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What does a car runner do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
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Car runner responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real car runner resumes:

  • Manage to sweep and mop floor; clean bathroom and empty trash and dryer lint traps.
  • Operate POS register, perform opening/closing operations
  • Clean and pre-soak machines before use.

Car runner skills and personality traits

We break down the percentage of Car Runners that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Drive Vehicles, 75%

    Test drive vehicles as needed.

  • Customer Service, 25%

    Provide excellent customer service while following management required tasks to ensure all customers have a satisfactorily clean automobile.

Listening skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a car runner to have is listening skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "hand laborers and material movers follow instructions that a supervisor gives them." Car runners often use listening skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "received compliments from my manager on my work ethics skills used leadership teamwork courtesy effective communication effective listening"

Physical strength. Another essential skill to perform car runner duties is physical strength. Car runners responsibilities require that "some hand laborers and material movers must be able to lift and carry heavy objects." Car runners also use physical strength in their role according to a real resume snippet: "maintain physical appearance of site operate wax and buffer machine"

Customer-service skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of car runners is customer-service skills. This skill is critical to many everyday car runner duties, as "hand laborers and material movers who work with the public, such as grocery baggers or carwash attendants, must be pleasant and courteous to customers." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "detailed cars after body shop repairs or for general customers. "

The three companies that hire the most car runners are:

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Compare different car runners

Car runner vs. Service porter

Typically working in car dealerships, a service porter is in charge of performing a variety of tasks to maintain smooth operations. They maintain vehicles in good condition by conducting regular maintenance checks and repairs, refilling gas tanks, inspecting tires and batteries, and cleaning the interior and exterior of cars. There are also instances where they perform clerical support tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, and monitoring the inventory. Moreover, a service porter may also assist potential buyers and keep them company during test drives.

If we compare the average car runner annual salary with that of a service porter, we find that service porters typically earn a $3,868 lower salary than car runners make annually.Even though car runners and service porters are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require drive vehicles, customer service, and vin in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, car runner responsibilities require skills like "car data," "front desk," "general shop," and "car dealerships." Meanwhile a typical service porter has skills in areas such as "customer vehicles," "cleanliness," "work ethic," and "service drive." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Service porters tend to reach similar levels of education than car runners. In fact, service porters are 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Car runner vs. Automotive detailer

An automotive detailer typically works at car shops and dealerships, where they primarily focus on the upkeep of a car's interior and exterior. Their responsibilities revolve around understanding the clients' needs and preferences, cleaning the vehicles according to protocols and client requests, scraping off dirt, coordinating with paint technicians and mechanics, operating devices and machinery such as vacuums and buffers, and adhering to timelines and budgets. Moreover, an automotive detailer also monitors the inventory of supplies and handles calls and correspondence.

A career as a automotive detailer brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a car runner. In fact, automotive detailers salary is $3,980 lower than the salary of car runners per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both car runners and automotive detailers have skills such as "customer service," "auto body," and "loose dirt. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, car runner responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "drive vehicles," "car data," "front desk," and "general shop." Meanwhile, an automotive detailer has duties that require skills in areas such as "work ethic," "strong work ethic," "cleanliness," and "customer vehicles." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

In general, automotive detailers achieve similar levels of education than car runners. They're 0.7% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Car runner vs. Detail specialist

An average detail specialist eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of car runners. The difference in salaries amounts to detail specialists earning a $3,545 lower average salary than car runners.car runners and detail specialists both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "customer service," "auto body," and "loose dirt," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from car runner resumes include skills like "drive vehicles," "car data," "front desk," and "general shop," whereas a detail specialist is more likely to list skills in "customer vehicles," "vacuum carpets," "customer satisfaction," and "exterior windows. "

Detail specialists typically earn similar educational levels compared to car runners. Specifically, they're 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Car runner vs. Detailer/porter

Detailer/porters tend to earn a lower pay than car runners by an average of $4,111 per year.While their salaries may vary, car runners and detailer/porters both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "customer service," "auto body," and "loose dirt. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between car runners and detailer/porters, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a car runner might have more use for skills like "drive vehicles," "car data," "front desk," and "general shop." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of detailer/porters require skills like "customer vehicles," "shop maintenance," "vacuums," and "dealer trades. "

Detailer/porters reach similar levels of education compared to car runners, in general. The difference is that they're 0.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of car runner

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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