I wasn't sure where to post this so feel free to move it if I'm in the wrong place!!!
We just bought a minivan this week and I'm SO excited! I'll be able to use it for delivering my cakes from the store... it'll be much easier traveling with my son (he's a year old) AND cakes... we got a GREAT deal on the van and it has low miles so I know it'll last for a long time. Anyone else use a van for delivering? It's a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan. We WERE using my lime green import sports car with 3 tv's in it... we were using that because there's a piece of a board that sits over the backseat so it made for a big flat surface to put cakes on... but getting them in and out of a hatchback was NO fun! Well, just wondering...
I use my Acura MDX with the third row folded down.
Jeep Cherokee (with fold down seats) for small caterings and cakes-ony.
Chevy Cargo Van for large caterings.
My Dream vehicle? A box truck!! (One of those shaped like a U-Haul truck! Oh yeah, baby!!). I had to rent a box truck for a catering once and it was pure heaven!
My constant reminder to all: Be sure to check with your insurance agent on your coverage. In my state, if I am deliverying a cake (that was sold for compensation) in a personal vehicle that is covered by a personal auto policy, then I will NOT be covered in case of an accident during that delivery, which is why I had to convert the above 2 vehicles to "company cars" and get a commercial auto policy.
Indydebi is right. The same goes if you put an advertisement on your vechicle so make sure you check with your insurance company first.
Wow.. thanks for the stuff to think about. So if you put a magnet on your car that says your company name and number that can nullify your insurance?? Am I understanding this correctly? And if I get into an accident with a cake in my car it can also nullify my insurance?? Sheesh! I mean I guess I can see that, but wow.. never thought about it like that. Thanks again for the heads up.
I would say "yes" to your questions, but again emphasize that you need to talk to your insurance agent to confirm what the laws are in your state.
I worked for 15 years for CIGNA insurance - auto division - where I had to know the laws of all of the states (because of a special account I handled). Things are VERY different state to state. So call your agent.
Indydebi -
Great advice. Thanks for sharing that with us.
And you know, the tax advantage for converting personal vehicles to business vehicles does not hurt, either.
Theresa 
Indydebi -
Great advice. Thanks for sharing that with us.
And you know, the tax advantage for converting personal vehicles to business vehicles does not hurt, either.
Theresa
Oh you bet! I do cakes/catering in my hometown, which is a 152 mile round trip drive. At 40 cents a mile, the gov't reimburses me over $60 for this trip. Even at today's pricing, I only use $20 +/- in gas. Insurance on my personal car is not deductible ... insurance on my company cars is. I just put $800 into my van this year to fix the air conditioning. If it was my personal car, it's just money out of pocket. As a company car, it's deductible. 
And this is why I love CC so much. Aspiring business owners have learned something important from you today, so Thanks Again!
Theresa
Definitely check. When I worked for CIGNA, if we got an app where the guy delivered pizza for Dominoe's, the car would be rated for a business use, which is the highest rate. We would not cover a Dominoe's delivery guy who drove a pick-up..... trucks rated for business use had to be written on a commercial policy (it was geared more for construction guys, but the poor pizza guys got caught in the middle). If we got an app in that showed DOminoe's with a pickup, we'd declined the coverage and wouldn't write the policy.
We checked into it and the insurance company said it wouldn't pay for the little bit I would be delivering cakes... as long as it wasn't an everyday thing, I wouldn't need it... so phew! I'm glad of that! It would've been nice to claim it on taxes but the insurance is already high enough! I wouldn't want it any higher!!!
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