Auto Shipping FAQ: What Goes Into a Car Transport Quote?
A car transport quote seems like a pretty cut and dry thing – you call a shipper, ask them how much it’ll cost to ship a car, and they give you a price. But the process of calculating those quotes and prices can be a long one, at least in terms of giving a quote, and requires that an agent understand a lot of different things about the vehicle shipping industry in order to get your quote right. This is why getting a car transport quote can take as long as it does and why it’s often not perfect. Besides, each auto transport company is going to have a slightly different method of pricing a shipment, one that can cause serious differences from one quote to the next. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves – let’s start with some of the more common things that go into a car transport quote that most every company will look at and use.
The biggest factor in your car transport quote is going to be the distance your vehicle has to travel while it is being shipped, which means that your pickup and delivery locations are going to be monumentally important. It’s faster, easier and cheaper to ship a vehicle to and from large cities surrounded by lots of bedroom communities – think cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and Miami. Rural shipping is more expensive because car transporters have to travel long distances for only a few customers – if they stick to those big cities, they can make more money because they have more potential customers to provide pickup and delivery services for.
Then there’s what you’re shipping – are you trying to ship a small car or a large pickup truck? What about a minivan, or an oversize vehicle? These are also important factors, but they’re not as important as where you’re shipping from and to. They’re important enough to get accurate – if you’re shipping a large pickup truck, you may need the length, width, height and weight of it in order to make sure that it fits on the truck. Heavy vehicles cost more to ship because of the additional weight they put on the truck, and that has to be accounted for. Auto transport agents are trained to look at these factors and also account for things that may not be as readily apparent – inclement weather is a big factor, as is the popularity of a given route among both customers and carriers. Adjustments to your price will also be made in order to make sure your vehicle is picked up on time, or when you need it picked up.
There’s a lot that goes into a car transport quote – these are just the most basic things that cover the majority of customers that are searching for a price to ship a vehicle. Obviously no two customers are exactly the same, but that’s why quotes are manually calculated. If you are interested in accurate and reliable car transportation quotes, take a minute and fill out our free online auto shipping quote request form. It’s completely free, takes only a minute or two of your time, and nets you multiple free quotes from top auto shipping companies. We clear those companies for dependability and reliability, we make sure they’re all fully licensed, bonded and insured, and that they’re also top-rated among their customers. If you have questions about our services, don’t hesitate to give our own agents a call, any time, at 800-930-7417.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.
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