The cost of shipping a car from one destination to another involves many factors that affect the overall pricing. Many US residents who relocate or travel interstate prefer hiring a reputable car shipping company with good experience in the transportation service.
If you opt for an amateur start-up, you may end up paying more, and the transportation process won’t be smooth. With a well-known brand name and reputation in the market, the shipping service will be as per the standards, and so will be the car shipping cost.
According to FMCSA, every transportation company that transports vehicles and cargo in interstate commerce must be registered with FMCSA or the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and must have a USDOT number.
If you plan to transport your car, you must check whether the company is registered with FMCSA and has a USDOT number. Here’s what further steps you can take to avoid mistakes in determining the shipping cost.
Not Planning Well In-advance
The car shipping takes place when the shipping company has enough number of vehicles ready for shipping. It makes more sense to book a slot beforehand to avoid tight deadline charges.
It will help if you make all the arrangements well in advance, including preparing your car and packing your belongings before the vehicle is left for pick up. In most cases, the last-minute booking is not available, and even if it is open, you may have to pay double the actual charges.
Not Choosing Experienced Shipping Service
There are myriad car shipping companies in the US as the market size of car shipping services is about $11.9 billion in 2020. But, a few of them have a good amount of experience in delivering quality transportation services.
If you choose an inexperienced or a new company and have no idea how it functions and delivers the services, you may not get a clear picture of the transportation charges.
Some companies are not even registered with FMCSA, which may pose a high risk to your vehicle if you ship with them. If your car suffered damages during the transit, you might not even receive satisfactory compensation from an unregistered shipping company.
Not Asking for Proper Insurance Coverage
Ideally, all the shipping services must provide insurance to their customers when shipping their car. But it will help if you read the insurance policy thoroughly to understand more about the coverage.
There won’t be a disclosure of a few aspects in the insurance policy, but you may have to pay a hefty sum. You’ll have to be sure that you are completely insured as per the amount charged. You can gather information on insurance and total car shipping cost by talking to different car shipping companies.
Not Booking in Off-season
The charges during peak season are twice that of the low season. If you already have the plan to move to a different state or city, book a shipping slot in the off-season. Booking is the best option to avoid extra charges.
You may also avail of some discounts like an early-bird discount, first-time shipper, or loyalty customer discount, etc.
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