Auto Transport Answers

Thanks for stopping by your 1 stop Auto Transport & Car Shipping Company.

We move Cars, SUVs & Pickups 365 days a year using the standard 10 car open car carrier you’ve probably seen on the highways. These open trailers are the most common type of auto transport in the country and are also the least expensive. This setup of a Cab i.e. tractor pulling a trailer connected by a stinger hitch is the rig specifically approved by the Department of Transportation (DOT).

Your Auto Transport request is understood to be door to door service which is the most common type of Auto Transport, but if you live in the boondocks you might want to ask what you might save by delivering your vehicle to a big city or picking your vehicle up in a nearby big city. “Door to door” is of course an approximation. These Auto Transporters are about 14 feet high and 85 to 105 feet long. They will never fit in any residential area or even in your office parking lot. You’ll probably need to determine in conjunction with your driver at which nearby mall complex you should meet.

We can’t go everywhere ourselves but we solve that problem by belonging to a nationwide network of licensed, bonded and insured car carriers. No one can join our network until they have shown a several year history of successful auto transport and post their yearly audited insurance and licensing. We are all federally licensed with the Department Of Transportation.

Your lowest price is always obtained by having your vehicle in good operating condition. The Auto Transport driver must drive your vehicle up the ramp into position and occasionally rearrange vehicles on his transport as he crosses the country unloading vehicles and picking up new ones in the cities he passes thru. So, a non operating vehicle will always cost at least $200 more. These vehicles must be winched into position manually or by tow truck. So, always keep the drivers seat clear of personal belongings. (More on this to come.)

If you really want to ship a few things in your Car or SUV try to keep everything in your backseat or trunk. Remember also that anything you keep in your vehicle is uninsured against loss or damage. However most of the time everything arrives just fine. This is because the “lowly” drivers you see are usually not lowly. They are often owner operators who own the rig they are driving. They are millionaires in their business and assets so you probably want to treat them with a bit more respect then they are usually accustomed to! One caveat here is that vehicles are also load according to weight distribution so you might try for example to load a couple suitcases not your generator!

When your vehicle is picked up, or you drop it off make sure you get the Bill of Lading, sometimes called the “Condition Report with Disclaimers” page. It is in addition to the original contract you get when you booked your car and paid your deposit. This new sheet will have an outline view showing different sides of a generic car or SUV. On these vehicle outlines the driver will mark the places where he sees damage. The only caveat here is to have your car clean before you take it in or before it is picked up. Otherwise the driver will write on this abbreviated contract sheet that your vehicle is too dirty to mark damage. If your car is too dirty to clearly see any chips and scratches you cannot then after your car is delivered claim there are new paint chips, scratches etc. It’s too bad but there are dishonest people out there that try to get their auto transported for free by making fraudulent claims, stating there is new damage when it was there to begin with. Of course many times these are probably innocent misclaims. I don’t think many of us daily walk around our cars looking for any and all new scrapes, dings and nicks. It seems like half the time I go around a car with a customer they say they hadn’t noticed several scratches I pointed out. Had this walk around not happened they might have been morally indignant really believing these were fresh dings. Of course occasionally damage does occur, albeit very rarely. This is why insurance exists and why you want federally licensed carriers.

All reputable Auto Transporters quote a total or out the door price. This price includes taxes, fuel surcharges and add-ons like inoperable vehicles. It is standard to pay a deposit to ship your car. This deposit will usually be between $150 and $250. Legally this is called consideration. The Auto Transport Company made an offer to transport your vehicle. You, the customer, accept the offer and pay a deposit as consideration. This contract arrangement has distinct advantages to both the customer and the auto transporter. The transport company becomes obligated to immediately begin in good faith to list your vehicle for shipment. And when the Auto Transport Company drives perhaps hundreds of miles to pick up the customers car, he/she cannot then say they were joking, or not ready etc. This contract also contains the terms and conditions under which the vehicle is shipped. The deposit is not on top of the quoted price but is subtracted from it. So if you, the customer, is quoted $600 with a $150 deposit you are only obligated to pay the driver $450 upon delivery. There is usually no money that exchanges hands on pickup of the vehicle. This deposit is paid by credit card or check, but the balance on delivery is paid by cash or certified funds.

There are exceptions to the out the door price. Your price will change if the car is stated to be operable and isn’t without mechanical or electrical help. Prices will change if your vehicle is stated to be a car when it is an SUV. Your vehicle may be refused if your windows are broken because the driver cannot then protect your car against the weather. If alterations have been made to a manufactured vehicle prices may change. For example if your vehicle has been lowered or non standard shocks installed to raise your vehicle. Other issues are canvas tops, specialty wheels, vehicles only partially restored, wreaked or non road worthy cars, spoilers, high antennas etc.

Check out the Auto Transport Checklist

There are other types of auto carriers out there that have specific purposes. They are far fewer in number, and therefore are usually more expensive. For example there are soft sided or metal sided enclosed trailers. These enclosed trailers usually only handle 1 or 2 vehicles. For those of you that have a classic or antique vehicle, or maybe a high performances car ( read expensive ) you might consider requesting an enclosed rig. Over short distances the price might only increase 25%, but your price may double for transport across the country. These are ideal for protection against road hazard (read highway rocks that are thrown up by other vehicles), the weather, and other vehicles riding above or below your vehicle.

There are also specialty car carriers like “Hot Shot” carriers that use a short trailer carrying one to four vehicles. These usually cover short distances and are more time responsive, e.g. when you must have your vehicle picked up or dropped off on a particular day or maybe you can’t wait the normal 1 to 2 weeks it takes to transport a vehicle. Of course Hot Shots can be up to twice as expensive as the standard 10 car carrier.

These specialty car carriers also consist of flatbed trucks. They are the only way to transport another truck, or a pickup truck with a camper shell, equipment, RVs etc. Send an email to get pricing on these atypical loads.

Also see our "Auto Transport Checklist."