Red Flags in Auto Shipping

Auto shipping is a convenient service when you want to move your car a long distance without adding too much mileage and going through the stress of driving all the way. But not all car companies are there to offer good service. While many car shippers are concerned about delivering the best possible service at a competitive rate, others can be a nightmare to work with. Luckily there are some warning signs to look out for when choosing a reliable auto transport company.

How to Tell if an Auto Shipper Is a Scammer

Scams in auto shipping can take many shapes and forms. But most scammers in the auto shipping industry will quote a lower price than it actually costs to ship your car. They’ll then require additional payments on top of the original quote before returning your car to you. This is dishonest because the auto shipper often blames the extra cost on unforeseen expenses, while in reality they knew the original quote wasn’t enough to get your car shipped.

Other problems with auto shipping include auto shippers that offer an unreliable service. In this case you might book shipping dates far ahead of time, only to wait weeks, or possibly even months longer than planned before getting your car.

While no auto shipper can promise a 100% chance that your car will arrive at its destination in time, late deliveries should be the exception rather than the rule. There aren’t absolute guarantees in life, but there’s a difference between a company that delivered your car a few days late due to unpredictable problems popping up, and one that was never intending to deliver the car on time to start with. If you booked dates for handing over and collecting your car ahead of time, you deserve the service you’re paying for.

There are a few things that will help you separate the wheat from the chaff in auto shipping.

Check Insurance

There’s a reason why recording any dents and scratches is an important step to preparing your car for auto shipping. If you have any damage on record, an auto shipper will pay out for new damage if it might occur.

While good car shipping companies certainly don’t make a habit of returning your car with dents, life is always unpredictable. In the same way driving your car yourself wouldn’t be completely risk-free, auto shipping will have a level of risk involved too. For instance, the carrier shipping your car could get involved in road accident, in which case your auto shipper should have the necessary insurance to pay out for quite a lot of damage.

It’s important to note that a company doesn’t get insurance to cover for recklessness. Instead, a company that has insurance is taking the necessary precautions to deliver the best possible service, even in the case of a terrible accident.

Before handing your car over to someone, be sure to ask about insurance. If you must, you could even call the insurance company to find out if the car shipper is really insured there. You don’t have to believe an auto shipper when they tell you where they’re insured. It’s okay to insist on some form of evidence. A good company will understand your concern.

Read Reviews

Online reviews are always useful when you’re trying to find the best product or service, and that’s no different when it comes to car shipping. When reading through online reviews, it’s good to look not only at the reviews themselves, but also a company’s response.

No business is perfect, and there will be at least one bad review for even the best company. But how a company responds to these bad reviews can reveal a lot about their level of professionalism. If a company responds to negative reviews without properly explaining the situation that led up to a customer’s negative experience, you have no way of knowing what the problem looks both sides. In some cases the customer might have misunderstood something, leading to dissatisfaction. But no matter who’s at fault, a good company will respond to negative reviews in a professional way without being derogatory.

Of course, you still wouldn’t want to opt for a company that has mostly bad reviews. A reliable auto shipper will have more good reviews than bad ones.

Ask Friends

If you have friends who’ve made use of car shipping services before, it might be a great to ask them about their experience with their auto shipping company. This won’t always be possible, but it could be an easy way to instantly end your search for a reliable auto shipper.

Set Realistic Expectations

Before you start your search for a car shipping company, do some research about what you can expect to pay. The approximate cost of reliable auto shipping won’t change drastically, so if you get a quote from a company that seems too good to be true, it usually is.

Go around asking for quotes from as many companies as you can to get an idea of what it will cost to ship your vehicle to where you want it. Based on the quotes, you should get a good idea of what a realistic quote looks like.

Another important note is that a company should make it easy for you to get a quote. Never pay for a quote. Ideally, an auto shipper should be willing to give you a quote without asking for any personal information other than what car you drive and where you want to ship it.

Not sure where to start? Call Shipping A Car for a quote. Our team will be happy to answer any questions regarding how to prepare your car for shipping and help you through the process of booking the best dates to hand over and collect your vehicle.