With the price of gas, oil, mechanical repairs and maintenance, driving your car yourself over long stretches of road is not the best solution to get you both to the new destination. Hence, the burgeoning of the auto shipping industry, both domestic and international. Do not, I repeat, do not choose the first company in the phone book and do no further investigation. Shipping your car is not like shipping a small package.
It may be that you are the proud owner of a classic, rare, vintage or just plain expensive automobile where the cost of shipping is secondary to the reliability and professionalism of a professional shipper. No matter if your car is a Ford Focus or a Ferrari, you will want it to arrive at its new destination in the same condition as it was before it undertook its journey. Let us check into some of the important points of researching auto shipping companies.
You want a reliable, quality company and the best way to find one is to start with your local Better Business Bureau (BBB). This agency will help you find a local and reliable auto transportation company. The BBB has customer testimonials, reviews, stories and complaints on many of the businesses under your consideration. You can also obtain information on how issues were resolved and if any preventive measures have been implemented to keep them from happening again.
If you are the type of person who enjoys networking with people, ask your friends, co-workers and acquaintances about their experiences. You might also call several reputable car dealerships and auto parts stores to find out what companies they either use in their business or who they would recommend. These are preliminary steps, let’s move on to the more particularized sources which will aid in your final decision.
It has been recognized that researching auto shipping companies is not easy. Third party services such as Transport Reviews can help unsnarl the tangle and lead you toward ranking, rating and brokerage critiques from an unbiased source. Companies such as Transport Reviews are also monitoring agencies that oversee the auto shipping companies to ensure fairness and honesty within that industry along with some real insider information that helps immensely in making a decision on which companies to trust.
You might also check into the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to avail yourself of a database of company descriptions and other information relevant to domestic auto carriers. Here you can gain a background of the current status of licensing and insurance of the companies registered with the agency who offer driving assistance of various types. The FMCSA is monitored by the United States Department of Transportation, a group noted for ensuring that large vehicles meet safety standards and have been duly certified to take their loads down the American highways.
If this article has persuaded you to do diligent research before you ship that beloved car, then it has done its job in protecting you and your vehicle against less than reliable auto shipping companies.
