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Navigating Long Distance Car Transport: Tips and Tricks for a Smooth Move

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Home  |  Car Shipping • Auto Shipping • Car Carriers • Car Transport   |   Navigating Long Distance Car Transport: Tips and Tricks for a Smooth Move
A happy man holds keys; he’s happy because he doesn’t have to take care of a long-distance car transport

Moving across the country can be stressful. One of the biggest challenges is figuring out how to get your vehicle from point A to point B. 

Driving a car long distances isn’t feasible for everyone, or maybe you just don’t feel like driving it yourself. Both are two great reasons why so many people are turning to car transport services for long distances. 

But, how do you make sure you get the best car transport long-distance service when you’re entrusting your vehicle to someone else? Here’s what you need to know about navigating long-distance car transport. 

Research Companies and Get Quotes 

The first thing you should do before selecting a company is to research them thoroughly. Look up customer testimonials or reviews online and read up on the company’s experience in the industry and their history of success. 

Once you’ve narrowed down your options, request quotes from each company. Compare quotes before making a final decision and keep an eye out for any hidden fees that might come up along the way. 

Or, you can hire a company (like Ship a Car Direct, hint hint) to do all of the legwork for you. 

Know How Much It Costs To Ship A Car 

The cost of shipping your car depends on several factors, including the size and weight of your vehicle, where you’re moving from and to, and what kind of transport service you choose. 

Enclosed trailers are more secure than open trailers, but they will cost more money. On average, it costs anywhere from $600-$2,000+ to ship a car. For a clearer price range, you can check out our Instant Car Shipping Cost Calculator that can give you a fair estimate of what to expect. 

Knowing roughly how much it will cost will help you from getting taken advantage of by less-than-reputable companies.

Choose Enclosed or Open Shipping 

You also have to decide whether you want enclosed shipping or open shipping for your vehicle. 

If you have something that needs extra protection, like an antique vehicle or a luxury model, then enclosed shipping might be right for you—but it will cost more than open shipping. 

Open auto transport carriers have more space available and they can often accommodate multiple vehicles at once, so they are much cheaper than enclosed carriers. 

Hire A Trustworthy Company Like Ship a Car Direct To Take Care Of Everything 

When it comes to long-distance car transport, you want to work with a trustworthy and experienced company that will handle all the details for you. 

Ship a Car Direct is one such company that takes care of everything for you. We vet all the trusted partners we work with and guarantee a damage-free trip. With us, you don’t have to worry about anything. We also offer competitive rates so you can get an estimate before committing to anything. 

Be Sure To Prepare Your Vehicle For Transportation 

Before scheduling your car for transport, take time to prepare it for its journey. This includes getting all necessary paperwork in order (title or registration), gathering any spare keys or remotes associated with your vehicle, removing any personal items from the interior and trunk, checking all fluid levels (oil, coolant, etc.), disabling any alarms or tracking devices if applicable, and making sure tires are properly inflated.

Doing these simple steps before shipping your car will ensure that nothing goes wrong during transit.  

You’re All Set for Long-distance Car Shipping

Navigating long-distance car transportation doesn’t have to be overwhelming or expensive—as long as you know what to expect! 

With these tips and tricks in mind and a trusted company like Ship a Car Direct by your side, moving your car across the country can actually be quite easy and stress-free. 

So take some time now to do research and gather information about how much it will cost and what kind of services are available in order to make sure that your long-distance car hauling is as smooth as possible! 

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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