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Key Things To Look For In Car Shipping Companies

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Home  |  Car Carriers   |   Key Things To Look For In Car Shipping Companies

car shipping companyMoving from one state to another or even coast to coast is usually a challenge for most people especially when one has to pack and ship all his or her personal stuff. For most people, shipping a car is probably the most challenging task mainly because most people are clueless when it comes to the intricacies involved in shipping a car. A few of the factors that you must consider when choosing the best car-shipping companies include:

Cost

The cost of shipping a car typically varies depending on the distance involved and the number of cars. Therefore, you should start by getting quotes from several car-shipping companies. However, avoid the temptation of choosing a company just because they've quoted the lowest price.  One of the most important things to note when it comes to cost is that some companies only quote the terminal-to-terminal shipping cost while others quote the door-to-door shipping cost. As such, ask companies to provide you with a clear breakdown of the shipping cots. If your new destination is far from the delivery terminal, find out if you can pay an additional fee to have the car delivered.

Insurance

Shipping a car does have its risks. Therefore, make sure your covered by insurance. If you are shipping an expensive antique or brand new sports car, find out from the company if you have to purchase a higher premium insurance package.  Ask to see a copy of the insurance coverage. Some companies work with insurance policies that have varied types of coverages.   At Safe-Direct Car Shipping, we offer the industries only damage free guarantee.  Our carriers cover your vehicle 100% or we pay.
Reputation

It is advisable to choose a car shipping company with a good reputation. One way of finding information about the reputation of a particular company is by visiting the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website. If the company has a low rating, you need to look for another shipping company. In addition, find out how the company handles complaints posted by clients.

Shipping Report

The majority of car shipping companies that work under professional guidelines normally provide a car shipping report. The car owner receives the report before and after the car arrives at the final destination. This shows the condition of the car before and after shipping. You need this report to convince an insurer that damage happened while the car was in transit.

To ship your car safely, you need to choose a reliable car shipping company. Make your choice after evaluating factors such as cost, insurance coverage, reputation, as well as quality of service offered by car shipping companies.

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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