Are There Any Car Transport Alternatives?
Most vehicles that are shipped today are transported on one of three main auto shipping carriers – either open, the standard; enclosed, for more expensive vehicles; and flatbed, for those that can’t fit on the first two due to size. But these are considered the “main” methods of transporting a vehicle across the country – what, if any, are the car transport alternatives?
As to that, well…while there are alternative ways to ship a vehicle, chances are they will not be as reliable, or as cheap, or as fast and standard shipping services. The industry has come a long way since the rise of the internet, and today the standard method is really what works for most customers.
There are thousands of vehicles being shipped across the country on a daily basis via the standard method, but not via alternatives, and we’ll explain why.
Perhaps the most sought-after alternative to shipping a car is via the railroads, but like we explained yesterday, rail transportation services are spotty and can be hard to find due to the lack of routes and demand.
Of all the alternatives this is the most commonly asked about, and we say the same to most everyone – it’s likely not going to be available on the route you are shipping on, and chances are it’ll likely be more expensive and take longer than to ship via a standard vehicle shipping carrier. While this may be frustrating for some, it’s simply a fact of the industry. You will have a harder time finding car shipping by rail than standard shipping services.
Another popular alternative is drive away auto transport, which is about what it sounds like – hiring someone to actually drive your vehicle instead of ship it from where it’s at to where it’s needed.
This is more common than you might think, but about as unreliable as hiring a friend to drive your car across the country for you, and perhaps even less so; with drive away shipping, you actually have to entrust your vehicle to a complete stranger, who will sit in it, drive it, and basically be in it for hours upon hours.
When you ship a car with an auto transport company, they only get in your car to load and unload it (as they have to drive it on and off the truck), so you don’t have to deal with them adjusting your seats or mirrors or having to deal with unhygenic people being in your car for hours. Plus, drive away tends to be more expensive, as the price includes food and lodging, fuel and possibly even maintenance while on the road.
If you are interested in shipping a vehicle via an auto transportation company, make sure to take a minute and fill out our free quote request form. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes from start to finish, but it will get you a free quote right away. We work with only top-rated carriers, companies we clear for both dependability and reliability and who we make sure are fully licensed and insured. If you have questions about our services, or need some help getting a quote, don’t hesitate to call us any time, toll-free, 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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