Frequently Asked Questions and Answers for Auto Shipping

When it comes to moving a vehicle with help of a car shipping company, some people especially those know nothing about it, will have tons of questions regarding the process. Here are some commonly asked car shipping questions and their answers:

How much does it cost to ship a car?

The cost to ship a car changes company to company. In addition, it depends on how you choose services. Car shipping rates are usually influenced by numerous factors such as car carrier, delivery options, insurance coverage, and additional services. However, the overall cost does not exceed much. According to several transportation experts, cost of auto shipping services seldom exceeds the expenses of relocating the vehicle on your own. Therefore, cost should not be a much of concern when a vehicle needs to be transported at a greater distance, it will always be cost effective than driving along the way down to reach the destined place.

What is the best way to secure my car?

Usually, you do not need to worry about safety of vehicle during transportation, if hire experienced and dependable auto shippers. Nevertheless, choosing enclosed auto transportation and insuring the process is the best way to ensure safety of vehicle. In enclosed auto transportation, you car is shipped inside a close container that offers it more safety. The car shipping insurance enables you to claim money, in case your vehicle is damaged while it is being shipped.

Can I transport my stuff along with my car?

The car shipping rates depend on size and weight of car needed to transport. Therefore, to avoid charges, you should not prefer even the shipper allows you. This is also not viable option to ship stuff because if anything is misplaced or stolen during transportation, you would not be able to claim. The car shipping insurance only covers your car not the stuff.

Do I always need an extra coverage amount for shipping insurance?

No. All companies are required (By Law) to provide a minimum of $50,000 liability amount, if it mishandles the vehicle during transportation. This is a considerable amount for any kind of car repair if the car is damaged. However, you should read the policy carefully. Check the scenarios and type of damages being covered in policy. If you think that you should check certain other possible scenarios, you should choose it as an additional coverage.

Important Points to Consider Before Hiring an Auto Transport Company

Nowadays, auto transportation has become a common way of relocating vehicles to far location. People, who move around for job opportunities or those who shop vehicles from online auctions, hire auto transporters for shipping vehicles to desired location. Therefore, if you need to get your car moved from one place to a far location, then choose auto transport services. A number of companies operating in auto transport industry offer these services but you cannot entrust your vehicle to just anybody. This is because the automobile transport industry comprises of both experienced and inexperienced auto shippers. 

Vehicle shipping requires special skills that come with time therefore, you should always consider experienced auto transporters.  Moreover, while choosing an auto transporter, you must consider the following things also:

Legitimacy

Always consider legitimatecar transport companies. A number of auto shippers lure customers by offering attractive packages but later ask to pay more for shipping vehicle. Otherwise, the vehicle is not dropped at the right place and you would not even get back a penny from them. Therefore, always deal with movers that are registered with federal transportation agencies dealing interstate movers. In addition, prior to hiring an auto transporter, checking it with Better Business Bureau (BBB) is beneficial in order to know experience of past customers with it. Hence, you would get a clear idea of how company deals its customers.

Read Reviews

Another way of knowing experience of past customers is to read reviews and testimonials of people on car shippers website. People, who entrust their vehicles to a particular shipper, often leave their comments on website for expressing their thoughts about services. You should read a considerable amount of auto shipping reviews. It would not only allow you to determine its reliability but also various important tactics involved in auto shipping process. Hence, you will get to know how to deal with the company.

Top 10 Vehicles Stolen by Car Thieves

Over the past few decades, vehicles theft cases have become an enormous issue for car owners. Many people especially, those who have antique and classic cars have suffered the most. According to annual survey of National Insurance Crime Bureau, most of the vehicles being theft are of 90’s model. The cars from that era have been stolen the most by thieves. The National Crime Information Centre has said, “Certain old vehicles attract thieves because of the value of their parts.”

Another reason of so many old cars being theft could be having insufficient or no anti theft technology. Most of the old cars do not come with improved technology, which is why thieves easily take them away from car owners. The top model in the list of most stolen cars often is 2006. Here is the list of most often stolen cars by thieves so you could see if your vehicle is among it or not:

 

1994 Honda Accord

Well, 1994 Honda Accord has been a hot streak for car enthusiasts as well as car thieves. It tips the list of most stolen cars for the fourth consecutive year.

1998 Honda Civic

Last year, it was Honda Civic 95 at second place, but that is now replaced with 98 Honda Civic. 

2006 Ford Full Size Pickup Truck

Any model of Ford Full size pick truck introduced by Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler has been among the list of stolen cars. This year 2006 model has been stolen the most by thieves.

1991 Toyota Camry

For the third consecutive year, the car is appearing among the list of top 30 vehicles stolen.

2000 Dodge Caravan

Since 2008, the car appears occasionally in the list of top 10 stolen vehicles.

1994 Acura Integra

Car thieves have been targeting the people having 1994 Acura Integra since 2005.

1999 chev9rlet Full Size Pickup Truck

If you have this, make sure you enjoy the ride and arrange safety precautions. One day it might be gone because thieves specially plan to get it at any cost.

2004 Dodge Full Size Pickup Truck

Full size pickups have the capacity to carry more stuff, which is why thieves love to stole and use them for various purposes.

2002 Ford Explorer

This splendid vehicle secures the ninth position for the third consecutive year now.

1994 Nissan Sentra

So many older models of Nissan are in the list because newer models have improved technology.

These are the top ten vehicles that you might have also. Therefore, you must make sure your car does not become a victim of thieves. For that, you are advised to transport car (http://www.autotransportdepot.com/why-us.htm) with improved anti theft technology i.e. use vehicle tracking and security system. In addition, getting your vehicle insured from a reliable insurance company is also viable so that if it is stolen, you can claim for insurance policy.

Car Shipping Rates-Factors Affecting the Prices

Auto shipping rates are one among the major concerns of people relocating home from one state to another. Generally, household goods movers do not ship vehicles, which is why people ought to look at top auto transport companies to transport vehicle. Whether it needs to be transported to a rural area or populated city, the cost would be determined accordingly by considering few other factors. Following are the main factors affecting the cost to ship a car:

Origin and Destination

The cost to ship a car mainly depends on where it is and where it needs to be shipped. Auto transport cost depends on the distance to be moved but destination point is the key factor involved in auto shipping pricing. If you are shipping a vehicle to major cities like Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Boston or Chicago, then car shipping is less expensive because these are popular routes and do not create any problems to auto movers while relocating cars. However, if your destined location is in a rural area away from main highways, cost of shipping car will increase because of additional miles and gas consumed. 

Car Delivery

The cost will also increase if you considered door-to-door car delivery services. It requires auto movers to disconnect from the main route that consumes extra fuel and time. Hence, it will add up to the cost of car shipping services. Many people choose terminal-to-terminal car delivery because it is inexpensive than door-to-door shipping. However, it needs you to be careful about collecting car. If you failed to collect your car at exact date and time, then it would be moved in terminal storage. Longer the car stays in storage, higher the charges go.

Car Shipping Season

Car shipping rates also depend on the time of year. Generally, in snowbird seasons and area being affected by bad weather, there is less number of auto movers available. Because of which demand for shipping remains same but the supply decreases. Hence, the available car shipping companies tend to take advantage of this situation and increase prices for transporting cars.

Fuel Prices

In the last couple of year, the car shipping prices increased exponentially because of increasing fuel prices. The car shipping rates are directly proportional to the fuel prices.

Apart from these factors, few other but major factors such as type of auto carriers, insurance policy, and vehicle tracking services influence the car shipping rates.

Auto Transportation Services- Feasible Way of Transporting Vehicles

The best way to transport your vehicle from one place to another is to know available options. If it needs to be transported at small distance, then driving off course seems feasible. However, what if your vehicle needs to transported across the country. Let us say you need to move it from California to Florida. Even the richest people cannot afford to move vehicle on the longest route of about 4500 kilometer because of the rising fuel prices. For example, if you do so, then it would cost you around $ 500-700 including fuel cost, lodging, and food expenses. Plus, after a long move, if you think your vehicle will be working as good as it is, then you are wrong. It would definitely need maintenance and tuning to get ready for another long move. Therefore, maintenance and car tuning will be an additional expense to it. So, on the whole it could cost you up to $ 1000.

The other way of transporting vehicle from California to Florida is availing service of an auto transport company. The concept of auto transportation is not new as a number of people take advantage of this feasible way of transporting vehicles to far locations. It is specifically designed for shipping vehicles across the country. With vehicle shipping services, you cannot save money. The average cost to ship a car of standard size from CL to FL is $ 400-600. You can clearly observe how much you can save on shipping vehicle with interstate auto movers. Above all, the vehicle is transported on a trailer that means no additional expenses of vehicle maintenance and tuning. Therefore, when it needs to be shipped at a greater distance, do not overlook quality auto transport services. 

However, it is not easy, as it seems. The car transport industry comprises of both fake and legitimate auto shippers, which is why finding a reliable company is difficult. You can find a reliable auto transporter, if you have right information. The best way to hire reliable companies is to use internet. You can easily surf websites of various auto shipping companies to compare the cost and services. The comparison would allow you to identify the company offering competitive services. However, before you finalize the deal, make sure you are considering a licensed transporter. For that, you should check it with Federal Moving Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The federal agency allows people to access record of interstate movers with its Search a “Registered Mover” option. Hence, it would make easy for you to determine reputation of the company you are considering for relocating vehicle.