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Understanding The Car Transport Process

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Home  |  Car Transport   |   Understanding The Car Transport Process

Although vehicles were designed to provide transport, they sometimes need to be transported. Generally this occurs when someone is moving home or visiting another city. Drivers who need to move their car to another state or city will need to use car transport services.

Choosing a Car Shipping Service

There are countless car shipping companies in the United States. Unfortunately, not all of them provide a top-notch service. Due to this, consumers need to select a transport service which is well-known and trusted. The best way to do this is to read reviews about the company in question. A good transport company will be able to provide testimonials from previous customers.

car transportThe first step in hiring a shipping service is getting a quote for transportation services. Many consumers make the mistake of hiring the company which offers them the lowest quote. In regards to car transportation, the quality of the service is more important than the price. The last thing consumers need is for the car to get damaged or lost during the shipping process.

During the quote process, consumers will be given various shipping options. Ultimately, the budget of the consumer will determine how their vehicle is shipped. Those who have a lower budget will generally choose open transportation or terminal to terminal delivery. If money is no object, consumers can opt for enclosed transportation and door to door delivery. In most cases, more expensive shipping services deliver vehicles faster than the alternatives.

Once consumers have chosen shipping services, they will need to prepare their car for transportation. Ideally, consumers will ask their shipping company what needs to be done. Most companies will ask that the vehicle is in functioning order, is clear of personal belongings and has up to 1/4th or 1/8th of gas in the tank.

Organizing shipping for a vehicle can be a frustrating experience. However, once one finds the right shipping company, this task can be performed smoothly. The best car transport service will charge a reasonable price and deliver the vehicle in a timely manner. Those who have further questions about the shipping process should contact their shipping company via phone. The staff at the company should be able to answer specific questions relating to their business. If consumers are happy with their quote, they can complete the necessary paperwork and pay for the service. The vehicle will then be picked up by the shipper.

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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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