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5 Tips to Avoid a Car Shipping Scam

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Home  |  Car Transport   |   5 Tips to Avoid a Car Shipping Scam

There are many good reasons to take advantage of car shipping. You enjoy less stress, more convenience, better control of your time, and less risk of an accident happening. Take advantage of the benefits and sidestep the risks of a scam with these tips.

Know who you’re dealing with

You wouldn’t blindly turn over the keys to your home to an unknown stranger. Be just as diligent in learning about the car shipping service provider. Reading site reviews is a start, but that isn’t enough (many are bogus). Ask for the full company name, physical address and license numbers. Check sites such as Yelp, ask for recommendations from friends and coworkers and even check out the better business bureau and or Federal Motor Safety Carrier Association. Your goal is to find a reputable shipper who cares about delivering your car safely.

Skip the middleman

Deal directly with the shipper so you have a full understanding of what service will be provided, and by whom. Brokers will not provide the actual service and may not be able to give you relevant details about payment and liability.

Read the contract carefully

No one likes to read endless fine print but do it anyway. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if there is something you don’t understand. Before you sign on the dotted line or share credit card information, know what you are agreeing to. Doing so can mean the difference between a smooth transaction and your car being held for ransom.

Don’t try to get over

Scammers love it when customers get excited over too good to be true deals. Remember, a car shipping service is a business. Businesses are in the business of making money. If the car shipper promises the moon, ask yourself – what’s in it for them? Reputable dealers make money offering reliable service at a fair price. If the shipper promises more than that, it’s likely a scam.

Shop around

Especially if you have never used a car shipping service before it helps to do some comparison shopping. Talking with a few providers will give you an idea of what you can reasonably expect. You’ll start to get a better handle on what questions to ask, too. Give yourself enough time before you need to ship to talk with at least three providers.

Car shipping is a convenient, safe and easy way to move your car. Get all the benefits and none of the risks when you take the time to fully understand the process and what you can expect from the provider.

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to Your Car Moving Questions

The hardest thing for people researching car moving companies to understand is that the prices they are getting are not hard and fast gaurantees, but rather ESTIMATES of what one company thinks it will take to get a vehicle moved promptly versus another company's opinion of what it will take. Don't be fooled, there are not carriers committed to take your vehicle at these quoted prices, the company you choose will still have to get to work getting a carrier to commit to move it at the price they quote you.

Your total price breaks down into two parts, the broker's fee (or 'deposit' as everyone calls it) and the carriers fee (your COD amount) Make no mistake about this, EVERYONE YOU ARE GETTING SALES CALLS FROM IS GOING TO BROKER YOUR MOVE. In this industry, there are brokers who try to fool you into thinking that they are the actual carriers and there are an equal amount of carriers who sell themselves on the fact that they have a truck or two but are not being honest about the fact that they broker out 90% of the orders they book. Here is a quick easy way to tell, if a company takes an up front fee, whether they call it a deposit or any other name, they are a broker. Carriers do not take any payment until the vehicle is delivered.

In our opinion, you are crazy to do so. Have you ever been paid up front for the work that you perform for your employer? Why would you pay a fee up front when there are reliable and trustworthy companies like ours that won't ask for it until we provide you with your carriers details?

The average transit time from pick up to delivery on any vehicle going coast to coast will be between one and two weeks. From there you can figure your transit time based on how far your vehicle is traveling, i.e. from either coast to the Midwest might average 3-7 days.

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