Auto Transport Tips: Get Multiple Vehicle Transport Quotes
When you ship a car, one of the most important factors will invariably be the price you pay. Not all auto transport companies are equal; some cost more than others, some cost less than others. Some are better than others, some are worse than others.
The company that you choose to ship your vehicle needs to pass all the requirements you have. For instance, if you’re looking for the cheapest way to ship a car, it’ll be important to see prices from different shipping companies. If you need it picked up as soon as possible, you’ll need to talk to different companies to see if they offer some sort of expedited service.
It can be frustrating having to deal with the work that goes into choosing your auto transport company. At the same time, though, that work is important, and it all starts with getting multiple vehicle transport quotes from different auto shippers to transport your vehicle.
Read on to learn more about getting multiple quotes to ship a car. Then, read on to learn how we here at American Auto Shipping can give you a comprehensive, competitive quote to ship your vehicle when you need it shipped.
Article Overview
What vehicle transport quotes are made of
Every quote to ship a car is based on the same basic fundamental information:
- Where are the pickup and delivery locations?
- What kind of vehicle is it?
- Does it need to be shipped enclosed?
- When do you need it transported?
- How quickly do you need it picked up?
Pickup and delivery locations are crucial when it comes to shipping a vehicle. The further apart they are from one another, the more expensive it will be to move your vehicle. The closer they are to each other, the cheaper it will be. Where the pickup and delivery locations are, physically, also plays a role. If they’re hard to get to, many carriers will charge more for the extra distance traveled.
Most standard-sized cars will cost the same, but vehicle size, as well as make, are important. It’s cheaper to ship a Toyota Corolla than a Ford Expedition along the same route. The same goes for a pickup truck; SUVs are cheaper than pickups to ship. If the vehicle is big enough, it may require a flatbed transport truck.
There are typically two types of transport trucks that move vehicles: open and enclosed trailers. Open trailers are the standard and move the majority of vehicles that are shipped. Enclosed trailers are more expensive, but reduce the risk of damage over open transport. Which one you require depends on what you’re shipping.
Season also plays a role in the price you pay. Winter shipments tend to be cheaper due to lower demand. Summer shipments are often more expensive but usually move more quickly than in the winter due to higher demand and more carriers on the road.
Expedited shipments – those picked up within 24-48 hours of booking – are going to cost more than your typical 1-7 day window. The faster you need it picked up, the more expensive it tends to be to ship.
All of these factors impact how much it will cost to ship your car. This is also why it’s important you get multiple vehicle quotes for your shipment. But we’ll discuss that more in the next section.
Why you should get multiple vehicle transport quotes
The main reason is that you get to compare prices and services. Multiple quotes from different shipping companies allow you to figure out a good baseline for the price to ship your vehicle. Most quotes you’ll get for a vehicle on a route will be within a $300 range, give or take.
Those that are too low likely won’t move your vehicle on time. At the same time, you could be spending more than you need to by going with the highest-price shippers. When getting multiple vehicle transport quotes, you typically want to find one that’s in the middle-to-high range, but you can typically ignore the ones on the fringes.
Another reason why you should get multiple vehicle transport quotes is to find out just how good each prospective shipper is. Getting multiple quotes allows you to look those companies up and see reviews from different customers of theirs. Those that have lots of good reviews and only a handful of bad ones tend to be the best. At the very least, you know they’re legitimate. Avoid companies with few or no reviews, or those that have lots of bad reviews – especially recent ones.
Do I need to get multiple quotes to ship my car?
While you don’t have to get multiple quotes to ship your vehicle, it’s generally recommended for the reasons above. At the same time, though, getting multiple quotes does open you up to lots of emails and phone calls from shipping companies that are trying to book your order. This can be frustrating to deal with, so it’s important to nip those calls in the bud as soon as possible.
You can tell them you’re not interested, or to remove you from their call list, or any number of other reasons. But this is a big reason why many people don’t want to shop around – they want a quote to ship their vehicle and then book it to get it moved. They don’t want to deal with a lot of emails or be hassled by endless phone calls, which is certainly understandable.
You don’t have to get multiple quotes to ship a car, but it’s a good way to weed out less-than-promising shipping companies and to find the cream of the crop, as it were. But, at the end of the day, the choice is yours.
Ship today with American Auto Shipping
No matter what you choose, the goal is to find a quality shipping company that you can rely on. We understand this. We understand that you need to get your vehicle from A to B without damage and in a timely fashion. Helping customers, even if they don’t ship with us, is how we work.
We highly recommend filling out our free online quote request form to get a quote from us. We price our vehicles to ship and we use an auto transport rate calculator that uses over 500 points of data in real-time to give the best, most comprehensive quotes to ship your vehicle. So you can fill out our free quote form any time to get a quality price to move your vehicle from us.
We price our shipments to move. We may not always be the lowest price, but we’ll always be among the most accurate. If you’d like, you can also get a quote by giving us a call toll-free any time. Our agents can answer questions, get you a free quote, book your order, and more.
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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