to ring. One comes back with a price, a date and a question about whether the wheels turn.
Step 1: recognise it is not a breakdown
Nobody is stranded, there is no urgency in the first minute, and the job is planned. It deserves a proper quote rather than an emergency response, and firms that treat it as a distraction leave money on the table.
Step 2: capture both postcodes
Collection and delivery, exactly. Distance is most of the price and everything else is a refinement.
Step 3: ask whether it runs and drives
The most important question after the postcodes. A running car can often be driven on. A non runner needs winching and the right equipment.
Step 4: ask whether it steers and brakes
Separate from whether it runs. A car that does not steer cannot be winched straight and needs specific handling. Crews turn up to this surprise constantly.
Step 5: ask about the vehicle itself
Make, model, whether it is low, modified, oversized or has any damage affecting loading. A lowered car and a standard saloon are different jobs.
Step 6: ask about access at both ends
Narrow lanes, a multi storey, a locked compound, an auction site with specific hours or a farm track. Access failures waste a whole day at one end or the other.
Step 7: ask about timing
Whether dates are fixed, whether there is a collection deadline, whether the auction has storage charges accruing and whether delivery can be flexible. Flexibility usually buys a better price.
Step 8: ask who will be present
Who releases the vehicle, who receives it, whether keys exist and how handover is documented. Transport jobs go wrong at handover far more than in transit.
Step 9: publish what is covered
Insurance while in transit, what is excluded, what happens with personal items left in the car and how condition is recorded at both ends. Customers moving a valuable vehicle need this before they commit.
Step 10: publish indicative pricing
By distance band and by whether the vehicle runs. Buyers budgeting before an auction need a figure, and the firm that publishes one gets the enquiry.
Step 11: target the repeat customers
Dealers, auction buyers, restorers and body shops move vehicles constantly. One good job becomes a standing arrangement, which is the same relationship building as non urgent vehicle transport quotes for towing firms.
Step 12: handle specialist vehicles separately
Motorcycles, classics and anything requiring covered transport needs its own page and its own questions, as in motorcycle and specialist vehicle recovery enquiries.
Step 13: answer at the hour buyers bid
Auctions end in the evening and buyers arrange transport immediately afterwards, the same out of hours pattern as an AI receptionist for garages and servicing, and the aftercare questions in warranty and aftercare questions from car buyers.
Getting started
Publish distance banded pricing and your cover position, then capture postcodes, whether it drives and access at any hour. SpideyChat for automotive businesses answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.