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What Types of Services Do Car Shipping Companies Offer?

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Home  |  Car Transport   |   What Types of Services Do Car Shipping Companies Offer?

If you are looking for a safe and reliable method for transporting your vehicle, consider the benefits of an auto shipping company. These shipping companies offer a wide range of services to ensure your vehicle arrives safely at its destination. Whether you are shipping one vehicle, multiple vehicles, or even an exotic or antique vehicle, auto shipping companies are able to provide the right services to fit your specific needs. Before you book an auto transport company, let’s take a closer look at the services they offer. 

Open Transport

There are two main types of auto transport options available which are open and enclosed trailers. Open transportation is the cheaper of the two options, and your vehicle will be placed on an open trailer along with other vehicles. Although your vehicle will be exposed to the outdoor elements, this is the most affordable and popular option for auto shipment. A reputable auto shipping company will take the necessary precautions to prevent any damage from occurring. 

Enclosed Transport

An enclosed trailer is the safest option for transporting your vehicle, as it protects your vehicle from outdoor elements. While this is generally more expensive than open transport, this is an ideal option for transporting exotic, luxury, or antique vehicles. 

Door-to-Door Transport

There are two delivery options available for transporting your vehicle which include door-to-door transport and terminal-to-terminal transport. As the name suggests, door-to-door delivery allows your vehicle to be delivered directly to your door. While this is certainly the most convenient option, there are certain situations where this service is not available. For instance, if your neighborhood has narrow streets, zoning laws, or weight restrictions, it could prevent an auto carrier from being able to drive down your street. Also, if you live in a rural area that is a long distance from the main highway, this service might not be available. 

Terminal-to-Terminal Transport

Some auto transport companies have terminal yards where you bring your vehicle for drop off. Your vehicle is then shipped to its destination where it will be picked up at the nearest terminal in that location. This service is generally a bit cheaper than door-to-door and you can pick your vehicle up when it’s convenient for you. This option is ideal if there is terminal close to your location and the carrier doesn’t charge terminal storage fees. 

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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