Is the Internet good or bad for the transport industry

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As i begin my 15th year in the auto transport industry I received a call the other day from a broker who has been in business 30 years and he was putting on a driver to help with is snowbirds. In talking with him he mention the internet has killed the business when he was driving up and down the east coast most of his customers came from referrals and good old advertising in the paper. The internet has killed the rates as the fly by night brokers post prices that are not even worth getting out of bed for.  Customer get these quotes and take it having no idea their car will never get picked up.  Don’t get me wrong the internet has help the customer as some brokers charge crazy money and list it for about 30% of what they are making keep 70% like in the winter months coming out of florida customer know they prices are low by just reading the internet and truckers need to by fuel just to get back to get a load.  This has caused companies to go out of business or just say the hell with snowbirds.

 

I think it has done more bad then good as some poor customer get stood up by brokers and their car never gets picked up like I had one this week broker stop answering the phone and the couple was already in florida. It came to me by a good old fashion referral.  I get calls from customer saying they got quotes for alot less know I just tell them good luck. When I e-mail them my quote I give them this blog section to read to help them make I hope a wise decision. What gets me is most brokers has no idea what is cost to run a business fuel alone is 3.50 gallon down south/insurance will run you 15-20 a year for a 9 car carrier the list goes on.

A lot of these broker are sitting in a big office in florida just trying to get their commission once they get a carrier they are usually out of the picture.

 

 

Do Your Research Before Picking An Auto Transport Company

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I was in the office today and received a call from a person that was looking to ship a car from Weymouth, Mass to Las Vegas, NV. He told me the story that he had a carrier(has their own trucks) and the truck broke down in New York and couldn’t do it. I asked for the company name and he told it to me. After doing some research the company didn’t even have trucks, in addition wasn’t even license as a broker or carrier. This company was using a name that sound like they had trucks etc. They are a sister company out of florida that was a broker. The fake company had some good reviews but also some bad ones. The auto broker company hides behind the fake company so they don’t get bad review. FIRST OF ALL DO NOT BELIEVE ALL THE REVIEWS ON THE INTERNET THEY CAN BE POSTED BY THE COMPANY. Second, get the company name and just do a google search you will be amaze on what you find out if you can get the owner’s name do the same. THIRD, ASK FOR THEIR m/c NUMBER AND GO TO THIS WEBSITE AND SEE IF THEY ARE LICENSE. Follow the steps on the front of this webpage.

http://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/pkg_menu.prc_menu

 

The fake company was not license as a carrier or broker AND THE BROKER POSTED THE LOAD UNDER A DIFFERENT NAME. They couldn’t get anyone to move it so they said the truck broke down etc.

This poor guy is now stuck I tried to help him but explain it would be costly because everyone is doing snowbirds and only the high price vehicle are moving.

The internet is good and bad  just be careful and it only takes about 15 minutes to research a company. I just don’t understand customer their vehicle is worth between 5k-45k and they trust a broker they know nothing about. A couple of months ago an incident happen a 10 car carrier stole all the cars and shipping then overseas. There are a lot of different cultures shipping cars and a lot of them have connection overseas p.s the broker usually picks the first carrier that calls and has NO IDEA ABOUT THEM AS LONG AS THEY ARE LICENSE THEY DISPATCH THE ORDER. Remember they work on commission so they get their broker fee and if you read the contract it is between you and the carrier. Not to get off topic 10 cars at 15k is not bad in foreign countries. The carrier will just cancel their insurance and leave the country.  This is an extreme case but know who you are dealing with.

I Get This Question Everyday.

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I get calls from customer asking for transport quote. Today I got a call looking to ship there car from the South Shore Hanover, Mass to Florida daughter was going to school. I gave them a price of 800 which I know I can do if not me I can broker it out but it will get move. The customer replies we got a quote of 575 to move it. How did she get a quote so low she went to one of those websites and put in her information and next thing you know she got 8 quotes ranging from 550-850. Of course everyone takes the lowest one. I hate these websites it gives the customer  the idea a car will get moved for that price. These sales/brokers people all work on commission and will tell you anything to get an order they are fighting against each other to get an order. Little do these customer know that BROKERS have no control if a car gets picked up. They are hoping it does if not they do not get paid.

In addition, your car will sit for days or weeks and be stress out. The quote I give you will be an honest quote. I do not work on commission so no need to lower my price. I will let the customer find out for themselves but give them fair warning on what will happen.

Things to remember. Never give a broker your credit card until they find a carrier. Signing a contract is ok as long as they don’t have your credit card let them find someone first.

Just do your research it takes a couple of minutes on each company to find out if they are good or bad.

 

 

Transportreviews.com

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Alot of people use this website to checkout auto transport companies. I just want to explain how the website works and to use it as one of your tools to find a company. First customer can post reviews good or bad about a company on their experience using them. Companies that advertise or pay to be on the site get special treatment. I saw it happen first hand last fall. A customer called me looking to move their car from Las Vegas, NV to Boston, Mass as their son was returning home. They listed with a company and that company told them they are hundreds of trucks. First of all any company with hundreds of trucks is not going to be on transportreviews.com as they have national acct. Anyways, the vehicle was listed for 900 which was way too low I told him 1200 was probably going to move it. I told him to cancel the order and list it with me and write up a review on transportreviews about the company liaring to them saying they already had a truck assign to get it. The company was only a broker so had NO TRUCKS WAS LIARNG TO THE CUSTOMER.

The customer wrote a review about the company which I saw posted withn 3 hours the post was removed. The company was paying to advertise on the website I say about 200-250 dollars a month was going to the company they handles the reviews. How do you think the website makes money on advertising, so they want to keep this company so they removed the bad review. If you think about it that makes sense as they keep the company and they had good feedback so it is a win/win for both. I then went to look them up on the BBB (Better Business Bureau) they had over 100 complaints on them. How can they both be off by so much. I just explained it above.  In addition, you can see it they are a carrier or broker see below my company American Transport. I tried to cut and paste it but didn’t work

here is a link to my page.

http://transportreviews.com/company/american-transport-(massachussets).asp

If you look at the FMCSA info a broker will only be active if they are a carrier the common and contract with also so active. If they are both all of them will be active.

How long they have been in business is another great tool. A lot of these broker are gone in a year or so. It is always best to use someone local if you can find someone.

THE BOTTEM LINE JUST DON’T GO WITH THE LOWEST QUOTE DO SOME RESEARCH AND WILL SAVE YOU ALOT OF TIME AND HEADACHES.

No MiddleMan

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If you book your car with a broker(middleman) they will usually post it on a Transport load board as cheap as possible and the first real trucking company that comes along gets it. This is bad for you and the trucking company. It’s bad for you, the customer, because you are over paying the broker to Carriers your car, so that he can pay himself and the Transport company. Its also bad when you call the broker to find out where your car is and he can’t give you an answer. He has to call the Transport to find out anything about your car, this makes it more frustrating for everyone. It’s bad for the Transport because he is being under paid for the work he is doing. What happens when a Transport is underpaid? First thing is the quality of service goes down. Second, is the Transport has to get cheaper insurance to be able to afford to keep his business afloat. This effects you because the insurance coverage of your vehicle is not as good.

The way we solve this problem is putting you in direct contact with the Transport company. By going direct, you are paying the Transport more than if you go through a broker and you, the customer, are paying less because there is no middle man. There are some good brokers in the industry, but this industry has had so many fly by night brokerages go in and out of this industry, that its given the brokers a really bad name. Several of the large brokers charge the customer and never pay the trucking company. Then the trucking company holds the customers car until they get paid. In so many cases the customer ends up paying twice. AMERICAN TRANSPORT IS BOTH A BROKER/CARRIER WHICH MEANS WE DO BOTH. SORRY I DO NOT LOW BALL AS I KNOW HOW MUCH IT COST TO BE A CARRIER.

Pros and Cons of Auto Transport Carriers and Auto Transport Brokers

The benefit of using a broker for Auto Transport is selection. A broker has ties with individual pre-approved Auto Transport or know where to post the vehicle online for any Transport to select. When using a carrier instead of a broker, you would be responsible for contacting the Auto Transport individually for Car Shipping.

Door To Door or Terminal

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When transporting a Auto, most Auto Transporter companies give the option of either picking up or dropping off your Auto right at your front door, or picking up the Auto and dropping it off at a nearby terminal. The convenience of door-to-door Auto Shipping generally comes with a higher price tag than dropping off and picking up your Auto at a terminal. The biggest issue with door-to-door Auto Shippers service is that you have to be available when the driver is in town. One of the positives of dropping at a terminal, you can drop off and pick up your Auto when you are ready. One of the biggest complaints about terminals is damage. Having your Auto on a busy lot increases the chance of Vehicle Shipper damages. If you can make yourself available then we would always recommend door-to-door Auto Transport over terminal. Newenglandtoflorida can offer both terminal and door to door service

Why Does a truck or SUV cost more that a regular vehicle ?

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NewenglandtoFlorida shipments are based on weight and size that a truck can legally carry. This is why there is a price difference with a car. Some times trucks take two spots on a carrier, so the company is short one car.

Will my vehicle be moved from one truck to another?

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No and Yes. Once your vehicle is on the auto truck, it stays on that truck during the entire process. There are rare circumstances when your vehicle will have to be moved to a different car transport truck, but that usually is only when the truck breaks down. Your car shipping company will always inform you of any changes during your vehicle transport, and you can call your driver any time to find out the status of your transport. Also, it may switch from one carrier to other do to a long haul and one carrier doesn’t go that far and will switch to a carrier that does. The customer would be advised of switching vehicle also. This happens a lot with the long hauls these big trucks get about 5 miles to the gallon.

 

 

What Is A National Board

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auto dispatchMost transport companies use a National Board to connect with carriers and brokers. This board provides key information on the market  conditions like current rates, the supply and demand of trucks and vehicles moving in a particular area and much more info required to give customers a great service. At American Transport we are proud of our specialized service unlike many other companies, American Transport work does not end on the national board, it starts there. We will contact every pre-approved carrier from our extensive carrier’s list working a  particular route until we find, negotiate and schedule your job. There is no better way.

The Car Transport Industry Is Full Of Crooks.

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I always get this question that the car industry is full of crooks. The reason before was simple was easy to get a broker bond.The car transport industry isn’t heavily regulated (alot better now 75,000 bond is required now use to be 10,000), granted, but it is regulated to an extent and there have been independent safeguards put into place to prevent car transport companies from cheating their customers out of their money. We won’t say that those scam artists don’t exist – unfortunately, due to the regulatory nature of the industry, not all car transport companies are legitimate. However, it’s pretty easy to tell who’s legit and who’s not. For starters, never book with the first company that you find – chances are they aren’t the best company for you. Instead, try and gather as many different car transport quotes from as many different companies as you can – we recommend at least eight, but ten to twelve is best. That way, you can make side-by-side comparisons between quotes and come to a decision.Therefore, the car transport industry isn’t full of crooks if you do a little homework.

Always try and book with a local company and meet with broker/carrier if possible. Please contact American Transport with questions or to book a orde