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Breaking Down Car Shipping Costs: What to Expect

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Home  |  Car Shipping   |   Breaking Down Car Shipping Costs: What to Expect
A woman outside of a car knowing the car shipping cost

If you’re to move a vehicle a long distance, you’re probably wondering, how much does it cost to ship a car? 

It’s important to have an understanding of what to expect in terms of car shipping costs. In this blog post, we’ll break down the various factors that affect car shipping costs and give you some tips on how to prepare your car for transport. Here are five factors that go into car shipping costs.

1. Distance

One of the primary factors affecting car shipping costs is distance.

As you may have guessed, shipping a car over a long distance will cost more than shipping it over a short one. For example, if you’re moving across the country, you’re likely to pay more than if you were moving to a neighboring state. Of course, this is due to labor costs, gas, mileage, and truck operating expenses.

2. Time of Year

While it may come as a surprise, the time of year when you’re shipping your car does affect the cost. 

  • Shipping costs tend to rise in the summer months because it is the peak moving season when most people are relocating. 
  • Winter months are also bound to cost more as winter weather can pose unpredictable transport challenges.
  • Fall and Spring seem to be perfect seasons for a lower cost to ship your car. The wear is moderate, and they are outside of peak moving seasons. 

3. Type of Vehicle

The type of vehicle you’re shipping will also affect the cost. Simply put, heavier and bigger vehicles will cost more to transport than smaller vehicles. And vehicles that have special modifications for safe transport will also cost more.

4. Door-to-Door Service vs Terminal-to-Terminal Service

Door-to-door service will cost more than terminal-to-terminal service.

  • Door-to-door service means that the car shipping company will pick up and drop off your vehicle from your home
  • Terminal-to-terminal service requires you to drop off and pick up your vehicle from a designated terminal.

5. Car Shipping Company Costs

The price of the car shipping service will be determined, usually, by the car shipping company, which likely has a set pricing structure. Some transport companies use fixed pricing while others allow their customers the flexibility to negotiate an agreeable price.

Pro Tip: Watch Out for Hidden Costs

Unfortunately, some less-than-reputable car transport companies may sneak in hidden costs that can end up leaving you with a much higher bill than initially expected.

These hidden fees can range from fuel surcharges to loading and unloading fees and even storage fees if your car takes time to ship or get picked up. 

Don't be afraid to ask questions and read the fine print before signing on the dotted line. You don't want to end up with a transport bill that'll make you regret shipping your car in the first place.

Remember, Shipping Car Costs Should be Transparent

If you have questions about the quote you’ve received for the cost of shipping a car, reach out to the company and ask for a breakdown of the budget. If they can’t provide you with reasons for the price, you may want to find a company that can. 

Of course, using a transport broker company like Ship a Car Direct will result in transparent pricing before you embark on your journey. 

Learn More: Get a Car Shipping Quote Today

Looking to ship your car? Get a quote at our Ship a Car Direct website today!

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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