Why Dealerships Are Building Their Own Motor Clubs

The motor club model is breaking down for dealerships

For decades, dealerships outsourced towing to motor clubs without much thought. It was a necessary cost of doing business — when a customer's car broke down or a trade-in needed transport, you called the club and they handled it.

But the economics of this arrangement have become increasingly unfavorable. Motor club contracts for dealerships typically run $500-2,000 per month depending on volume, with additional per-incident charges for services that exceed plan limits. Meanwhile, the operators these clubs dispatch are often the lowest bidder — companies willing to accept $35-50 per job.

The result is a lose-lose-lose: the dealership pays premium prices, gets inconsistent service quality, and has zero documentation when something goes wrong. The operator gets paid poverty-level rates, provides minimum-effort service, and has no incentive to go above and beyond. The customer gets slow response times and an impersonal experience.

What a dealership-run motor club actually looks like

When we say "build your own motor club," we don't mean incorporating a new company, getting a motor club license, or any of the traditional overhead. We mean using a dispatch platform to create a network of vetted operators who serve your dealership's towing needs.

The setup takes about a day. You create an account on a dispatch platform, define your coverage area and rate card, then reach out to 3-5 local tow companies and invite them to your network. They sign up for free, add their drivers, and you're operational.

Your service advisors create jobs on the platform instead of calling the motor club. The nearest driver gets an SMS, accepts the job, and both the advisor and customer can track progress in real-time. Photos are required at pickup and drop-off. Pricing is transparent to everyone.

The total monthly cost: $19-79 for the platform subscription plus $3 per dispatched job. At 30 jobs per month on a Pro plan, that's $129 — compared to $500-2,000 for the motor club contract it replaces.

Better operators, better service

The single biggest quality improvement comes from paying operators fairly. When your network pays retail rates ($95-125 for a standard tow), you attract a completely different caliber of operator than motor clubs do at $35-50.

These operators have newer equipment, better insurance, more professional drivers, and stronger reputations. They answer your dispatches quickly because your jobs pay well. They provide excellent service because they want to keep receiving your work.

Several dealerships report that after switching to platform-based dispatch, their towing-related customer complaints dropped by 50% or more. When the operator is well-paid and the customer gets real-time tracking and accurate ETAs, the entire experience improves.

This quality improvement is the hidden ROI that doesn't show up in a simple cost comparison. Fewer complaints, fewer damage claims, faster response times, and better customer satisfaction all have tangible business value.

Documentation that protects your business

One of the most underappreciated benefits of managing your own dispatch network is the documentation trail. Every job on a dispatch platform generates GPS tracking data showing the driver's exact route and timing, timestamped photos of the vehicle at pickup and drop-off, a complete pricing breakdown showing every line item, and communication records between the dispatcher and driver.

This matters when a customer claims their vehicle was damaged during towing, an operator disputes their payout, an insurance company needs documentation for a claim, or your accounting team needs to audit towing expenses.

With a motor club, you get an invoice. With a dispatch platform, you get evidence. For a dealership that handles hundreds of vehicle transports annually, this documentation is worth the platform cost alone.

Turning towing into a revenue center

The most advanced dealerships are going beyond cost reduction — they're using dispatch networks as a revenue-generating operation.

Here's how it works: a dealership creates a network on a dispatch platform and recruits local tow companies. But instead of only dispatching their own internal towing needs, they offer towing services to nearby auto shops, collision centers, and other dealerships in their area — acting as the dispatch hub.

The dealership sets the customer-facing rate, pays the operator according to their rate card, and keeps the spread. On a $125 tow where the operator's rate is $85, the dealership nets $40 in margin minus the $3 platform fee.

At 30 jobs per month with similar margins, that's over $1,000 in monthly revenue from a service that used to be purely a cost. The capital investment: $39/month for the platform.

This model works because the dealership already has the operator relationships, the dispatching staff (service advisors), and the customer base. The platform just makes it scalable.

Getting started: the practical steps

For dealerships ready to make the switch, the transition from motor club to self-managed dispatch follows a predictable path.

Week 1: Sign up for a dispatch platform and configure your coverage area, service types, and rate card. Don't cancel your motor club contract yet — you'll run both systems in parallel.

Week 2: Reach out to 3-5 local tow companies. The pitch is simple: "We're a dealership that dispatches 20-30 tow jobs per month. We pay fair rates, dispatch via text, and pay fast. Interested?" Most will say yes.

Week 3-4: Run your first 10-20 jobs through the platform while keeping the motor club as backup. Compare response times, operator quality, pricing, and documentation between the two systems.

Month 2: If the platform performs well (it will), begin routing all jobs through it and put your motor club contract on notice. Most contracts have 30-60 day cancellation windows.

Month 3: You're fully operational on the platform, saving $400-1,800 per month versus the motor club contract, with better service quality and complete job documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions