Fall Season

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Looks like the snowbird season is here. There is one major problem there is way too many cars and no carriers why? It is called Houston Tx with over 1 million cars that need to be taken away i.e flood damage etc guess what they have to be replaced. Therefore, carriers are all over that because the pay is good both ways. If you don’t have steady customers going down to Florida it is a no brainer because there is nothing coming out of Florida it is  so cheap will pay for your fuel and that is about it almost at the point to come back empty. There are so many cars heading south as these brokers can’t move cars because they have no trucks so cars will be sitting. The carriers that are doing snowbirds now have there regular customers so they are full or can take maybe 1 or 2 each trip. Looks like it will go well into Oct as I was talking with a carrier today doing Houston and he is heading back there with both his trucks. I guess time will tell but the prices going down to Florida are going to be alot higher the next 3 or 4 weeks.

Fall 2017

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It has been a tough fall so far in Florida. The hurricane has caused a lot of problems for everyone. I guess it could have been a lot worse in southwest Florida. A lot of my customer just lost power and minor damage. The hurricane has caused a lot of companies to pull out of Florida.

There is a lot of work in Houston, Tx and carriers are moving in that directions because it is paying good money. Therefore, it looks like prices to transport vehicles will be higher this year. There are not a lot of carriers right now doing the route that may change in Oct which is very busy. Please be careful when getting quotes online because it is very tough right now to move a car to Florida.

Snowbird Season Almost Here

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When the cold weather  starts to drop the snowbirds start thinking about heading South. As the seasons starts a couple of things to keep in mind. When setting up an order with me you will have 2 choices door to terminal and door to door. The prices I give you will move your vehicle  in an estimated 4-8 days. However, this doesn’t include snowstorms/holidays dates/break downs etc. I don’t price match with other companies sorry. Some customers have to realize what is involved in moving your car to Florida. The average cost for a tractor/7 car carrier runs about 15k-20k for insurance plus add in fuel/driver pay/break downs etc as you can see it cost a lot of money to run these trucks. Also, there is not much freight coming out of florida so a lot of carriers have to stop in other states to get loaded empty trailer means no money, so this takes a good amount of time. Each car has to be postion right because of  weight station each axle has to be approved weight. That is why trucks and/SUV are more money to move. Drivers can only drive so many hours a week  A lot of carriers are getting out of the business because of the cost to run a truck so it all adds up

The door to terminal is cheaper as the carrier don’t have to spend time meeting customers/picking a spot to meet/driver gets behind schedule causes customer to get mad it happens a lot remember 1500 miles they are traveling  just to go over the George Washington/Tappan Zee bridge in New York can be a nighmare during the day heavy traffic and at nighttime construction on the Tappan Zee bridge and the G.W. bridge upper level down to 1 lane. I took the G.W. bridge last week took me 2 hours to move 1 mile because of traffic. Therefore, alot of carrier are stopping in New Jersey only to get loads and not coming to New England to deal with the headaches of the bridges. The bottom line only the high price vehicle will get moved this snowbird season. As always it is supply/demand a lot of cars the high price one get moved that simple

On the west coast of Florida there is a lot of low hanging trees so if your vehicle is on the top level you know what can happen. Therefore, the door to door service the vehicle will be dropped at terminal and a 2 car carrier and or flatbed will bring your car to your door. No need to meet a 9-10 car carrier mile from the house. I have a list of terminals on my website https://www.newenglandtoflorida.com/terminals/  The terminal will call you when your car comes in to pick up or schedule a time for drop off.

In years past I price to what I think will move the vehicles alot of brokers have no idea what is involved and give you a low price and your car sits and it because a nightmare I have post post/blog regarding this so read it.

 

Please have a little patience this year and I always work hard to get your vehicle moved.

 

 

Researching Companies

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I write this Blog so I can help people understand the transport business as most customers have no idea how much is involved. People call me  asking for a quote all the time. All they care about is the price and dong very little research on a company. All it takes is 5 minutes to get a little research about a company. For example auto transport 123 out of New York. I typed in their name in google and a list of pages came up. The 6th link down came up the BBB site. They are not a member but have over 120 complaints and the following remarks from the bbb this took me about 5 minutes to do. No one is perfect in this industry and some mistakes are going to be made but 122 complaints come on and customers are still using them.

BBB files indicate a pattern of complaint concerning Auto Transport 123’s sales, billing, and customer service practices. Consumers are telling BBB about various issues they have experienced while attempting to have a vehicle transported using Auto Transport 123’s broker services. Numerous consumers allege the company’s representatives use high pressure sales tactics to get them to sign up, such as promising specific pick-up and delivery dates, assurances of no cancellation fees or no charges made to their credit cards until dispatch. These consumers allege that what the sales person promises them during the sales pitch often turns out to be misleading and incorrect. When problems arise with the transport services, many consumers report that the response from the company’s customer service staff is inadequate to address their issues. These consumers claim they have to repeatedly call the company to get updates or confirmation on a pick-up or delivery date which has been altered. Some consumers say the lack of communication from the company results in their opting to cancel the reservation with Auto Transport 123. Many of those consumers claim they are charged $100-$250 as a cancellation fee and are unable to get a refund from the company.

On February 18, 2015, BBB requested Auto Transport 123’s voluntary cooperation in eliminating the identified pattern of customer complaints. As of April 20, 2015, the business has responded to BBB’s communication, but failed to specify what actions the company will take to alleviate the underlying issues in the pattern.

Summer Months

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All my snowbirds made it back. I had one incident but took care of it and both customer were happy on the outcome. In the summer months I run new cars to dealership all through Mass, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. We also run Florida trips during the summer.

For customer looking to find someone to move their vehicles always look how long companies have been in business and ask them if they belong to the BBB. A lot of the brokers only last about a year and they are gone. Why because they buy leads that cost alot of money and get no where. They do not have regular customers or just can’t find enough business to keep going please look at the whole picture instead of just the quote they give you. thanks Jim

 

Transport Reviews Website The Truth

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A lot of people go to this website to find out about companies. I’m amaze how many people get a quote and say the company is great. Believe me a lot of these post are fake. They have friends write them or the company does it. If these companies are so good why are they not on the BBB and pay a monthly fee to follow their standards. If you do a little research and just don’t take the lowest quote you will see. Take the company on transport reviews and look them up on the BBB. They are probably not even a member to make matters worse they have several complaints on them so what is wrong with this picture. They have all these good reviews (Transport reviews) and can’t pay 35.00 dollars month to follow the BBB standards. Come on someone is trying to pull a fast one on the customer.

 

Here is an example of auto transport 123. They have a lot of good reviews on transportreviews.com but look there BBB site. So please use caution when using the transportreviews website. Cut and paste these links

http://www.transportreviews.com/Company/Auto-Transport-123

http://www.bbb.org/new-york-city/business-reviews/auto-transporters-and-drive-away-companies/auto-transport-123-in-north-baldwin-ny-122375

 

 

 

 

Snowbird Season Is here

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Yes, Easter has gone by and a number of my customers are heading back to cold weather yes we got about 5 inches of snow on April 4th and it was cold. Prices are starting to go a lot higher the last week or so. Remember the lowest quote is always the best as your car might sit or you will get a bait and switch with the broker asking for more money. That is only the start. What happen if there is damage to your vehicle and the broker is in Florida. Do you know how to start a claim. Seems like most brokers  are interested in getting your credit card and charging it as soon as possible to get there fee, but if something happens to your vehicle you will not be able to get in touch with them take my word. They will give you the carriers number and he will never get back to you as a claim on his cargo policy will increase his rates. The broker will want no part of you if anything goes bad. Just keep that in mind as you are searching around on the internet.

Terminal service

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As the snowbirds get ready to head home for the spring a couple things I have learned over the years. Terminals are very important to my business. In the spring there is about 2.5 months everyone is trying to get home and the traffic is a mess. A driver can tell a customer he is 2 hours way but he hits traffic and it could be 6 hours. Therefore, if it is in the afternoon he has to come at night and can’t really inspect your car so it isn’t fair to anyone. In addition, the customer wasted a whole day waiting for him and now it is on to the next day and who know what can happen. Therefore, using one of my 12 terminal is the best way to go. All you have to do is drive to the terminal on the way to the airport or a day before and check in your car under American Transport. They will do a BOL Bill of lading and give you a copy, so when you get home you can use it to check your vehicle. No wasting days sitting waiting for carriers or calling me 5 times that day wondering what time etc. I will pay for the storage but to and from the terminal /airport the customer has to pay. It gets to crazy in the past on who is paying what etc. I have never had a problem with any of these terminal listed here. So enjoy the stress free of waiting for carrier and enjoy your last couple of days. Copy and paste the link for a list of terminals

www.newenglandtoflorida.com/terminals

 

Customers Beware of Internet Quotes

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This is happening all over the internet and customer are calling telling me they got scam. Read Below remember anyone can get a nice webpage and start working.

***IMPORTANT INFORMATION UPDATE***

Recently the transport industry has been flooded with a number of wholesalers, posing as legitimate transport companies. You see them all over the internet with fancy, complex websites, usually accompanied by a photo of a friendly operator with a headset. Do not be fooled by them. These are often deceptive, dishonest companies. They quote unrealistic low prices and distinguish themselves by requiring down payments or deposits given up front before any work is done. Furthermore, they will post your car out to bid on the internet and rarely actually know who is moving your car, and usually do not get the car picked up.
Make sure to check out the carrier before you give your expensive automobile to them.

Snowbird Season and Carrier’s Insurance

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Yes, snowbird season is here stated in late September. My customers are heading down to be the nice cold winters up here. A couple of things remember delivery times are not guaranteed in this business a lot can happen going south truck break down, customer cancel needs to find more cars, traffic, weather and the list goes on. Please have a little patience as these things take time. Also, carriers have to carry both auto liability and cargo insurance auto is 750-1 million per fmcsa and cargo from 100k smaller trucks to 500k to bigger trucks. They have a deductible ranging from 500-2000 dollars. What this means if there is minor damage say 500 dollars and the carrier deductible is 2000 the insurance company will not cover it so the carrier has to pay out of pocket. 98% of the time the carrier will take care of it. However, if not there is a process that I will do as I will need all the paperwork, Bill of lading, pictures statement on what happen etc and I will go after them. The process will result in a fine  (if found guilty) with them and also their insurance company will be notified and can result in cancelling their insurance and also paying the damage claim so it is in their best interest to pay. I will file the report. This is why you want to use a local broker/carrier so you can fall back on. It you go with a carrier direct and their is damage and carrier decided not to pay are you going to travel 1200 miles for a 500 small claims court claim probably not, so if carrier gives you a cheaper price always remember what can happen. This doesn’t happen all the time but if does occur and you need to be ready. thanks Jim