Important Indicators of a Reliable Car Shipping Company

Avoid Unsuccessful Car Shipping by Selecting The Right Auto Transport Company: Here’s How  

Finding the right auto transport company for your shipment is the most important thing when it comes to moving your car to a new location. We understand how important it is for you to drive your own car, keep it safe, and how much money you’ve put into it to have it be in the conditions you want it to be. Whether it’s a new, old, vintage, luxury, or collection vehicle, shipping it with an experienced auto transport company is something you have to keep in mind. But, there are many factors that relate to the company’s reliability and professionalism. Therefore, analyzing certain details will definitely define the best shipping company for your vehicle at a price you can afford. 

Why Should You Choose an Auto Transport Company?

There are tons of auto transportation companies out there, so it's kind of challenging to find the most reliable one, but most of them offer professional services. There’s also freelance drivers or budget shippers that can take your car to your destination, but are they as reliable as you want them to be? The truth is, although these types of shipping methods might be quicker or affordable, they won’t guarantee a successful delivery, insurance, or safety policies for you and your car. Therefore, it is better to choose a professional auto transport company, one you can trust and will accomplish the service you requested.

Also, shipping your vehicle with a company will allow you to have more free time doing your moving out preparations or simply finishing your own tasks while your car arrives. You won’t have to drive and worry about arriving safely to your place, especially if it's a long-distance drive, or spending more time to get to your destination instead of taking a plane. A reliable auto transport company will guarantee you excellent service and help throughout the entire process. You can even choose between different delivery options if the company offers them, and be present during the loading and unloading process. Let’s check out the most important factors to find your perfect car shipping company!

Sings That The Company You’re Searching Is The Best For You

• Good Customer Reviews
  • The most important aspect that can show to you the professionalism of a car shipping company is real customer experiences. Most auto transport companies that are proud of their reviews, tend to show them on their website so potential clients can read them and eventually request a successful service. 
• Easy to Navigate Website
  • A good website, where you can search and navigate easily throughout each category, is also a good sign of a trusted car shipping company. Realizing the fact that the company has put effort into making a website where customers can explore updated content and request services through it, reflects the kind of internal and external processes and customer service that they offer to their customers. Investing time and money on a modern and transparent website means that the company prioritizes customer experience and service as well.
• Free Quote Service
  • Most shipping companies provide you the quote requesting service, but only reliable ones offer it for free. With a free quote, you can see approximate costs of your shipping, and allows you to compare rates within other car shipping companies as well. 
• Transparent Pricing
  • A good sign of a trustworthy auto transport company is their transparency on the amount of money they will ask you to pay. This begins with the quote they provide you when you request it for free, and a detailed outline of what to expect when you have a conversation with a knowledgeable agent who will manage your order.
• Online Presence
  • This has to do a lot with an updated website. By online presence, we refer to a service where you can ask your questions in an easy and quick way through the site. This is usually represented by bots, which appear as a chat window where you can type your inquiries and solve them with an agent at the moment. As a result, you’ll get the idea of good customer service and experience throughout the whole process. 
• Competitive Prices 
  • A good price is not always the cheapest one, and a good service isn’t the most expensive either. Why? Well, shipping a car requires time and expenses during the whole process, therefore prices tend to vary depending on different factors such as carrier availability, road conditions, weather or time of the year. As such, you can request an excellent service for an affordable price, and vice versa. Sometimes, extremely low bids don’t end up as final price because unexpected situations or no spots left on the truck may occur, leading to extra money being requested. The driver charges will be adequately relayed to you to consider with the help of your experienced agent to determine if it is right for you.
• Signing / Documentation Reliability
  • When you hire a car shipping service, you’ll have to sign several documents before loading and after unloading processes. Trusted car shipping companies will allow you to read the contracts before signing them, and we recommend you to read them carefully without skimming, so you avoid missing important details.
• Insurance Coverage
  • Although car shipping is successful most of the time for reliable auto transport companies, the risk of receiving a vehicle damaged is also there. Because of this, asking your shipper about liability in case your vehicle is damaged is a must when shipping your car, and a good reliable company will be happy to provide it to you.
• Excellent Customer Service
  • A professional auto shipping company will provide you direct customer service from the moment you request your quote until the moment you receive your car. Agents will be available for you during their working hours via phone or website chat, and you will be informed of any unexpected situation during the road in case it happens. Your driver and company agent can also provide you ongoing information about your car while it's being delivered, allowing you to be updated of your vehicle conditions and to ask or inform about any question or changes you might have in relation to your car.
• Multiple Shipping Methods
  • Depending on your vehicle’s features, you will be able to choose between different shipping methods if the company you’re looking for is trustable and professional. You can choose between open or enclosed carriers, or even between door-to-door or terminal-to-terminal shipping. That will be based on the characteristics of your car, as well as your pickup and delivery locations. 

Now that you’ve gotten to know about the most important indicators of a reliable car shipping company, let’s see the top five aspects that definitely tell you you’re on the wrong way when searching for an auto transport company:  

• Large Deposit
  • Asking for a deposit before actually picking up your car is a sign that the company lacks resources or carrier-sourcing abilities for the shipping process. This deposit is usually used for resolving inconveniences during the shipment, or in the worst case, a smart way of letting you down. Deposits should be less than half of your total fees, and are used to show the carrier you are serious so they can add you to their load plan and know you are dependable for their trip plan.
  • We recommend you to ask first about the reasons for the deposit, and if they relate to what’s mentioned above, try looking for other options if you can. 
• No up to date registration
  • A way to check if the company is 100% reliable, is by verifying if it’s registered by the Transport’s Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA). Most auto transport companies show this on their website, either by showing a six-digit MC Docket number and USDOT number, or simply by mentioning it. 
  • If your company doesn’t provide this information, keep in mind it cannot legally operate in the U.S. and therefore is not considered a reliable company. 
• Too many complaints
  • You can check for customer reviews by googling them to see if there are any complaints on each of them. If most of them are negative comments, then there’s a high chance that the company’s service is not good or reliable. Therefore, the company is not adequate for shipping. 
  • Keep in mind that these reviews must be shown on a reliable website, whether it is the company’s own website or a specialized source expressly for customer reviews for different companies. 
    
• Company responses to customer reviews
  • When looking for customer reviews, check if the company responds to claims or bad experiences of customers in case there are any. A reliable and professional company will provide information to the customer directly on the comment, and will look for solutions that will potentially solve the bad experience. 
  • Also, the way the company speaks to the customers is a sign of good customer service. If the company’s language and tone is nice, friendly, and expresses confidence, then chances of being a leader in customer service are higher. 
• Accept Any Kind of Payment
  • Auto transport companies that are not truly reliable mostly accept any kind of payment. They frequently suggest you pay through wire transfer, and right after you pay, they’ll may take your money and disappear. 
  • Meanwhile, reliable auto transport companies will only accept major credit cards, which are the most frequent and safe payment methods in the industry. 

AmeriFreight is one of the most qualified and reliable shipping companies in the country 

With thousands of happy and returning customers and years of experience in the auto shipping industry, AmeriFreight guarantees an excellent car shipping service across the country. Simply request a quote on our website or call us, one of our agents will be more than happy to help you solve your inquiries and service requests.