Time, Price, Or Convenience? Choose an Auto Transport Company That Offers All Three
Cars are made for driving, so why would you pay to ship one somewhere?
There are as many reasons to use an auto transport company as there are vehicles to be shipped. Maybe you bought your dream car on eBay – but you’re in South Carolina and the car is in San Francisco. Perhaps you landed your dream job in San Francisco, but your car is parked at your parents’ house in Nashville. Or maybe you just don’t have the time to spend on a cross-country drive.
An auto transport company is a great solution in these – and many other situations.
Choose carefully when you’re selecting a car shipping company. Some offer just one shipping option: take it or leave it. That type of “one size fits all” strategy is easier for the company, but certainly doesn’t benefit most customers.
Evaluate Pickup and Delivery Options
Most auto transport customers have three major concerns: price, pickup/delivery date, and vehicle safety. Also consider the flexibility of options offered to you – as well as your own flexibility with timing and location. Ideally, you should be able to pick and choose between options and create a custom package that fits your needs – and your budget!
These three options are common throughout the auto transport industry:
1. Door-to-door Service: The vehicle is picked up at your home or office and delivered directly to your door at the destination point.
Depending on your neighborhood and street layout, this option isn’t always available. The auto transport company may ask to meet you at a local mall, large retail store, or other location with a parking lot large enough to accommodate the transport truck.
2. Date-specific Pickup and/or Delivery: The vehicle is picked up and/or delivered on a specific day or 1-2 day window.
If you have time constraints, it’s often best to work with an auto transport carrier with its own fleet of trucks or one who contracts with dedicated shippers. An auto transport broker arranges shipments and acts as the agent between customers and shippers. Brokers often can’t guarantee dates unless the auto shipper they contract with is willing to do so.
3. Same-Truck Shipping: The auto transport company may have its own definition for this term. It sounds as though they load your car on a truck where it sits snugly in place until delivery. Since each load/unload has the slight possibility of damaging the vehicle, this sounds like the safest shipping option.
It’s not that easy though. Car shippers may make several pickups and deliveries between the time when your car is loaded and the day it’s delivered. Your car may travel on the same truck, but could be loaded and unloaded several times as the driver balances the load, adds vehicles, or delivers them.
A high-volume auto transport company is more likely to be able to consolidate shipments to minimize loads and unloads. During extremely busy shipping times, it’s often possible for them to load a truck and drive straight through to the destination. That allows all cars to stay in one place for the entire trip.
During slower periods, larger companies still work to minimize load and unloads. For instance, instead of driving directly from New York to Los Angeles, the truck may make one stop in Chicago instead of 3-4 additional stops along the way.
Flexibility Is Important When You’re On A Budget
You may be surprised at how much you can save on shipping costs if you can be flexible about pickup and delivery dates. If timing isn’t critical to your vehicle shipment, ask the auto transport company about budget car shipping options.
For instance, at DAS Auto Shippers, we offer a both a “Flexible Pickup and Delivery” option and a “Budget Pickup & Delivery” option. With the “Flexible” option, customers receive a window of days during which their vehicle will be picked up and delivered. The “Budget” option offers a “bare bones” move for budget conscious customers who are able to drop off their vehicle and pick it up at one of our 100 Shipping Centers around the country. Other auto transport companies may offer similar programs: ask when you call.
It’s important to know exactly what sort of service you’re buying, so do your homework before selecting a car shipping company. A little research before the move can save you a lot of worry and headaches during and after the move. At a minimum, you need to know the price, dates involved, estimated transport time, pickup and delivery specifications, and method of transport.
Once you find the right package with a reliable auto transport company, you can relax and let someone else do the driving.
“At Your Service” Options Let Customers Choose
DAS Auto Shippers recently implemented a program that allows customers to customize their auto transport experience. We offer three options:
o Date Specific Pickup & Delivery: We dispatch a local pickup from one of our shipping centers to meet your specific pickup or delivery date.
o Flexible Pickup & Delivery: We give you a window of says for pickup and delivery. This is a good option for customers on a budget who are flexible about timing.
o Budget Pickup & Delivery: This is a “bare bones” move for budget customers. You can pickup/deliver your car at one of our 100 Shipping Centers.
We works to help customers stay within their budget; yet ship their vehicle with confidence. DAS Auto Shippers’ fleet of 150 trucks and 96 terminals nationwide allows us to track your car’s progress and safeguard the security of your vehicle.
It’s important to know exactly what sort of service you’re buying, so do your homework before selecting a car shipping company. A little research before the move can save you a lot of worry and headaches during and after the move. At a minimum, you need to know the price, dates involved, estimated transport time, pickup and delivery specifications, and method of transport.
Choose the option that’s right for you, and let us do the driving for you.
