Can I Make my Auto Shipping Pickup Window Shorter?
Shipping a car is time-consuming and expensive, and it’s not an on-demand service like the postal system is. Auto transporters have to plan routes and make sure they know their customers and where they are and what they’re shipping. They have to be prepared for a variety of different things, and part of this has to do with your auto shipping pickup window. Carriers give out pickup windows instead of specific dates, and you’ve probably already read that somewhere before already.
But why an auto shipping pickup window?
To be quite honest giving out a window of time instead of a specific date helps keep things smoother. For starters, carriers simply cannot show up whenever and wherever they want. Car shipping trucks are big and unwieldy and are subjected to the whims of the Interstate Highway System and its glorious traffic jams. You’d be surprised at how often delays happen because of traffic on one of the carrier’s routes. Traffic, road construction and problems with other pickups or deliveries can all cause delays when shipping a car.
Carriers have to work around this and this is a big reason for why they give out an auto shipping pickup window instead of a guaranteed date. Having to try to get to someone’s house or office to pickup a car by a specific date can be almost impossible. So they give pickup windows in an effort to make everything easier on everyone. Of course, working with a window of a day or two can be problematic if you’re trying to stick to a tight schedule. Luckily, many times you can have a friend or relative meet the carrier at pickup. This way they can handle the inspection and the paperwork since you cannot be there yourself.
Are there ways to make my pickup window shorter?
Not really. to be honest. Carriers have to give them out lest they basically lie to customers. A window is more subjective, after all, and easier for a carrier to fit into. You can try asking your agent about ways to make your auto shipping pickup window shorter, but there’s not much you can do. We do recommend you fill out and submit our free quote request form. It’s free and easy and won’t take more than a minute or two. However, it will get you free quotes from some of the best car transporters in the industry. This way you can rest easy knowing you’ll be in good hands. And if you have questions or concerns don’t hesitate to contact us any time at 800-930-7417.
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.
