Your Options for Moving a Car
There are many ways to accomplish a task, but only a few methods that consistently yield good results. Moving your entire home to another state can be quite a hassle, so much so that most people only do it a couple of times in their lives, unless their job requires them to move more often. That is why it’s important to get professional help whenever and wherever you can. This article will focus on the professionals who help you move your car for you, what the benefits of professional car shipping are, and how the process of shipping a car goes.
Driving vs Shipping
The big difference between driving and shipping is the time it takes to do both. To ship a car only really takes 1 day, the pickup day the carrier arrives to collect the car. Driving your car all the way to your new state can take many days of non-stop time behind the wheel, with the longest distances taking more than 40+ hours to complete of total driving time. These kinds of road trips take dedication, days of effort, and can be quite expensive, not to mention the risk you are putting yourself in. Driving is a huge time and energy investment that basically leaves you locked in driving and nothing else – this is not ideal when you are moving, because it takes you away from the process itself. Shipping a car can cost a bit more than the road trip, but the cost is quickly offset by the value that it brings – the free time and the safety.
When to Hire Car Movers
Hiring car movers makes sense when you have too much on your plate, or you simply don’t really want to drive for such a long time. Maybe you are shipping a car to someone on the other side of the country, or you’ve just purchased a new car in a different state and want a secure way of transporting it without needing temporary tags? Car moving services are abundant and come in different sizes and specialities; some transport regular passenger cars, others transport boats, heavy equipment, and other trailers – at the end of the day the do the same thing: take the pressure off of people so they can focus on other things instead.
How the Car Moving Process Works
Scheduling With Your Household Move
Most of the time, when car moving customers book the service, they are doing so in conjunction with a relocation of a household. Some find it challenging to manage both moves at the same time, but the good news is that auto moving companies do the move for you with little input from you so you can focus on moving your home. It’s important to schedule around the household move, and luckily car movers are very agile and can adjust the overall shipment schedule around your needs and requirements. When relocating to a new state, it’s important to have somewhere to deliver the car to, so you can generally move and then have the car shipped, or you can time both moves in a way that they coincide. Generally, car shipping takes from 1 to 10 days depending on the distance – longer distances over 3000+ miles take the full 10 days, but shorter moves take less time. Get a rough delivery estimate and schedule your household move around it so they both happen at the same time.
Pickup and Delivery Logistics
The general rule to follow is that the pickup of the vehicle can happen whenever you prefer it. When booking, you can specify the first date the car is available for shipping, which gives you the flexibility of initiating the move yourself. It takes from 1 to 3 days for the carrier to arrive from that particular date. You can further detail the pickup date with the carrier depending on your schedule. If there’s a specific date you prefer, you can get a Guaranteed Pickup service which ensures the car gets collected within that 24-hour window. For the delivery process, you will get a 1-day notification ahead of time from the driver of the carrier. Deliveries take from 1 to 10 days from the date of the pickup, but it’s not really guesswork – the carrier will let you know what delivery time you can expect beforehand.
Choosing Car Moving Companies You Can Rely On
Comparing Quotes
Shopping around for car moving service quotes makes a lot of sense, especially if you are on a budget. It gives you far more freedom of choice, and it lets you know what the current market rates are. When companies provide their quote to a customer, they take into account the distance, the delivery time, the type of car, and the current asking rates that most carriers have. When comparing quotes, be sure to ask for detailed descriptions of what the quotes contain, see if they have the full service price, if it’s discounted, what sort of additional options are available, how they will affect the price, and whether the final price given includes the cost of insurance coverage from the carrier or if it’s integrated into the rate.
Checking Reviews and Licensing
Before booking, be sure to review any company you are considering for yourself – it only takes a few minutes, and it gives you plenty of insight into their history, their reputation, and their suitability. All brokers and carriers must carry active MC and USDOT numbers registered in the FMCSA, which can be checked through the official FMCSA SAFER portal. You input the MC or USDOT number corresponding to the company into the system, and it will provide you with information about when they got the license, what sort of status it has, what safety rating the company has, and if they are active or not. Go for active companies with long-standing experience with the FMCSA that have a “Satisfactory” score on their safety rating. This is an indication of whether they are a trustworthy provider and if they can actually help you or not.
What It Costs to Move a Car
Distance and Vehicle Type
The cost as calculated by auto moving companies changes based on the vehicle and the distance. But no two quotes are created equally; with different carriers asking for different rates based on their experience, the complexity of the shipment, and the initial and final destinations. Generally, rural or distant shipments will cost more than urban deliveries simply because they take the carrier away from any major road networks, which leaves less room for collecting other vehicles along the way. Carriers will generally also take into account the popularity of a route – as a way of reducing deadhead and optimizing empty spots on the trailer, carriers will much prefer popular, highly populated routes over rarely used ones. This means that if you live in an area with low demand and low availability of carriers, you will be paying the highest base prices.
<H3> Ways to Save
There are a couple of pretty clever ways of optimizing your car moving expenses and getting the best price out of the car moving companies you are considering. One of the first things you should consider is booking early, at least 2 weeks before the final date of the move. This gives you far more options and allows the brokerage to find you a carrier who is willing to ship the car for your preferred price. To get the most out of this, we recommend booking the move for a weekday, preferably from Tuesday to Thursday, as those are the lowest demand days of the week. If you can, choose to book during the middle of the month, rather than at the end, when most tenants move out. Book away from holidays, and if possible, book during January; this is the least busy period of the year, the busiest being from March to September.
Preparing Your Car for the Move
Cleaning and Documenting
Cleaning your car for the move helps you see its current state far more clearly, and it makes documenting it far easier. Wash the car on the outside and clean its interior – it reduces the chance of damage along the way, and it will generally make the carrier happier. Be sure to document the car’s pre-travel state, take clear photos in daylight – check the headlights, the front and rear bumpers, photograph the doors, the wheels, and the windshield. You will need these photos for later to use for comparison once the car gets delivered. If there is any pre-existing damage, be sure to detail, it might come in a potential insurance claim.
What to Remove
Before releasing the car for pickup, we recommend removing any personal belongings from the interior of the car. It must be clear from the inside, and all window smust be visible. If you have to transport personal belongings with the car, you have a 100lbs item allowance, but all items must be placed securely in the trunk of the car, preferably in a suitcase or a lockable container. This reduces the chance of damage to the interior and your property during transportation. If you are using toll transponders, we recommend either removing or disabling them so you don’t get charged for passing on toll roads during the shipment.
Move-In Day: Receiving Your Car
The day of the delivery is exciting for multiple reasons – the first being getting your car back. Before releasing the car from the custody of the carrier, be sure to inspect its condition – take your time and thoroughly look for any transport damage. Ask the driver to unload the car and take your time inspecting each wheel, the windshield, the doors, etc. Use the photos you took earlier to compare and address any new damage. Be sure to write the new damage in the Bill of Lading before signing it – both you and the driver must sign the Bill, and both must have identical copies – this makes the insurance claim a lot easier.
Final Thoughts on Moving Your Car
Moving can be quite stressful, but less so when you have the right car shipping company to help you. It saves you the trouble of driving the car yourself, frees up your time, and gives you peace of mind. Select the company based on their credentials, the community reviews, and the price. Prepare the car for shipping by cleaning it, taking photos for insurance purposes, and releasing it to the carrier. When receiving the car, inspect it, address any damage, and file your insurance claim with the help of the carrier.
