Choosing the Best Auto Transport Company For Your Car Shipment Needs

If you’re considering moving from one state to another, it’s advisable to use the services of an auto transport company to move your vehicles. Apart from saving your car on mileage, you’ll also avoid potential road issues like crashes and tickets as you pass through different states with different regulations, driving behavior and terrain.

When searching for an auto transport company, you will realize that it’s a vast industry with many companies. Settling for a transport company to ship your car requires extensive research, energy, and time.

Tips to Use When Settling for an Auto Transport Company

Doing a simple Google search on the reviews of the auto transport companies will provide you with massive results, but it still doesn’t help when considering which company to use. Unfortunately, the auto transport industry is also filled with scammers–promising cheap but quality services.

Below are a few things to check to increase your chances of hiring a professional and reliable auto transport company.

Registration

One of the most crucial steps before contacting the auto transport company is ensuring they are registered to work with people’s vehicles. Although essential, it’s often the most ignored step, which results in frustrations and losses after working with an unregistered company.

The Department of Transport (DOT) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulate the auto transport industry. Therefore, any operating auto transport company should have an MC number and a DOT number as proof of registration.

You can check the validity of the numbers with FMCSA, and if it’s not authorized, do not engage the company. Additionally, check if the insurance and license details are valid to weed out scammers.

Insured and Bonded

After verifying the company is registered, you should check if they are insured and bonded. This will allow you to avoid carrying any liability in case anything happens during transit.

In addition, the transport company should make you aware of the level of coverage you will receive. An excellent auto transport company should be open and adaptable to provide you with additional coverage, even if it means having additional costs.

Experience

An auto transport company needs extensive resources and a team of experienced workers to provide its customers with the highest level of excellent service. Therefore, when performing a background check on the companies you would love to hire, look at the expertise and experience.

You can check the company’s online reviews or ask through word of mouth. Online reviews are the best way of getting a clear picture of how the company operates and help you learn about the company’s reputation and expertise. When checking the online reviews, be wary of a highly rated auto transport company with little to no negative reviews.

Some of the review sites you can use include:

• Google
• Facebook
• Better Business Bureau(BBB)

Payment Options

A good auto transport company should provide its customers with multiple ways to make payments to cater to the different needs of each customer. Some of the expected payment options include:

• Cash
• Credit
• Check

One of the red flags to look out for in an untrustworthy business is the preference for wire transfers. This is because wire transfers are not easily traceable, unlike a cashier’s check, credit, or debit card.

Final Word

Most people often assume that driving across the country is cheaper but forget to factor in costs like fuel, accommodation, and time. In addition, hiring an auto transport company will streamline the delivery and pickup of your car. Finally, give yourself time to decide between auto transport companies, as they are handling your valuable.