Are you paying too little for your Auto Transport move?

  

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Are you paying too little for your Auto Transport move?

This sounds like a strange question.  We’d all like to pay less for the services we use.  How could it make sense to ask if I was paying too little? Lets take a look.

Auto Transport Primer

The vehicle transport industry is extremely competitive.  There are thousands of service providers working the industry and pretty much all companies transact business on what is called the National Board.   Simply put the National Board is an online market place similar to craigslist or eBay.  Vehicles needing shipment are posted, (advertised), on the National Board.  Carriers looking for loads meeting their needs search the board and then request the load from the company that posted it.  All things being equal the carriers will choose the vehicle paying the most.   Vehicles are being dispatched to carriers all the time.  Once they are dispatched they are removed from the National Board.  At the same time new vehicles are being added to the National Board all the time.  If your vehicle is priced too low for a given route based simply on what other vehicles for that route are paying it can be ignored by the carriers for a very long time and may sit on the National Board for weeks or even months.

So are you paying too little for your Auto Transport move?

If your vehicle has been posted on the national board for more than a few days for a common route and for more than a week for a less commonly traveled route then you may be paying too little.  It is great to get a low price but after all you hired your car shipping company to move your car and for most of us that means sooner rather than later.

There is another important risk that getting too low a price can create.  You may get a very poor carrier to move your vehicle.  Most reputable companies in this industry have standards limiting who they will dispatch a vehicle to.   Also, most reputable companies what to provide their customer’s good service and thus want to see their customer’s vehicle moved in a few days and don’t what any problems for their customers resulting from the move.  Thus they want to hire only the best drivers to move the load.  Additionally, reputable carriers are able to choose from any load they desire while poorer performing carriers may have no choice but to take a lower paying vehicle that is priced below the market.    Thus, reputable companies will price to the market correctly, striking a balance between asking too much from you and pricing too low on the National Board, below what is required to attract the better carriers to take the load.   Pricing too low sometimes works out great and all happens as planned.  However, too often it does not and your vehicle will be transported by a less desirable carrier who may cause you significant issues with a very expensive asset and this can be very expensive.

Conclusions and Recommendations

So are you paying too little for your Auto Transport move? 

In end only you can judge.  If you get your vehicle delivered when and where you desired with no issues and you got a great deal you clearly didn’t.  If however, you pay too little you may get more than you bargained for in issues and work cleaning up the mess.  Most people want that vehicle delivered sooner rather than later and don't want any unnecessary risk.

So here is want to do:

• Pay a price near the middle of the quotes you have been receiving.  Generally these quotes will be from reputable companies and will reflect true market conditions.
• Check out the companies you are considering before you sign up with them. The reputable ones will have good BBB ratings and will be highly rated on Transport Reviews.  They will also have credible websites with information on how the industry works designed to help you make a good decision and not just marketing blurbs about how great their company is.
• Talk to your agent and make sure they are truthful.  You don't want to buy from a company that will tell you what ever you want to hear just to get your business.

For many things cheaper is better.  Regrettably, this is not always the case for auto transport.   Your Auto Transport Price just might be too low and it might cost you dearly.  Be an informed consumer.

If you found this article helpful here are some other suyggested articles: 

• How to Get the Best Price for Your Auto Transport
• Is Your Auto Transport Company Legit
• Free Auto Transport Estimate