There is a very high risk nowadays when you’re trying to contact vehicle transport services due to the fraudulent or overpriced transactions that already occurred in the industry. It could be the fault of some staff in the company, or maybe it’s because the business itself is a scam. With the wrong vehicle transport in the United States, you may lose a lot of money than expected, or your car may end up online to be sold by someone else.
The issue has gone to a point where some people find it frustrating and stressful when choosing a vehicle transport service in the country. Gladly, we can now send out complaints to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in order to defend ourselves against scammers and rip-ffs who put up auto transport services online. This has made things easier for both the customers and the right companies as it made business smoother than before.
To help you gain a smoother transaction as well, we have set up certain factors that can affect your choices when picking a vehicle transport service in the United States. These came from both customer experiences and how we researched top legit online vehicle transport companies. Rest assured that these will help you get the right ones who can safely move your cars as you plan to relocate or sell it. Here are the factors to note down for the right service:
Shipping Costs
There are two major sub-factors that can affect the cost of shipping: distance of the shipment and the weight and size of the car.
Some shipping companies have quotes based on the vehicle size. On the other hand, some may prefer placing a price quote based on a weight ranges for vehicles. As for the distance, companies tend to place a price quote depending on a distance ranges (e.g. 1000 – 2000 miles, 2000 – 3000 miles, etc.)
Learn how to compare prices between companies based on your transport distance and vehicle size so then you can find out if they are charging too much or not.
Shipping Conditions
You have to understand the shipping conditions as it can help you become a more satisfied customer. However, some shipping conditions may contain unnecessary charges and other services that they are forcing to implement on you. That could be quite frustrating to some customers and it may even lower your satisfaction rate when you hired them for the job. So be sure to learn their shipping conditions as you compare each services.
Type of Carrier
There are different types of carriers that you may prefer to use for the car shipment. Some companies may have all of the types of carries, including towing services, or may specialize in one type of carrier only. The carrier being used may also affect the price of the service.
The open carriers are the most typical types of carriers in vehicle transport companies. This has a lower cost. Many researches about the industry have estimated that 95% of vehicles are placed in an open carrier when the business is being conducted. However, some may find it risky for security and safety reasons as the cars are exposed enough to be hit by rocks or other debris when shipped.
Multi-carriers are just as affordable as an open carrier, but may take longer to transport the car due to the engine’s speed. Lastly, enclosed carriers are the safest options as it doesn’t expose any cars. But this is known to be 60% more expensive than the open carrier. That’s why only the rich tend to afford this service especially when they ship out their luxury and limited-edition cars.
Company Reputation
Company reputation reflects the trustworthiness of the company based on the perspective of the customers. This is quite easy to research because all you need to do is to look for reviews about the company. Social media is also a good way for you to find out the reputation of the company as you can see comments about their services as well. You can also ask someone you know (who happened to try out the service) if they were satisfied with their shipment performance. It’s always the customers who can tell the real reputation of a business.
With these factors, you will definitely feel safer when hiring a company once you get to choose one near your area. It also helps you save a lot of money as we taught you how to compare prices between vehicle transport companies in the country. As you can see, selecting a service for vehicle transport in the United States isn’t that hard. All you need to know are the right factors that determine their overall quality.