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Factors To Consider When Looking For Car Transporters

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Home  |  Car Transport   |   Factors To Consider When Looking For Car Transporters

When you want to ship a car from another state to your home state, it is important that hire only the best car transporter. This will ensure that your car is delivered without delay or damage, and at an affordable rate. There are thousands of auto shipping companies in the US. This makes finding the best service provider to work with somewhat difficult. The following are some important factors to consider when looking for car transporters.

Reliability

The right auto transporter should have a track record or transporting vehicles to their destination within specified deadlines. The vehicles they deliver should also reach their destination while in good condition without any damage. The easiest way to check if a transporter is reliable is to visit the Better Business Bureau and online review sites to see how different companies are rated. Firms that have five star ratings especially with the BBB are normally more reliable.

Pricing

One of the most important factors of consideration is pricing. While most transporters normally charge almost the same fees, some firms normally have additional charges that can significantly increase the cost of shipping. Reputable transporters have online calculators that can be used to estimate the cost of shipping. All a person needs to do is enter his or her personal details, shipping instructions, type of vehicle and mode of transport (whether open or enclosed). Open auto transportation is less expensive than enclosed auto transportation. The shipping cost should be lower or the same as what other reputable auto transporters are offering.

Down payments and guarantees

When shipping a vehicle over a long distance, there is a small chance the vehicle may incur damages while en route to the destination. Fortunately, there are transporters who provide their clients with damage free guarantees. This means that the cost of repairing a damage or replacing the vehicle, in case of irreparable damage, will be covered by the transporter.

The ideal transporter should be willing to accept payment upon delivery. There should not be any upfront deposits because the car itself acts as security. Most firms normally give their clients several shipping options. There is standard shipping that takes several days, and expedited shipping that takes the shortest time possible. Car transporters who operate throughout the United States should be given priority. Some car transporters from different states have formed an alliance or network of transporters. By doing this, most small firms are able to transport vehicles to far away states through their partners.

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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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