Sometimes You Can’t or Don’t Want to Drive
We will almost always advocate that people drive their cars. Driving is a fun activity and a great way to get from place to place and see the country while you do it. However, there are situations where shipping your car not only makes sense but is the right move.
If, for example, you are trying to move a car a very long distance and you don’t want to put the miles on it, shipping makes sense. Another scenario is that maybe you simply don’t want to drive the car that far, or maybe it’s a project car that you’re worried won’t make it to the destination.
No matter your reason, there is a solution available in open car transport shipping. You’ve probably seen these out on the highway at one point or another. It’s a large trailer designed to move cars from place to place that’s towed by a large semi.
Dealerships and automotive manufacturers use them all the time to get cars from one place to another without putting miles on them. While dealerships and manufacturers definitely use this service a lot, it’s something that’s open to any business or private individual.
A Convenient and Effective Way to Get Your Car to Any Destination
Open car transport shipping is here to make your life easier when you don’t want to or can’t drive your car to a specific destination. To learn more about the ins and outs of this type of shipping, we talked with the company Number 1 Auto Transport, one of the industry’s leaders.
Shipping your car is going to be more expensive than driving it somewhere in just about every scenario. However, in the case of cars that you don’t want to put miles on or cars that you can’t drive yourself due to a variety of factors, shipping the car can make perfect sense.
Number 1 Auto Transport’s spokesperson told us that shipping a car is a luxury. “Most people do it for convenience and not to put miles on the car.”
They also told us that your car will make the trip in only a few days in most cases. For trips under 200 miles, it should only take a day. Anything between 200 to 500 miles will take two days. Trips from 500 to 1000 miles will take two to three days. Over that goes up a couple of days every 750 miles or so.
Overall, it’s not as quick as simply driving the car, but you won’t have to wait long for your vehicle and you can have your car shipped anywhere.
Prices Will Vary
It would be nice if there was a simple flat rate to ship a car, but the fact of the matter is that every car is different due to three main factors pointed out by Number 1 Auto Transport. They are location, vehicle size, and time of year.
In terms of location, if you’re in a high-traffic city, you’re going to have an easier time getting a low price. If you’re somewhat far out from an urban location the carrier has to factor in that distance travelled into the price.
Then we come to vehicle size. Large, tall, or heavy vehicles will cost more to ship. Carriers only have so much capacity, and a larger vehicle uses up more of that capacity. If your vehicle is large, it may mean that the carrier has to take one less car than it’s designed for. This, of course, will drive your price up.
Finally, the time of the year can play a big role. During certain times of the year, there’s a lot of people who decide to ship their car from the home they use in the winter months to their summer home.
According to Number 1 Auto Transport there are 10 times more cars shipped from the North to the South during September, October, and November than other times of the year. If you’re fighting for a spot with everyone else, you can bet on the prices being higher.
It Should be a Smooth and Easy Process
Number 1 Auto Transport cautioned against going with any company that doesn’t make the process as easy as possible for the customer. A lot of this comes down to communication. This means you should always have a point of contact at the company and have the number of the driver. You should receive a call about 24 hours from the time of pickup and delivery.
Also, the company should take the time to make the pickup location is as convenient as possible for you. Sometimes this means coming to you. Sometimes this means meeting at a close-by location. The reason pickup location can vary, according to Number 1 Auto Transport, is that the truck will often have trouble making it into different areas due to the size of the trailer.
Open car transport trailers are often double-decker five to nine car haulers, though there are smaller one to three-car carriers. For the most part, though, they are large trucks and will not always fit on tighter streets with low overhangs and low hanging branches. A large parking lot is ideal for loading and unloading cars, so you might have to take your car to the closest one.
No matter where you have to load your car, just make sure you clearly understand the process, prices, and services being provided to you. Communication is key, and if you don’t feel comfortable with a specific company, don’t entrust your car to them.
