You’re moving. A long way. Several hundred miles away. And so you either don’t want to or don’t have the time to drive your car to your new home yourself. Time to find a reliable auto transport company! But if you Google “reliable auto transport company” Google will display 69 million search results. To help you hire the best one, we’ve created a list of the seven signs of an affordable and trustworthy car shipping company. Take a look below.
1. It should have excellent customer reviews.
If the only customer reviews the company has is on its own website, take those reviews with a grain of salt especially if they don’t have any bad reviews: any smart company is going to make sure you see only the best reviews.
So look around. Check out the Better Business Bureau. Is the transport company rated at least an “A”? Check out the reviews the shipping company customers leave on the BBB site: you should see a mix of positive and negative reviews. You want to make sure the positive reviews far outweigh the negative.
2. It shouldn’t rush your decision.
Auto transport firms know that you have many other shipping companies you can use. Competition in the transport industry is fierce! The company may entice you to sign with it right then! with – what it says – is a time-limited discount or another discount.
If you feel at all pressured, leave/hang up. You have many shipping companies to choose from. It’s best to research and vet three to five before choosing.
3. Price does play a role in quality of services.
If an auto transport firm is far less expensive than what others have quoted you, be careful. Transportation costs are pretty similar among auto shipping companies. The cost to ship a car across the country should be in the neighborhood of $700 to $1,300 for shipment via exposed, multi-vehicle transport trailer.
So if you get a quote that’s much lower than $700, be very wary. Very wary.
4. The company has upfront pricing and doesn’t hide fees and costs.
The least expensive auto transport firms often provide extremely low prices and then charge their customers much more at transport. To ensure you’re getting the real quote, make sure it includes the type of car you have (a four-door sedan will cost less than a large pickup truck, for example), how far it’s traveling and what type of transport your car will be using (multi-vehicle, exposed, single vehicle, indoor, etc.) so that you’re not surprised later on.
5. You can verify its insurance.
Most auto transport services get your car to its destination without incident or damage. But things do happen that are out of anyone’s control (hurricane, a piece of rock on a highway shoots up and dings your car, hail, sleet, snow, dust, dirt, etc.). Yet it’s always wise to prepare for the unexpected. Out-and-out negligence on the transporter’s part is rare – and is almost always covered with its insurance, but natural incidents that end up causing damage may not be.
Ask to see a printed copy of the transport firm’s insurance coverage and read it carefully. Read it in the presence of the company’s representative (not always possible as they are usually located in a different state from you) and don’t be embarrassed to ask about anything you don’t understand.
If you have any doubts at all that someone is trying to pull a fast one on you regarding insurance, call the entity that the transport company says it’s insured by to verify.
6. They don’t ask you to submit payment via a wire transfer.
Legitimate and trustworthy carriers will accept only check and credit payments. If you pay via a wire transfer, the company could take your money and….disappear.
7. They have a clear policy regarding delays (that they cause) .
As mentioned above, things happen that are out of a transport company’s control: big storms that shut down a highway, major traffic jams, routes closed suddenly, etc. These are considered “acts of God,” and many policies exclude these types of events.
But there are some things that ARE in transport company’s control: staffing issues, carrier scheduling issues, etc. You should ask about the company’s policy regarding delays of this nature.
They should have something written (such as a refund, for example). Regardless: – you should be absolutely clear about what the policy entails.
Most auto transport companies are reliable and affordable. You have many choices so it’s wise to ensure you entrust your car with a shipping company that has shipped many vehicles, has great reviews and a healthy rating from the BBB.
Ship A Car is all of that. We have an “A+” rating from the BBB and we’ve earned a 5-star rating from our customers.
Contact us at 866-821-4555 for more information on our auto transport services.
