Considering a move in the near future? You’re not alone. The average American moves up to twelve times in an average lifetime. Sometimes those moves might be around the same time, but in other instances, a move across a great distance might be required.
If you’re moving far across the country, you might be determining the best way to get all of your goods out to your new home. Moving your vehicle can be a big part of this process. What is the cheapest way to ship a car?
It’s an answer you’ll need to seek out if you hope to get through your move in one piece. What do you need to know about the various ways to ship a car? Read on and we’ll walk you through the details.
Open vs. Closed Transport
The first thing you’ll want to understand when deciding to ship a car is the options you’ll have presented to you. There are a great variety of car shipping companies out there, and all will be happy to help move your vehicle across state lines.
They will all offer different prices, timelines, and services, and you’ll need to do the work to compare and contrast the offers and quotes that come your way. You can use a car shipping rate calculator to help determine might be a reasonable cost for your type of vehicle and the amount of distance that you need it moved.
However, there is one decision you’ll need to make no matter what car shipping company you go with. That is whether or not you want your vehicle shipped via open or closed transport.
Open transport is the cheapest possible way to have your car transported. Open transport refers to those car carriers you’ve likely seen on the highway before, where the automobile is out in the open and exposed to the world around it.
There is a very slight chance of risk with this method of transport but in nearly all instances, the vehicle will arrive at your new home in perfect condition.
You could also opt-in for the more expensive option of enclosed transport, which is where your vehicle is put inside a closed-off storage container and then placed on a truck for transport.
If you’re looking to keep your costs low, going with open transport options can help to keep the bottom line in a much more digestible place.
Other Ways to Save
What else can you do if you’re hoping to keep your car shipping costs low? There are a number of steps you can take that generally will help to keep the price down.
Reserve as Far Ahead of Time as Possible
When you work to get a car shipped, you’ll have various companies come in and bid for the job. The more time you allow for this process, the lower the price you’ll be able to secure.
If you’re doing things last second, you won’t give time for these companies to go back and forth and try to out-bid one another. If you can set a date for your car shipment weeks or even months ahead of time, you can get a price that might become continually sink lower as you seek out a provider.
Even making a plan three weeks ahead of your needed ship-out date can help you to save a good amount of money. If you’re a natural procrastinator, this is an area where you’re going to want to push yourself to get ahead.
Work With Reputable Companies
If you can, it’s worth talking to your network of friends and family ahead of your move. Have any of them shipped a car before? What company did they work with and what were the costs associated?
This can be a great way to keep costs low. It’s important to work with a company that many others have had solid experiences with because it means you won’t run into any kind of unfortunate surprises down the road.
Working with companies without a positive reputation? It’s a risk. What initially might seem like a better deal might reveal itself later to be deceptive pricing practices. Often, companies that offer rates that are far lower than other companies are trying to cheat you in some way.
Don’t fall for it.
It’s best to be on the safe side and work with companies that have a history of happy and content customers. You’ll end up saving more money in the long run.
Ship During the Off-Season
One way to help ensure you get a good price for your car transport job? Consider only shipping during the time of the year when these services are less requested.
Prices tend to fall during the winter months when fewer people are moving. Car shipping companies will be more hungry for work and will be willing to come down on prices in order to secure a job.
If you don’t need your vehicle right away, you can save a good amount of money by waiting a few months and taking advantage of this reality.
What Is the Cheapest Way to Ship a Car?
If you’re looking to get a vehicle from one location to another, you’ll need to do a good bit of research. What is the cheapest way to ship a car? The above information can help you determine the best path forward for your own automobile.
Need more advice for your automobile? Keep scrolling our blog for more tips and tricks.