Enclosed vs Open Auto Shipping

When you make use of auto transport, your car is transported by loading it onto an auto transport truck and shipping to its destination. But there are different ways to transport a vehicle on a truck. While some cars are shipped on open carriers, others are loaded into special enclosed carriers.

So, what makes open auto transport different from enclosed transport, and how will you know what option is right for you? There are many things to consider when choosing. But mainly the price of the service and the value you attach to your car will determine your ultimate choice.

Why Use Auto Transport Instead of Driving?

Now, some people wonder why anyone would make use of auto transport to start with. At Shipping A Car, the main reason our customers enjoy shipping their cars instead of driving include things like:

• Inconvenience: Driving somewhere yourself can take a long time. It might also require you to take a flight to get to where your car is, only to drive it back to where you came from. This often happens when customers are moving jobs and they started at their new job before they had time to move their car.
• Keeping your car in good shape: Many customers don’t want to add a lot of mileage onto their vehicles. This is especially the case when the car is special, like when it’s a classic car or a sports car.
• Extra expenses: Some customers are able to move their cars for less by making use of auto shipping. This is because gas, accommodation and general wear and tear all factor into the price of driving a car over a long distance.

So obviously, auto shipping has its benefits. But how will you know what the best way to ship your car is?

Open vs Enclosed Auto Shipping: How to Choose

When it comes to comparing open shipping to enclosed shipping, it all comes down to what why you’re shipping your car to begin with. But at the end of the day, most customers will choose open auto shipping.

Open Auto Shipping

Open auto shipping is an easy way to move your car from point A to B without any unnecessary expenses. With open auto shipping the carrier your car is loaded on will be open on the sides, so your car will potentially be exposed to harsh weather conditions outside. That said, open auto shipping isn’t any more harmful to your car than driving it down the road. In reality, it’s actually better for your car because you aren’t adding any mileage.

So of the best benefits of using open auto shipping include:

• Lower price: There are more open carriers available to ship cars than enclosed carriers. Because of this, customers who choose to go with open auto shipping can expect to pay significantly less.
• Flexible delivery dates: With closed auto shipping, customers are encouraged to book well in advance, as closed carries aren’t carrying vehicles to different destinations as often. But with open carriers, you’ll have more shipping and delivery dates to choose from.
• Hassle free: Generally, open auto shipping is for customers who just want to move their car for a low price without having to worry about driving it themselves. This is for customers who are focused on moving the vehicle, not on pampering it.

Enclosed Auto Shipping

Enclosed auto shipping is somewhat of a luxury service. That’s why – in the Disney movie Cars – celebrity race car Lightning McQueen travels in his own auto transport carrier truck. However, unlike in Lightning McQueen’s truck, we don’t typically fit our carriers with speakers so your car can enjoy music while it’s being transported!

Jokes aside, enclosed auto shipping has a time and a place in the auto transport world. And actually race cars are really one of the vehicles people might want to ship using enclosed transport. Enclosed transport is used when protecting the car is more important than saving a few dollars on transport – or the convenience of more flexible delivery dates, for that matter. Some of the vehicles customers will most often want to ship with closed auto transport include:

• Vintage cars, pickup trucks and motorcycles.
• Sports cars
• Cars used for sporting events, like rally cars

In these cases, the owners might want to get the car to a car show or an auction. Because of this, owners will usually know further in advance when exactly they’ll need to ship their car. That’s a good thing, because – as stated earlier on – there aren’t as many enclosed auto carriers moving back and forth between destinations.

Obviously though, people don’t normally ship their family vehicles using enclosed shipping, at least not unless the vehicle isn’t important to them for reasons besides the ones mentioned above.

Are you planning to ship your car sometime soon? Why not look into shipping your car with Shipping A Car’s auto shipping service? We’re sure you’ll be delighted with the ease of shipping your car through us.