Interested in antique car shipping services? If so, we here at American Auto Shipping can help you get it done right. Antique cars are great collectibles that are usually worth a pretty penny, so finding the right way to ship it is important.
It’s also important to understand what you can expect when you transport an antique car. They ship the same as any other vehicle, of course. But shipping an antique car requires care and a finesse that might be lacking for standard vehicles.
But we’ll touch on that in a minute.
In this article, we’re going to explore what antique car shipping is and how to get it done. This means we’ll discuss the types of carriers that are best for transporting an antique car, what you can expect in terms of cost and time, and tips for finding the best antique car shipping services for your needs.
Which carrier is best for antique car shipping?
There are two types of carriers you can choose when you ship an antique car: open, or enclosed. Really, it’s a lot like classic car shipping when you think about it. You want to find a carrier that will take care of the vehicle properly, ensuring that it is not damaged during transport.
For that, enclosed transportation is your best bet. Enclosed transportation services completely enclosed the vehicle in a trailer, protecting it from the elements and hazards of the road. However, enclosed transportation is more expensive than its alternative, the more cost-effective open shipping.
Open transport is what most vehicles are shipped on. You’ve likely seen an open car hauler moving cars on the road – they’re often stacked with 8-10 cars on a single trailer. For most vehicles, open transportation is the best. It’s relatively cheap and, with so many more open haulers on the road, finding transportation services is pretty easy.
Enclosed, however, costs more because there are fewer enclosed carriers on the road. Not only that, but they haul fewer cars – most can only haul up to six, with many enclosed trailers hauling 2-4 vehicles.
As carriers get paid per vehicle, those that haul fewer vehicles in a full load have to charge more per vehicle. But for enclosed services, this is usually well worth it, because the vehicles that are shipped tend to be more valuable than a daily driver.
How much does antique car shipping cost?
As we mentioned above, it will depend on the kind of carrier you are wanting to transport your antique vehicle on. We recommend enclosed transportation services for most antique vehicles due to their high value. But it’s up to you.
Most people that are shipping antique cars don’t worry so much about the cost. They worry instead about the condition of the vehicle when it arrives. So it’s usually best to go with the type of carrier that will give you the most protection possible, which is enclosed. And, as mentioned above, enclosed shipping will cost more than open transport. Usually it’s 50-100% more than the cost of a vehicle on the same route moved with an open transport truck.
Much of the cost, though, is not in the hike for an enclosed truck. Instead, most of the cost you pay comes from the distance between the pickup and delivery locations. And, as you can likely guess, the further you have to ship a car, the more expensive it’ll be.
Distance is important when it comes to the price of auto transport. A shipment of only a few hundred miles will only cost a few hundred bucks. But a shipment of a few thousand miles will cost significantly more. This is because the carrier has to cover the cost of fuel, food, and maintenance for the truck. As such, the further you ship a vehicle, the more it will cost.
Tips for your antique auto transport services
Of course, you want to find a reputable and reliable auto transportation company that can handle your antique car. That’s pretty much a given. But actually finding one is another matter entirely.
Most auto shippers provide open and enclosed transportation services for their customers. It isn’t hard to to find either type of carrier. What you really want to focus on in your search for a shipper, though, is their reliability.
Auto transportation brokers all use the same fleet of trucks – there’s about 10,000 trucks on the road of all different kinds, with most being open or enclosed. You want to find a company that only works with the best carriers on the road, like us here at American Auto Shipping.
Not all shipping companies are created equal, after all, and some do a better job than others. The industry is self-policing, and most top-brand brokers don’t work with just any carrier on the road. So you want to find a company (like us) that knows how to handle antique vehicles.
Understanding auto transport insurance
The last thing we want to touch on is insurance for vehicles being transported. A lot of people are under the impression that personal insurance is important when you ship a car. And while it’s important to have insurance coverage for your vehicle, your personal policy will actually be secondary to the carrier’s policy while it’s on the truck.
This is good news because it means, from loading to unloading and everywhere in between, your vehicle is fully insured by the carrier’s insurance. If damage were to occur, their insurance would cover it. Every broker is required to have the carrier’s insurance information on file, and you can request a copy at any time. So as long as your broker is a highly-rated broker, you’re going to be in good hands.
Interested? Let's get in touch!
For antique car shipping, contact American Auto Shipping.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.
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