By Thomas Kearns
“How much will it cost to ship my car”? That is a question that is asked thousands of times each day by dealers, wholesalers, collectors and people moving all around the United States. Cost is always a major consideration when moving something as important as your car, truck, or van. It may not, however, be the MOST important question that you should be asking.
Many times people deal with car transportation brokers. These “brokers” are generally companies or groups of individuals that operate no trucks of their own. These ‘vehicle transporters’ take an order to move a vehicle, hold on to a percentage of what they have charged, and then broker the vehicle out on load boards that are posted online and visible to car haulers that do, in fact, have trucks operating and moving around the country. If the price has been quoted or negotiated too low, it becomes unattractive to auto transporters and the vehicle may sit awaiting transport for a long, uncomfortable amount of time. So, rather than asking ‘what is the cheapest price I can get to move this car’, you may want to ask, ‘what is a reasonable price to move this vehicle.’ Cheapest may not always be best.
Another thing to consider is insurance coverage on the vehicle and its contents should something unforeseen occur during transport. Accidents do happen and you don’t want to be on the unprotected side if one happens with your vehicle. Important questions to ask are ‘what kind of coverage is provided in case of damage or loss of the vehicle’ AND ‘if this vehicle is to be brokered out to another auto carrier, can I get a copy of their insurance certificate?’ Always try and get a copy of the carrier’s insurance certificate showing YOU as certificate holder. This way, if something unfortunate happens, you can file a claim on your own directly to the insurance company. Make sure that your vehicle is insured at all times.
One more thing to think about is the quality and reputation of the auto transportation company. If you are not involved daily in the vehicle transportation business, you really have no idea about the companies that are. Ask around. Go to a car dealer that ships vehicles regularly and ask them who they use to transport their cars. Go online, look at reviews and get as much information as possible before you start calling shippers for bids. There are places like safersys.org where you can look at a company’s safety profile. This website is operated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association and can be a valuable resource when trying to find a company to transport your automobile.
So, when you are looking at carriers and trying to find someone to ‘ship my car,’ there are several things to consider other than who can move it from point A to point B the cheapest. Do your homework and find a reputable transporter that will take pride in moving your ‘baby’ to its new home.
About the Author: For more information on shipping a vehicle or to get an instant auto shipping quote visit JMN Logistics at http://www.jmnhaul.com .
Source: www.isnare.com
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