Everything You Need to Know About Domestic Auto Transport

What are the Needs You to Know About Domestic Auto Transport?

It is always better to hire a domestic auto transport company to move your car rather than you driving all the way, especially when the distance is a considerable one. You can also move your car using rail, freight or air auto transport but they all work out to be costlier than road auto transport. Transporting your car by road will work out to be cost effective and is also the easiest option as you can get the car delivered to just about anywhere at all.

Road Auto Transport

There are many ways that a domestic auto transport company will adopt to move your car. Some companies will provide experienced drivers who will do the job for you and will make sure that your car arrives in the same condition that you gave it. Another popular way of doing it is by loading it onto a closed or open trailer which might carry just one car or several at the same time. The cost will vary as follows.

• Closed carriers are the costliest, especially when carrying only one car at a time.
• Open carriers are cheaper than closed ones even if it happens to carry only your car.
• Open carriers become even cheaper when they carry several cars at the same time.
• The first type of open carriers is multi-car tractor trailer and the second type is double-level tractor trailer.

Choosing the Right Kind of Domestic Auto Transport

Each kind has its pros and cons and unless you know which one suits your needs, you will be wasting your money. For example, if you just own a family car, then you can make do with an open carrier which carries multiple vehicles. This will reduce your bill considerably. However, if the car in question is a luxury car, then you need to protect it from the elements. In such cases, a closed carrier will be ideal and the extra cash that you have to pay will be worth it to see your car arrive at the destination exactly as you expected.

Choosing the Right Company

This is the most important step and that is why you have to research thoroughly before choosing the first company that jumps out of a Google search. Here is a checklist that you might find useful -:

• Reviews - Make sure that the domestic auto transport company has good reviews before hiring them. You can also check out their references and feedback from previous customers. Call your friends and relatives to ask for their recommendations.

• Free Quote - Request a free quote or use their free online calculator to calculate the costs yourself. Please note that most automatic quotes will give results for open carriers and standard cars. Hence it is vital that you do not go in for the lowest quote but get in touch with them and give them all the other details about your car such as the age, make and model. Usually, the companies that give a reasonable quote, tend to be more accurate than ones who give the lowest price. Most companies try to hook in the customer by giving low quotes but then after you get the contract, you might have many nasty surprises added in it.
• Compare - Always Compare rates and services before signing on the dotted line for it could be a matter of a few hundred dollars. However, do not take what they say for granted and have a word with them to find out how professional they really are. An experienced company should be one that can tackle any problems which might occur on the journey.
• Must Read the Contract - Read the contract from start to finish as once you have signed, then there is no going back. Some companies might even ask you to pay a small amount initially and the rest later. Also reading the contract beforehand will also make you aware of any other costs hidden in the small print.

Before Starting Out

Any good company will first inspect your vehicle and will give you a “vehicle condition report” for you to sign. This will ensure that your car arrives in good condition and you will also have peace of mind knowing that your car will be well taken care of. Make sure that you also have a copy of the report so that you can inspect the car when it gets delivered.