What To Look For In A Transport Company When Shipping Your Vehicle?

Transporting vehicles is a very much common affair in present days. Sometimes, when you need to relocate your home to a new state or country, you have to hire a vehicle transport service to ship your vehicles to your desired location.

It is not really an easy task to choose a reliable vehicle shipping company that would meet your expectations, although it is easier than transporting your vehicle by driving yourself! Therefore, before hiring an auto transport service you need to invest lots of time and effort to research the suitable service and ensure the vehicle’s safe and uninterrupted transportation.

So, in this article, we would like to enlighten you about some of those important facts that must be checked before appointing an auto transport service.

Let’s dive in:

Knowledge of auto transport terms

The very first step to choose a suitable transport service is to gather adequate information about different transport related terms. Such as,

Auto transport broker which means an intermediary agency or agent that helps you to select exact service as per your request.

Auto transport carrier, a customized truck or trailer with multiple vehicle storage capacity. Sometimes the transport vehicle’s capacity depends on the company’s reputation.

Door to door service, a special service in which the service provider picks up and delivers the vehicles to the customers’ doorstep.

Terminal to Terminal service, where the service provider picks up and drops vehicles at the customers’ nearest terminal or port.

Enclosed Auto Transport, a method of shipping where vehicles are transported in a covered transport carrier within which vehicles are protected from dirt, dust, grime or the other elements of the road.

Co-loading which means multiple loaded vehicle transportation, those can be your vehicles or you can be the carrier with other customers too.

Diversion, that indicates the change of road routes due to sudden weather changes or any other on way hazard.

Bill of Lading means a legal document that is similar to shipping quotation provided the shipper to the customer along with shipping process summary.

Registered 

Many of the customers never take a look at the service provider’s legal authentication. The shipper must be regulated by the Department of Transport and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The company should contain a MC code and DOT number to prove their registration.If any company is not holding those numbers, it would be known as a scammer. It is also important to check the licence and insurance validity of the company.

Bonded and insured

Not only registration numbers, but it is also essential to ensure that the shipper is bonded and insured. By this, the shipper remains liable for any damage while your vehicle is in transit. A good transport service might be a bit expensive as they offer additional insurance coverage and relieves you from your vehicle’s shipment!

Experience

Though newbies are also providing good service, yet it would be better to choose an experienced transport service. Check out the company’s background and for how long it is existing in the field of transport service. Also, inquire about their yearly successful service counts.

Research

You must research multiple shipping services according to their services, costs, insurance plans, transport methods, carriers, etc. After going through the websites, you must ask other customers about the different transport services. You can also contact the company’s representative to know the process in detail.

Cost analysis and insurance policy

Never rely on a transport service that gives you a fixed price for any kind of vehicle shipping. Generally, shipping costs must be determined as per vehicle’s size, weight, requested shipping method, distance, insurance plans, etc. Ask for free estimations before hiring one. Also, make sure that the transport service is providing adequate insurance coverage for long-distance shipping. It may cost a bit more than the usual shipping cost.

Testimonials

Carefully go through previous customers’ reviews and comments to verify the goods, the bad, or the uglies of the company. Along with the websites, check the transport services’ social media pages also. Choose the service that is owning wider appreciation.

Transport methods

Inquire your service provider about their offered transport services. Some services ship regionally whereas some make them both. Of course, the cost varies according to distance. Furthermore, verify their transport methods like if it is open or enclosed. You can go for open shipping if the distance is shorter otherwise it is always suggested to take an enclosed shipping option for long shipment.

Tracking system

Make sure that your shipping company is providing you a proper transport tracking number, so that you will be able to know your transported vehicle’s whereabouts. Moreover, the certain service must have good communicative customer service, so that you can contact them in case of any emergency.