Top Reasons to Use an Auto Transport Company
Deciding to ship a car isn’t always the easiest decision to make. This is especially true if you’re shipping long distances. But there are many reasons to use an auto transport company as opposed to driving your vehicle the same distance. In this article, we’re going to talk about five of the best reasons to go with a car shipper as opposed to driving the vehicle yourself.
But driving it yourself isn’t the only alternative. Drive-away services are still kicking around despite not being all that popular. Drive away, though, is pretty much the same as driving the car yourself, except you’re not driving it. With drive away services, you hire someone else to drive your car. Not ship it – actually get behind the wheel and drive the vehicle to where you want it to go.
Now, there are some advantages to drive away services, but none of them hold a candle to actually shipping your vehicle. So keep reading to learn why you should use an auto transport company instead of driving.
Article Overview
Reasons to use an auto transport company: Cost
Perhaps the best reason to use an auto transport company instead of driving the vehicle yourself is the cost. Typically, you’ll find that shipping a car is cheaper than driving it…once you factor in all the extra costs.
We’ll get to those extra costs in a moment, but when you choose a car transport company, you pay what they tell you. That’s it. So if you get a quote for 0 to ship your vehicle, that’s how much you’re going to pay. This price includes paying the broker and the carrier, and covers all the costs associated with the transport. So this covers fuel, lodging, and maintenance costs for the carrier, as well as the broker’s fee.
Needless to say, when you ship a car, the cost is what it is, and it won’t change.
This isn’t the case when you drive it yourself. You have to pay for all the fuel, you have to find a place to sleep on longer drives, and you have to pay for any maintenance that comes up along the way. Car springs an oil leak? That’s on you to pay for. Need to change a tire because it blew on the highway? Yup, you pay for that too.
These things happen with car carriers, too, don’t get me wrong. Problems will arise no matter the method just because that’s how it works when you’re driving thousands of miles. But not having to bear all those expenses yourself goes a long way to keeping your costs lower.
Now, it’s true that on shorter trips you may end up saving money by driving it yourself. But that’s also time that you have to spend driving it. And it’s not usually an option if you’re shipping a vehicle to yourself as opposed to from wherever you’re at. Ultimately, you’ll find that using an auto shipping company will save you money in the long run as compared to driving it yourself.
Reasons to use an auto transport company: Safety
Safety is a crucial part of being on the road. Whether you’re driving to the corner store, across town, or across the country, being safe while doing so is critical. The same goes for when you’re shipping a car. And while you might think that it’s safer to keep your vehicle in your hands instead of trusting it to some trucking company, the opposite is usually the truth.
You have to understand that every single auto transport company on the road has to be fully licensed and insured. Their license to operate comes from the DOT, and they are required to carry enough insurance to cover every single vehicle they transport. So right there, you know that, at the very least, they are authorized to haul cars, by the federal government no less. And there’s a certain amount of safety and security that comes with that.
But it’s also a lot safer for your vehicle because it’s not actually being driven. Unlike with the drive away services we mentioned above, or with driving it yourself, auto haulers don’t actually drive your vehicle. They load it onto a transport truck where it sits until it’s delivered. Sometimes, they’ll have to pull it off to get to another vehicle on their truck, but not often.
Regardless, your vehicle being on the truck is a lot safer for it than you driving it. A lot less can go wrong, for starters. There are a lot of hazards on the typical highway, ranging from stupid drivers to bad weather to debris getting kicked off the road itself. These are all things that can damage your vehicle if you’re not careful.
With a carrier, though, it’s protected by the frame of the truck (double if it’s enclosed) and it’s not actually on the road. If damage does happen, it’s usually fairly minimal and because of something outside the driver’s control. Damage sustained during transport is rare indeed, especially when compared to how many vehicles get damaged just being driven.
Reasons to use an auto transport company: Time
I’m going to say this right now: you can drive across the country a lot faster than a carrier can. That’s just…basic fact. You, on the road, are subject to the same rules of the road as carriers. But that’s talking about things like speed limits and dealing with delays because of construction or routes being closed or rerouted. You, however, can do one thing that a carrier can’t: drive as long as you want.
Carriers have to abide by safety standards and regulations that limit how long they can drive in a given day. So for them, a trek of 2,800 miles can take a week or more. For you, it can take as little as three days, or heck, even less if you drive really, really fast.
Now, there are ways around this. Some carriers use team drivers, which are two people riding in the same truck who can switch off who is driving. This is pretty common, and can allow a carrier to get across the country in just a few days. If you have a buddy who’s willing to drive while you sleep in the back seat, and vice-versa, you could save a lot of time driving it yourself.
But most people don’t have access to someone who’s willing to do that. So for those that don’t, shipping a car tends to take a lot less time out of their busy lives than driving it. If you drive the car yourself, you’re investing days into just the drive itself. That’s a really taxing thing to do if you don’t do it for a living.
Car carriers, though, they do do that for a living. More importantly, they’re really good at maximizing their time, whereas you probably aren’t – at least, when you’re on the road, that is. So using an auto transport company instead of driving it yourself ends up saving you a lot of time and hassle over driving it yourself.
Reasons to use an auto transport company: Convenience
And then there’s the simple convenience of it. If you’ve read this far you’ve probably already seen how much more convenient it can be to use a car carrier instead of driving the vehicle yourself. You don’t have to spend all that time driving, you don’t have to worry about where you’re going to eat or sleep, you don’t have to stress about finding a gas station. It’s just…easier.
Now, depending on how far you’re driving, it may not be easier on the wallet. But that’s alright because even if it’s expensive it’s still more convenient to use a car transport company instead of doing it yourself.
This is especially true if you plan on not actually staying wherever it is the vehicle is going. For instance, selling a car online. If you’re selling a car online and you find a buyer and you need to get it to them, driving it is a terrible idea! This is why so many online dealerships contract with auto transport companies like us to move their inventory. It’s faster, it’s cheaper, it’s safer, it’s more reliable, and it’s more convenient for them and for the buyer.
But even if you’re going to end up staying with the car, it’s still more convenient than driving it yourself. Imagine you’re moving to another state. If you don’t ship your car you have to drive it, while someone else drives the moving van. Now, we can also get into how using a moving company is better than doing it yourself, but regardless, if you’re moving to another state, it’s much more convenient to ship your vehicle instead of driving it, especially if you’re driving a moving van already.
Regardless of what you plan to do, it’s important to understand your options. That’s why we’re here. You can give us a call any time to speak to a representative and get a quote to ship your vehicle. We can get you an affordable auto transport quote right over the phone. You can also fill out our free quote form and get it right there on your computer.
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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