Why Most People Avoid Drive Away Auto Transport Services
Successful people understand that much of life boils down to risk management and how good we are at it. As humans, mitigating risk is an important part of our day-to-day lives and assessing risky situations and acting accordingly is one of our greatest strengths.
Every situation is unique in that it presents us with unique problems and risks that we have to think about, analyze, and react to, oftentimes within seconds or minutes of being presented with the problem or scenario.
In the car shipping world, risk management is even more important because you’re dealing with something as large and expensive as an automobile.
If you’ve ever bought a car or truck you understand the undertaking that comes with purchasing one. As such, you typically don’t want to trust your car or truck to just anyone, and this is a big part of why drive away auto transport just isn’t done any more.
If you don’t know what it is, that’s fine – in today’s day and age few people have actually heard of drive away auto transportation, and fewer still remember a time when it was the go-to method of transporting a vehicle.
Before the rise of the auto transport truck, trains were the main method of shipping a vehicle, at least for businesses; however, during the 1950’s the suburban lifestyle began to overtake the American mindset and people began to invest in cars like nobody’s business.
Auto transport trucks burst onto the scene in the late 1950’s and began seeing prevalence starting in the 1960’s; before that, customers had really only the trains and drive-away services when it came to automobile transport. Drive away is just what it sounds like – you literally pay someone to drive your vehicle for you, from pickup to delivery.
It’s expense was almost entirely in the fuel for the car, food for the person, and basic accommodations such as room and board. One of the big reasons drive away services are all but gone is the trust factor – maybe sixty years ago was a time when people trusted more easily, but today you don’t step foot out of your house without checking all the doors and windows and making sure no one is going to jump you by the alley.
Not only that, but the expenses have gotten exorbitant too. Auto transporters – those that drive the large trucks – typically have beds in their cabs. Not all do, of course, but the higher-end auto transport trucks have entire beds and dining table sets and some even have TV’s and microwaves built into them, for drivers to save money on lodging.
Obviously regular Joes like you and I do not have that luxury if we’re driving across the country, and neither does anyone who offers drive away services. Few (if any) companies offer the service today, namely because auto transport is far, far cheaper in the long run.
It’s also safer; your vehicle is handled by fully licensed and insured auto transport companies that are registered with the US Department of Transportation, the FMCSA and the NHTSA, so there’s some serious oversight even if those agencies are underfunded and understaffed.
Most people that use drive away services today do so with friends or families that are looking for ways to get to the same place. For instance: you need to get your car to your Aunt Lizzie in Modesto, but you’re stuck in Oklahoma City.
You can ship your car to her for a few hundred bucks, maybe close to a grand depending on the time of year. You can also have Uncle Bert drive it there, but it’s going to cost fuel and lodging and even though he’s gonna split it with you you could probably spend the same amount and not put the wear and tear onto the car you’re giving to your aunt.
This is another reason people tend to shy away from drive away services: the mileage, wear and tear you put on a vehicle that you drive across the country is pretty substantial, all things considered, and a lot of people would rather avoid it if they could. Transporting a vehicle via truck saves on maintenance, repairs, tires and so much more.
If you’re interested in shipping your vehicle, you should fill out our free online quote request form. If you do, you’ll get free quote to ship your vehicle right away. We work with only top-rated carriers that we make sure are fully licensed and insured. You can call us toll-free at 800-930-7417 to speak to one of our live agents. They can answer questions, give a free quote, and even help you place a reservation to ship your vehicle. It’s that simple.
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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