What to Tip A Car Transporter Truck Driver

[mgarbowski]

My daughter's summer internship ended yesterday in Texas. I'm paying a truck company about $1,500 to transport the car she borrowed back to Queens. It's almost 2.1k miles. She's flying straight to Michigan, and I did not want to fly down and drive it back myself (which would cost nearly as much with air and hotels). I'll be taking delivery in 4-5 days.

The question is do I tip the driver when I take delivery and how much. I spoke to him yesterday and he's friendly and he picked the vehicle up from my daughter last night and was professional. The truck is one of those multiple-car transport haulers. When possible they combine multiple jobs. I believe he is either an employee or 1099 contractor who owns neither the truck nor the company, but I do not know that with certainty,

Do I tip for this? If so how much? I appreciate all input. I will say I think I need to tip based on pre-Covid tipping norms. I have an idea how much but that I'd rather not say before people hopefully respond. I put a 3-day time period on the poll because votes or posts after delivery don''t help me.

 

[RunningWise]

I’m a notorious overtipper and I think you have to tip. I wouldn’t go above 10% but I think that’s fair. My thoughts are at minimum it should be $100 and maximum that $150.

 

[FootyLovin]

I’m a notorious overtipper and I think you have to tip. I wouldn’t go above 10% but I think that’s fair. My thoughts are at minimum it should be $100 and maximum that $150.

I'm the same. Though I've started wondering of late if time has caught up with me. I was a notorious overtipper from my time waiting tables in my early 20's. But lately I've wondered if 30 years later I'm turning into the old guy who thinks he tips well but really is just a cheap bastard.

Having said all that my first instinct was that I couldn't see tipping this guy any less than $100 at a minimum.

 

[413Blue]

Vote: Other and explain.

In my opinion in this situation, the tipping is solely for his professionalism and courtesy at pick up/drop off, not for the ride itself which he is paid for. So I would take the cost and miles out of the equation and I would tip the same regardless of whether he was bringing it from New Jersey or California.

That being said, I'm guessing the process of hooking and dropping the car is fairly time consuming. If he is professional, and takes care to prevent scratches and dents, then a solid tip in the $100-200 range is certainly appropriate. If he kind of just throws the vehicle off, maybe less.

 

[Gene]

In this case I think $200 is the sweet spot, because I feel 10% ($150) would be a bit too small and 20% ($300) a bit too much.

 

[Gotham Gator]

I don’t think this is one of those circumstances where a tip is needed appropriate.

 

[mgarbowski]

To update: the car was delivered today. They switched to a local guy with a smaller truck. Presumably they had 2-3 cars to drop off in or around NYC and they wanted to free up the bigger vehicle for the long hauls. Given that, I considered that Gotham Gator is probably right, and even if a tip is appropriate, $50 would be OK for the guy who only handled the last <25 miles out of 2,000. So that's what I gave the guy, and he not only was delighted he clearly expected nothing.

 

[LionNYC]

To update: the car was delivered today. They switched to a local guy with a smaller truck. Presumably they had 2-3 cars to drop off in or around NYC and they wanted to free up the bigger vehicle for the long hauls. Given that, I considered that Gotham Gator is probably right, and even if a tip is appropriate, $50 would be OK for the guy who only handled the last <25 miles out of 2,000. So that's what I gave the guy, and he not only was delighted he clearly expected nothing.

I personally find that there are so many things now where tips are requested that tipping culture has gotten out of culture. But a well placed tip to someone deserving goes a long way.

I tip my lox carver at Zabar's from time to time. Really helps out during the high holidays.

 

[mgarbowski]

I personally find that there are so many things now where tips are requested that tipping culture has gotten out of culture. But a well placed tip to someone deserving goes a long way.

I tip my lox carver at Zabar's from time to time. Really helps out during the high holidays.

I referenced pre-Covid tipping norms in the original post. I try to hold to them, except I've probably become more generous when I do tip. But that’s more age and having more money than changing norms.

 

[FootyLovin]

I referenced pre-Covid tipping norms in the original post. I try to hold to them, except I've probably become more generous when I do tip. But that’s more age and having more money than changing norms.

I’m a big believer that as one’s SES goes up tipping should follow. I tried to be generous when young (having experience as a waiter). But I’ve tried to increase as the years and success have progressed.

 

[RunningWise]

I’m a big believer that as one’s SES goes up tipping should follow. I tried to be generous when young (having experience as a waiter). But I’ve tried to increase as the years and success have progressed.

I agree with this completely. When I was younger and bartending, tips were vital to my survival and pay. Now I’m in a much more comfortable position and if I can afford the luxuries that I have (such as being a STH) I should make sure that I’m passing it on.

 

[Seth]

OK, not really related to the topic, but then again was a little surprised at the Similar Threads recommendation I got today at the bottom of the page:

It's really big news!