Can I ship my car with stuff in it???

We get asked the question alot by customers: "Can I pack my car full of stuff when I ship it?"..

The answer is quite complicated. Most transport companies will tell you that you cannot have anything inside of the car period. Others tell you to put whatever you want inside of it. 

We typically tell our clients they can leave some items in the car when shipping it, but here are the restrictions:

1. You can't ship anything live inside the car! This would include pets, plants, your children, or mother-in-law! 
2. You can't ship food inside the car... That's a no brainer you would think.. Can you imagine the smell of a turkey left in the car closed up for a week!!! yikes...
3. It's not a good idea to leave any valuables in the car. I'm talking about cash, paperwork with your name and contact info on it, jewlery, portable navigation systems and etc.
4. Anything that could explode under pressure during the car transport. This would be ammunition, paint, gasoline, propane, spray cans, and matches.
5. Nothing illegal. It might sound stupid but people will try to transport drugs across country and hide them inside the vehicle. This is an obvious no-no... You also don't want to leave things like prescription drugs, guns, medical supplies and etc inside the car.
6. Limit your personal goods to 150lbs and keep them inside the trunk. This is a great guide as you can't fit alot in the trunk and it's out of sight out of mind.

Keep in mind that anything you leave inside the car is not insured by the shipping company and the carrier will not be responsible if anything is lost, stolen or damaged during transport..

There is a big crackdown by the FMCSA right now on allowing car carriers to haul household goods. So if your car is full of stuff and the carrier gets weighed and is inspected by a picky agent he will have to dump all of your stuff on the side of the road or face a huge fine...

The best bet is to leave car hauling for car carriers and personal goods moving to UPS or Fedex...




For more information about Shipping Your Car contact Scott

Is a Hybrid really more efficient?

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I ran across this video from he CBS show, "Sunday Morning" about the energy consumption of a used car versus a new hybrid car. It's a video done by 2 guys from Fast Draw, not sure if they are a used car lot or just some internet nerds or not..

Their quirky video does some comparison between a new hybrid that gets about 45mpg and a used car that gets 35mpg. They point out that from the looks and the simple math the hybrid will save about 90 gallons of gas during the year. Which is a great thing when trying to help the environment and etc.

But then you have to factor in the fact that according to a recent study it takes an equivalent of 1000 gallons of gas to make the new hybrid like the Toyota Prius. So basically it will take you more than 11 years before the new hybrid becomes efficient. Not to mention the hybrid is probably twice as expensive as the used car.

Watch the video and let me know what you think..


For more information about Shipping Your Car contact Scott

Car Shipping Rants

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Probably more of a rant than a blog post but I need to get this off my chest!!

The car transport industry is an amazing business. The opportunities to earn an income are unlimited. Plus it's fun talking to people about their cars and it's great to be able to help people out when they are moving or buying a car from Ebay or AutoTrader. On any given day I can literally be on the phone with over 100 different people. Whether that be talking to clients needing to ship a car or talking with the various carriers that move cars for me.

I love this business and it's one of the few things I have done that I don't complain about and have stuck to for so long. I love talking with drivers as my dad drove an eighteen wheeler for over 35 years, without an accident too!

But what makes me sick at my stomach is when some of these transport brokers out there choose to do business in an unprofessional manner. What am I talking about? Well let me share a few insider secrets that alot of transport companies will pull on their customers and on the carriers themselves:

1. Lowball their car transport quote to simply obtain the deposit and not ever move the car or issue a refund. Happens everyday!
2. Lie and tell the shipper they "Have a truck around the corner" when they know well and good they don't own a single truck. (FYI if you find a car transport company online most will not own a truck, and that's ok.)
3. Use the word "GUARANTEE" over and over again just to hook the customer's business. There are no guaranteed pick up or delivery dates in auto transport.
4. Tell the customer that their car is "Fully Insured" during the transport. Simply a lie. The car will be covered against any damages directly caused by the driver after a $1000 deductible. It will not cover theft, windshields, damage from road debris or from weather. Another lie most companies will tell.
5. And probably the thing that pisses me off the most is when a transport broker doesn't pay the car carriers that bust their butts moving cars for them. This sickens me. These guys and gals work so hard to move these cars for us and our customers. They work in the rain, the snow, the heat. Are away from their families for weeks at a time and usually the average car hauler is only making about $35k per year. Then some shady broker comes along, dispatches an order to them stating they will pay with a company check on delivery. The carrier does a fantastic job and then waits.. and waits and waits.. The broker had no intention of every paying the carrier. It's called THEFT!!! I saw a company last year that went out of business overnight due to having over $500,000 in overdue invoices to carriers! They still haven't paid and have put many carriers out of business. Everyday I hear stories about this and it makes me sick..

My rant is over.. Just make sure when you are moving a car you choose a transport company that is full of integrity, is honest about everything and takes care of their customers and the carriers. If companies won't do this our industry will continue to get a bad wrap.

Scott

I'd love to move your cars for you, get a free quote at Car Shipping Rates

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For more information about Shipping Your Car contact Scott

Snowbird Season

What is Snowbird season and what is a Snowbird?

Basically the term "Snowbird" has been given to those folks that choose to head south for the winter. Typically they are retired and will temporarily move from the New England area or Chicago area down to Texas, Arizona and primarily Florida.

When does the season start? It usually starts in late October and then the snowbirds will head back in April-May.

What this means for the car transport business is:

1. Because of the drastic increase in cars needing to be moved (typically the demand increases by about 10,000 cars per day!) the price to move a car South will rise $100-$200.
2. The average time to get a car picked up increases about 2-3 days.
3. Prices for cars heading North will be drastically decreased. Right now on average a car can be transported from Florida to New York for about $500! While heading south is creeping up on $650-$700. 

So what should you do? Book your car transport today so that you don't have to worry about it any longer. If you are looking to purchase a car and you live in the New England area I would recommend looking at sellers in Florida to save some cash on shipping.

Also, if you are a snowbird you can book your round trip car transport with us and we will give you a discounted rate for the entire move.

For more information about Shipping Your Car contact Scott

How long should my Car Transport take?

Transporting your car can be a stressful time and we know your car is the most important thing you own. But, you should also be aware of the DOT (Department of Transportation) regulations when getting your car transported.

1. Car carriers can only drive 11 hours in one day.
2. Car carriers can only work 14 hours in one 24 hour period (this includes loading/unloading and fueling.)
3. Car carriers can work no more than 70 hours in a week. After 70 hours they are required to stop driving for 36 hours.

All of this is kept in a logbook that is regularly checked by law enforcement officials at weigh stations across the country.

You should also keep in mind that if the customer before you delays them a few hours when loading their car that this will cause them to be behind in delivering/picking up your car.

Knowing where your car is during transport is important and you should make sure your shipping agent communicates this with you.


A good rule of thumb is that carriers will go about 450 per day.


For more information about Shipping Your Car contact Scott

Should you ship your car via an open or enclosed carrier?

So you need to ship a car and can't decide if you should move it via an open or enclosed carrier. How do you choose between the two?

The most common form of shipping a car is via an open carrier. Probably 75% or more of the car moves around the country are done via an open carrier. This is the type of carrier you see moving to and from a car dealership. It is the most common method of shipping and is the least expensive. It is also more readily available than an enclosed carrier. Keep in mind that you must have at least 3 inches of ground clearance to load via an open carrier.

Shipping your car via an enclosed carrier is a way to ensure your car will not be impacted by outside elements like rain, hail, rocks, and etc. But it is typically $300-$400 more than an open carrier. Most people with a luxury car or classic car should choose this method to transport their car. And if your car has a custom paint job you will want to move it via an enclosed carrier.

Both forms of transporting your car are very dependable and safe, when you choose the right transport company. It will just depend on what kind of car you have and if the extra money is worth moving via an enclosed carrier.

For more information about Shipping Your Car contact Scott

So why are prices all over the board??

This is a very good question and not a simple one to answer. When you place your information on transport websites that send the information to 5-10 auto transport companies you will notice a price differentiation of anywhere from $100-$500. Why?

There are many reasons why this happens. I'll try to hit on a few.

1. If you get a quote from a car shipping company that is $200 or more higher than most of the competition it is likely that company has a larger overhead and must profit more in order to cover their expenses. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but why should you pay for a company to have nicer offices and have catered lunches when all auto shipping companies use the same load boards and carrier network?
2. Sometimes you will get a quote from a car transport company that is $100 or more lower than the majority of the competition. There are a lot of reasons for this. The main reason you get crazy low quotes from transport companies is so they can hook your business. What do I mean by that? Basically what will happen is Company A will quote you $500 then Company B calls you and quotes you $300 and uses the same sales pitch. So you go with Company B because the economy is tough right now. But, what WILL happen is Company B will want an upfront deposit to move your car and it will be non-refundable. And according to their terms and conditions they will have 60 days to refund your money. Most of the time these lower quotes will never move your car. Does that lower price sound good now?
3. Another common reason for getting very low quotes is due to the fact that most auto transport brokers will use an automated system to quote your inquiry. This does not put a human element to your transport request and does not take into consideration that your are located 150 miles from civilization or that you need to move an Escalade not an Escort. If you hit "Submit" on one of the lead company's websites and you get 6 quotes in about 30 seconds this is what has occurred. While some transport companies do quote accurately with an automated system, most don't.
   
4. There are also instances where a company simply misquotes you and under estimates what a carrier will require to move your car. Everyone is human and makes mistakes from time to time.
   
5. Lastly a common reason why you were quoted incorrectly is that you mis-entered your information about your shipment on the website. Maybe you meant Fayetteville, Arkansas but you put in Fayettville, North Carolina. This will greatly affect your quote.

So how can you determine what the best price is and sift through all of this mess? Call on a car transport company that does the following:

1. Puts human eyes onto your quote before sending it. A phone call is usually the best way to get an accurate quote.
2. Has experience in the auto shipping business.
3. Has minimum criteria when selecting a carrier to move your car. Most companies quoting low will take whoever will move the load the cheapest regardless if the carrier has a bad track record. Cheapest isn't always best. 
4. Can be reached via the phone or email. Nothing is worse than to never get a response from an agent. Talk to the transport company before booking an order with them. You have to feel comfortable with them before giving them your car.
5. Is honest, dependable and has integrity. Above all choose a transport company that will answer your questions honestly and not just give you a "yes" answer to get your business. Another thing to keep in mind is if a transport agent says the word "guarantee" HANG UP. He/she can only guarantee the sun will rise and set in this business. There are too many variables in auto transporting to guarantee a pickup or delivery time. If they are saying this they are lying to you 99% of the time.
   

For more information about Shipping Your Car contact Scott