It’s not very often you have to consider car shipping to another state. But every now and again, a great new opportunity or a change of life presents an unexpected moving challenge.
Whether it’s because you are offered a job transfer or have a kid going off to college or if you happen to find your dream car for a great price at a dealership seven hundred miles away, car shipping to another state becomes a necessity.
While it’s not something every family experiences regularly, car shipping across long distances is a thriving industry unlike any other transport service.
As you begin your research into shipping a car to another state, you may be surprised to learn that there is no major transport provider like Greyhound, Amtrak or United Airlines.
There aren’t obvious hubs or a grand centralized schedule of trucks going set routes. Shipping a car to another state is not like booking a seat on a regularly scheduled train out of an established station.
Instead, there are independent car haulers who set their own routes and schedules based on the best paying jobs available in the regions they serve. Their schedules vary from week to week based on the customer transports available, traffic, weather and truck maintenance.
Long-distance car haulers book their customers through transport brokers and must fill their truck with 6-8 customer vehicles going the same direction at the same time.
Transport brokers are a little like travel agents without access to a grand centralized schedule. Since brokers can’t anticipate independent haulers schedules, brokers offer jobs to a pool of licensed haulers and are dependent on carrier availability and response for each customer.
For most routes there are only a few trucks available each week, so successful brokers price transport jobs to appeal to the driver as well as to the customer.
The bottom line is, when considering car shipping to another state it’s best to find a reputable transport broker who knows the business. That broker will be able to explain the process to you and help you find the best options for your transport needs.
If you have any questions about the process and/or your specific transport needs, ask a Ship A Car Direct representative: 866-221-1664.