Auto Transport Tips: All About Students
Believe it or not, the American student population represents a decent portion of the auto transport market. With so many different colleges and universities spread out across the country, many students can’t make the drive, so they either ship their vehicles or have their parents help them ship it. This is good because not only is it generally cheaper to ship a vehicle than drive it the same distance, especially if there’s thousands of miles in between, but also because auto shipping companies are always eager to help out students who are looking to ship their vehicles to or from their university. There are a few different ways that you can save some money by shipping a vehicle back to school over driving it, and we’ll explain some of them below – as well as how to take advantage of them.
Many major universities are located in large, populated metro areas. Since auto shippers are already running routes to and from those areas anyway, you’re going to be able to find discounts during peak shipping times. Students tend to ship in the weeks before school is back in session, and a lot of companies are attuned to that and will provide great discounts for services when you tell them that you’re a student. This is a pretty common sales pitch, but what’s more is that your discount will come out of their own pocket and not the carrier’s, so you won’t see anything detrimental due to lower prices to the carriers, which can result in longer wait times for pickup.
As a student you’ll want to discuss where exactly your vehicle will be picked up and delivered from, as some carriers won’t be able to get directly to your dorm or your campus. Auto transporters prefer to pickup and deliver vehicles in large parking lots or other areas where they have plenty of room to maneuver. Don’t worry – it’s still door to door service in that you won’t need to drop your vehicle off at a terminal, and you will meet with the carrier yourself (or, if you cannot be there, a friend, parent, coworker, neighbor, fellow student, etc), as you will need to do a pickup and delivery inspection of your vehicle – one at pickup to note any current damage, if any, and one at delivery to compare to ensure there is no new damage.
If you’re interested in shipping a vehicle to or from your university and need to know more about how much it will cost and the services available to you, take a minute to fill out our free online auto transport quote request form. When you do, you’ll get a free quote right away. The price you see is the price you pay, no hidden fees or surcharges. You can even discuss your shipment with one of our live agents over the phone. They can answer questions, give advice and quotes, help you book your shipment, and more.
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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