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Auto transport times and estimates

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Home  |  Car Transport   |   Auto transport times and estimates

Auto Transport TimesOne consideration when shipping a vehicle is the auto transport times. Most auto transport customers have jobs or school to schedule around. Many also have to coordinate moving trucks or air travel, so being able to cherry-pick the exact timing of the auto transport schedule would be ideal. But cross-country transport scheduling does not often allow for exact timing. In this industry, the standard is to provide estimates for carrier arrival.

Auto transport timing is different than a bus schedule because there’s a completely different process at work. In order for auto transporting to be cost effective, a carrier has to have a full truckload of cars going from the same general area in the same direction. But the carrier isn't going from hub to hub, or even to the same city every time. Each truck scheduled serves unique customers, so timing will vary from the last run. Traffic and weather varies from season to season. And your driver is limited in the consecutive hours he can log in behind the wheel.

Drivers typically provide estimates for pick-up and delivery, rather than exact times and dates, and it is a prediction. Exact timing cannot be anticipated precisely or nor managed en route, so it is realistic to leave a little wiggle room for the estimates. The average transit time from coast to coast is 7 to 10 days, but a transport can be completed in less time or take longer than average. The timing estimated by your carrier at the time of booking is not a guarantee but a best guess.

We understand that it’s hard to plan around a “best guess”, but it is realistic to be prepared for a window of arrival rather than a guaranteed time. Many auto transport customers have to enlist a friend or a family member as a back-up contact. Or you may have to take a day off from work to meet your carrier, as drivers usually work regular business hours Monday through Friday. Your driver will give you an estimate for his arrival, of course. He doesn't want to inconvenience you but every run is a new and untested route, so he handles what comes as it comes and then he’s got to keep rolling.

If you have any questions about auto transport timing, please give us a call at 866-221-1664.

Frequently Asked Questions

Honest Answers to Your Car Shipping Questions

Yes, we always ask for your specific pickup and delivery addresses, if the carrier can get right to the addresses you provide, they will. If the addresses that you give us are not safely accessible for a Multi-car carrier, however, you will need to make arrangements with the driver to meet at a nearby location where the carrier can safely get in and out.

People do it all the time (rarely for free) but the official answer is no.

Not what you wanted to hear, we know, but that is the honest answer.

We are not licensed to broker the shipment of household goods and, likewise, no car carrier that operates in the USA is licensed to transport them from state to state either. Despite what you might be being told by other car shipping companies you may speak with.

Remember, at the end of the day we're all salespeople, and the true answer to this question is not a great selling point.

You will hear a lot of companies tell you that you can put up to 100 pounds of items in the trunk, but that is not entirely true. That fact is that items of that amount are fairly common and the department of transportation is probably not going to split hairs and fine the trucker over items of that amount, provided they are not over their weight limit. They could fine them, however, if they see a vehicle stuffed full of personal items so the car carrier will most likely try to negotiate something with you to cover themselves against any costs they could incur. It's not something we can build into your contract though.

We have a short and helpful video on this topic in our user videos.

Only in rare cases and car carriers will usually charge a premium to make it happen.

All dates given by car carriers are typically estimates and projections.

For this reason (and to keep your cost down) we ask that you build in some flexibility and give us the earliest possible date you would be WILLING to release the vehicle, even though it may not be your preferred date.

We'll put you in direct contact with your car carrier and the driver will also typically call you the afternoon or evening before your pick up and delivery (they won't just show up unannounced, and if they do we want to hear about it). However, car carriers are out on the road battling traffic, weather and any number of other factors that can and do throw them off of their pickup and delivery projections from time to time.

If the projected dates we give you come and you are unable to make contact with your carrier, please call our office immediately so that we may help resolve the situation.

The average transit time from pick up to delivery on any vehicle going coast to coast will average 7 to 10 days. From there you can figure your transit time based on how far your vehicle is traveling, i.e. from either coast to the Midwest might average 3-7 days.

Yes!

Even better, we do not even ask for payment until we have you confirmed for pickup by a safe, reliable, fully insured, direct car carrier. If for any reason you do not ship your car with the carrier that we arrange for you, there is no fee.

The fees paid directly to the carrier however, (in most cases, their fees are not paid until your vehicle is delivered) are not directly controlled by us, so any requests for a refund of the carrier's portion would need to be addressed with the carrier directly.

Of course! And you are always backed by our Damage Free Guarantee policy.

Part of what you pay us for is to verify that the car carrier that we put you on is covered by the proper amount of insurance and that everything is up to date.

There is never any additional cost to you for this coverage, and their insurance is always primary.

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