All You Need To Know About Your Car Shipping Estimate

1. Factors affecting car shipping estimate
2. Distance
3. Location
4. Car size and weight
5. Open transport versus enclosed transport
6. Season
7. Normal delivery versus the express shipping option
8. Door-to-door delivery versus terminal-to-terminal delivery
9. Running vehicle versus inoperable vehicle

You may need to transport a vehicle from one state to the other or across international borders. The best option in such instances is using a leading auto shipping company. Such companies offer a free, often non-obligatory car shipping estimate. Are you curious to know more about these car shipping quotes? Read on.

Factors affecting car shipping estimate

Distance

You should expect to pay more if you need the car transported over long distances. For instance, carrying a car from Los Angeles to Miami is costlier than transporting the same car from Los Angeles to Oklahoma City.

When the transportation involves crossing international borders, the prices are dramatically high because custom duty has to be paid. Not all companies do international vehicle transportation. Check out this page for countries A1 Auto Transport ships cars.

Location

What is the origin and the destination of the vehicle? If these two locations are along common shipping routes, then the quote will be lower than if they are located in rural areas. Rural areas are not common destinations for shipping companies. So, the shipping company will stray too much from a common route and only to deliver or pick up one vehicle. To cover the fuel costs of driving over such long distances, the price goes up.

Car size and weight

The more space a vehicle occupies in the transport truck, the costlier it is to transport. Smaller cars occupy less space, such that many of them can be transported on the same carrier.

The weight of the vehicle is also a factor. According to this study, weight affects fuel consumption. Heavy cars, cost more to transport due to fuel costs. In other words, transportation of large cars is expensive due to space occupied and weight.

Open transport versus enclosed transport

The conventional method of transporting cars is on open trucks. Open trucks transport more vehicles; therefore, transportation costs are low. However, open trucks expose the vehicles to weather conditions such as rain, sunlight, and wind. Interestingly, most of the vehicles in car dealerships are transported this way.

The alternative is enclosed vehicle shipping. Your vehicle is transported in a closed truck or in a container. This method protects the car and is very safe. But the convenience comes with extra costs. Enclosed transportation is a good option for shipping luxury cars for both protection and security.

Season

Like most industries, the car shipping industry also has a low season and high season. Generally, it is expensive to transport vehicles during summer due to increased demand for car shipping services.

In the winter, it is incorrect to say that car shipping is cheap because it depends with destination and location. As the winter begins, retirees prefer to escape the harsh weather by relocating to the southern states such as Florida. So, car shipping to those states is slightly expensive.

Winter also causes unsuitable road conditions, which is problematic especially for heavy trucks. Therefore, companies charge more to transport vehicles to mountainous areas during winter. Still, the summer season is a more expensive time to ship vehicles than other seasons.

Normal delivery versus the express shipping option

Car hauling companies have different time frames for car deliveries. Often, the time frame is affected by the distance, location, transport routes, weather, season, and demand. Depending on these factors, delivery can take less than a week or up to 20 days within the country. As such, you may find it inconvenient to work with their normal delivery timeframe.

Fortunately, most of these companies offer a way to expedite the delivery. Most call it “express auto shipping service,” which of course comes at an extra cost. It is a good option if you require the car urgently.

Door-to-door delivery versus terminal-to-terminal delivery

There are two delivery options. The shipping company can pick the car from the origin and deliver it directly to your door step. This option is very convenient, and therefore, more expensive. The alternative is the car being delivered to a terminal. The catch here is that you have to track the shipment so that you will be at the terminal when the car arrives. Otherwise, you may incur storage fees.

Running vehicle versus inoperable vehicle

It costs more to transport an inoperable vehicle. This is because an inoperable vehicle requires special equipment to load and unload. The price difference between transporting and running and inoperable vehicle under the same conditions can be several hundred dollars.

That is all you need to know about a car shipping estimate. Most companies offer very accurate quotes, but unforeseeable factors such as weather and storage fees may increase the actual price you pay.

Do you need car shipping services? Visit this page for a free and non-obligatory quote.