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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.

Snowbird Season

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Ok summer is over and kids are back in school. Yes, the fall is when a lot of snowbirds start heading to Florida and Arizona for the winter. The question is when does it start? My rates kick in right around Oct 1st because there are a number of vehicles being ship to Florida now. As of 9/21/2014 the number of vehicles going to Florida from Mass is approx. 114 vehicles ready to be shipped in 14 days. That  number is going to increase very quickly within the number of weeks. Here is the problem a lot of carriers doing the route is not going to increase that much because they have went out of business( it cost over 14k for insurance, equipment is very pricy and fuel is costly so they have gotten out of the business)Some carrier decide to stay on the same route they do every year and not bother with snowbird season. HERE IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM. THE NUMBER OF CARS COMING OUT OF FLORIDA IS FEW AND EVERYONE WILL BE FIGHTING TO GET THEM. therefore, a lot of carrier have decided to not bother with it as it isn’t worth it. As of 9/21/2014 there is approx. 17 vehicle coming out of florida to mass within 14 days that is not much so think about it.

The bottom line is supply/demand the supply of vehicle will be very high but the demand for carriers is few. So there is going to be a lot of cars sitting this snowbird season. Last year was one of the busy seasons I have seen since the great depression of 2008. The economy is improving, housing in Florida is cheap compare to Mass can’t speak for other parts of the U.S. so a lot of snowbird are heading south.

Why Use An Auto Terminal?

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There are several reason to use a terminal. Mostly for snowbird customers going to and from Florida from New England. Newenglandtoflorida.com website for American Transport has 9 terminals in Florida and 1 terminal in Massachusetts home base.

City in Massachusetts – Worcester

The cities I have in Florida:

West Palm Beach, Port St. Lucie, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Naples, Ft Myers, Sarasota, Port Charlotte,  Tampa and Orlando.

Why are terminals important for snowbirds usually they have two cars. They drop one off at my terminal in Worcester, Mass a week or 2 before they are flying down. The car is shipped down to the terminal that you choose. When you get off the airplane you can take a taxi to the location, have a friend  pick you up or I can arrange to have you picked up.

The same can be done coming back.

Transporting  vehicles takes time and there are several delays that can happen. Trucks do not leave empty must be filled to make money, truck breaks down, overweight must fix load at weight station, have other stops along the way, traffic on I 95 can be crazy so you can see there is a lot. Remember this is 1500 miles not going right around the corner, so a lot IS involved with this transport.

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.

Beware The Auto Transport Quote Rip off

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Beware the Auto Transport Quote Rip-off

Here are a few things to look out for when shipping your car:

1.  Beware the ultra low quote and things that sound to good to be true. Dishonest companies will do anything to get their hands on your credit card numbers and you could face big problems. Ask yourself…would I haul somebody’s car for .25 cents a mile? Not unless you are desperate! Good transports don’t need to work for low pay but poor quality transports will take almost anything they can get their hands on and if you go with ultra low quotes THAT is who will be carrying your car. BAD BAD news… 

 

2.  Giving a deposit before a truck is assigned to your vehicle is a big NO-NO. Booking your car weeks in advance is another. Some dishonest trucking companies will gladly take your money upfront and then ignore your car. It happens EVERYDAY somewhere in the USA. Loads get cancelled and delayed constantly in this industry and the further out you book the more likely it is that your car will sit and you won’t get it picked up or delivered when you expected. It’s as simple as that.

 

3.  So you call for a quote and the price is just soooo low and you’re liking it and eager to book your car at that price and then comes the CONTRACT. Yes, the dreaded contract MUST be signed, so they say. Yes, they do need it signed and returned but not for the reasons you think. Many of those auto shipping companies use contracts to protect themselves, not you OR your car. Take a very very close look at the terms you are agreeing to. Often times the contracts are written in a way for the dishonest transport to keep your credit card deposit. Their car shipping quote suddenly needs “priority” upgrading or other nonsense which forces you to spend more money. Or you cancel with them and they get to keep your deposit. Then you decide to hire a lawyer to get some fair treatment and the lawyer informs you all disputes must be held in their local court system forcing you to travel. These are just a few tricks they use to get your money. They can’t wait for you to just go away and not bother them about moving your car. Many people actually do. They give up. Some even go to the next company and cross their fingers it doesn’t happen again. One way to find honest brokers and dispatchers is to visit the Better Business Bureau. Avoid the online transport reviews websites. Most are surviving by accepting advertising money from transport companies. Does that tell you anything? The information they offer is custom tailored and often tainted to hurt the transport companies that DON’T give them ad dollars.

Can I pay in full with a credit card

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YES you can. We can arrange to charge your credit card on your behave to pay the carrier via wire. This option has a small fee of 3.5% to 5% depending on the credit card type.

Can I pay in full with a credit card?

What if my auto transport vehicle drop-off or pick up location is inaccessible to the truck?

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Most auto transport trucks are quite large, up to 75 feet long. This sometimes makes it impossible to reach many residential areas. If that’s the case with your auto transport vehicles move, your vehicle mover will attempt to get as close as possible to your delivery location. We can also arrange a convenient location, like a shopping center, to either pick up or deliver your vehicle. A big lot is the best. Also, sometime companies have double drivers so they can drive the car to your house and then give them a ride back to the truck.Steps invloved with auto transport drop off

auto shipping questions

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questions for auto transportCar shipping can be an extremely frustrating experience therefore you must have a lot of auto shipping questions. So many things can go wrong. For example, you car can be shipped to the wrong location, it can arrive with damages and/or the cost of shipping may fail to remain as it was. In addition, the arrival of your car maybe delay for days or weeks. In summary, you need to ask a few questions before you decide to ship your car with that company. Therefore, it is important for you to ask yourself, “What are some key questions to ask a car shipping company?” Here are some of these questions.

– To Begin With, You Need To Ask For A Price Quotation From The Shipping Company.

Prices vary across car shipping companies due to a number of factors such as the capacity to haul cargo, the expertise the company has in this industry and the type of cargo you are carrying. Common price factors include distance, prevailing fuel costs and wages of laborers. This is why you need a quotation from the company. It will help you to compare prices with other companies and so choose the option that best suits your financial capability. Please get a shipping quote from company in writing

– Secondly, You Need To Know How They Will Ship Your Car.

There are different methods of shipping. Each of these methods can either put your car in harm’s way or prevent it from being damages. You therefore need to know which method of storing and shipping your car the car company intends to carry out. For example, an open trailer method of hauling cargo across the seas exposes your car to the destructive effects of Mother Nature. Answer these few basic questions to get a better handle on the type of company you are dealing with and you will be in good shape!

Auto Transport and Snowbird Prices

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Snow

snowbird auto shipping

Please keep in mind that during the winter moving season snowbird auto transport shipment prices on snowbird routes are higher. American Transport advice to all customers is not to fall for the lowest price. The truckers have too many cars to choose from and they usually go by the highest price tag, thus a really low car shipping rate raises a red flag and vehicle could sit 3 or 4 weeks. Auto tranports Snowbird prices are usually from Oct 15th until Jan 15th