Auto Shipping FAQ: Are Auto Transport Discounts Available?
Like most companies, auto transporters are running a business, and their job is to make money. At the same time, though, the most important aspect to making money in a business is the customer.
The customer is where the money comes from in any type of service industry, and if the customer isn’t interested in your services you’re spinning your wheels trying to get the sale.
The auto transport industry is highly competitive, from a business standpoint; though there are many different shipping companies out there, most of them service the most popular routes because that’s where the money is. Competition forces prices down for customers like you and me, which is awesome for us, but sometimes everyone’s prices are nearly the same, and that’s when discounts come into play.
Auto shippers use discounts more as a way to entice customers to book their orders with them, and help keep customers who ship vehicles throughout the year (such as dealerships, snowbirds and manufacturers).
Customer retention is important in the car shipping industry, and every company wants to have at least a tenth of its customer base being people who have shipped before. Loyalty is important – if you have a great experience with a car transport company, booking with them again will often net you a discount for said loyalty.
And if you tell your friends and family about how good a job that shipper did, they’ll likely get discounts too because you told them about that shipping company.
Auto transport companies give out discounts like they’re going out of style, more often than not, so make sure to discuss your options with whatever representative you happen to be dealing with in terms of shipping your vehicle.
There’s a lot of possible discounts out there, with the more common ones being student auto transport discounts, senior citizen shipping discounts, military auto transport discounts, and repeat customer discounts, but there are literally a ton. Some companies will offer discounts to AARP members, or AAA members, or Rotary Club members – sometimes it can be as idiotic as being a member of your local community IOOF or something. Some auto transporters get pretty creative in order to get customers to book.
It’s not a bad thing, either. Most discounts that brokers offer will come out of the deposit you pay to the broker and not the total price that will be paid to the driver. If a company gives you a discount and takes it out of the carrier’s pay, you should book with a different company.
This is likely to not only not get your vehicle moved, but carriers don’t like it when you take money from them, and they may warn their friends and coworkers not to ship your vehicle or work with the broker that you booked with. That can be frustrating, so make sure you know where your discount is coming from.
If you’re interested in shipping a vehicle to or from anywhere in the United States, you can and should fill out our free online quote request form. It’s completely free, as mentioned, and will get you a free quote to ship your vehicle right away. If you have further questions, would like a quote over the phone, or are ready to place a reservation, make sure to give us a call at 800-930-7417 to speak to one of our live agents today.
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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