Man with a Van

[User]

 

[Will1985]

Are we talking WVM? 100 miles to them is less than 90 minutes driving. My knapkin calculations:

This will probably use just over 3 gallons of fuel = £15.

Add in a few pounds for vehicle servicing, VED, driver insurance and depreciation and all that rubbish = £5

Driver's hourly rate = max £10 per hour (very generous I think?).

Total = £35.

You could hire a van for a day for £50 and easily do the job for £70 including refilling the tank, so I would agree with your figure.

Maybe I should go into this and rinse the punters with a hired van to make some quick cash!

 

[dantheman]

going back about ten years, the cheapest bloke my boss (then) used charged 50p per mile, this did not include any lugging about though, and he'd pay only for the one-way- ie to drop off, or deliver from the pick up... amazing thing, inflation..

 

[Night Train]

I think driver and van is underated especially when you are expecting the driver to collect, load and insure your goods for the duration of the journey. Given the size of the goods the driver will also need a mate to help carry to remain safe and legal so there is then a second person to pay for. The driver will also need to drive more slowly to ensure being legal and to avoid damage to the goods and have commercial insurance on the van. The van will also need to be reasonably smart to attract clients and to keep their confidence. Then there is advertising costs and admin, record keeping and accounts. The journey time will also depend on traffic and road conditions and so there is a risk of losing out if the cost is per mile.

I sometimes do this with my box trailer when work is short and it isn't as easy or as cheap to do as people think.

Try hiring a van and then costing your hours, at your own hourly rate, to do the job from booking the hire van right through to returning it afterwards.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

someone in macc used to advertise man and van £12 per hour. i used to idly wonder if some ladies paid £12 for an hour with the man in the van

 

[Maz]

i used to idly wonder if some ladies paid £12 for an hour with the man in the van

I always wondered why they were called Escort agencies.

 

[Maz]

Crock - have you tried asking any apnay with a van? They might do it cheaper. Maybe a carpet or furniture shop, something like that.

 

[redjedi]

Can't you ask someone with a license to hire a van with you, then you could get it done for £50 plus petrol and drinks for driver (after you've finished obviously)

 

[swee'pea99]

Anything involving man hours seems to cost a mint these days.

We wanted a new window fitted in an internal door. Security glass, so that would've been probably 70 quid to start with. But the quotes were coming in at £160-200. Can't have been more than 15 minutes work: remove beading, remove bits of old glass, put new glass in, pin beading back. How can that be £100?

And just to add insult....when we did sigh and say, ok, whatever, they sent two guys (two?) round to measure the hole, then rang to increase the quote. When I asked why, they said I'd measured wrong and it was bigger than I'd said. When I asked what measurement they had, they told me, and it was out by 20cm. We had a brief discussion about this (they, unlike me, were apparently 'experts') before I confirmed that no, we would not be needing them to do the job.

Two £400/hr experts who between them can't measure a bleedin' hole. Give me strength...

 

[cchapman]

Are the sofa and armchair worth spending 120 pounds on ?