Monthly Archive: August 2011

Aug
29

Broker VS Carrier

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broker vs carrier

At the risk of really stirring up a fire storm, it is important that we compare the obvious and sometimes not so obvious differences in your selection of a carrier or a broker to transport your vehicle.  Auto transport and shipping is indeed a very specialized form of truck shipping and you should know all of the in’s and out’s in order to do it right.

First:  You need to know that there is a difference.  Most brokers do not own or operate their own trucks.  Most carriers operate trucks but are not brokers.

So, what is the difference, and which is best?

There really is not a best.  Just a best for you.  To determine which it must be you first need to understand their functions.

A carrier picks up and delivers vehicles.  That is his forte’ and most do it very well.  Many of these individuals are great drivers but not necessarily great business operators.  Again, their expertise is in the actual driving, picking up and delivering.  In an effort to be sure that I don’t impugn some really great business operators out there, understand that these descriptions are for the purpose of comparison and not to make broad blanket descriptions of the abilities of individuals.  This being said in defense of those carriers that are in fact good business operators as well.

A broker on the other hand, is going to be a good business operator (if he plans to be in business for any period of time) because the auto transport business is a very competitive business.  He may or may not own and operate trucks, but he will work with and manage the deliveries of thousands.

With all of that established, which do you choose and why ??

Typically, you get more services and better prices with a broker.  A broker is going to do all of the insurance, bonding, licensing, and permit checking for you.  He will negotiate the pricing and pickup/delivery instructions for you.

Most importantly, he will select the driver/carrier that will transport your car.  As you can imagine there are nice guys and some not so nice guys in all industries.  If a broker can’t stand to work with someone, you probably can’t either.  Reputation and attitude mean everything when you are paying someone large sums of money to transport a vehicle worth large sums of money.

Most importantly a broker is a source of information that will be more objective than a carrier.  Simply because he is more distanced from the actual issues and can maintain a more objective attitude.  Selecting a broker provides a layer of insulation between you and the carrier.  Should an issue arise, you won’t have to be the one dealing with it directly, as you have a broker.

Brokers compete with carriers for your business, so the pricing will be as good if not better.  The broker will have to locate and negotiate with the carrier on your behalf, without the carrier knowing your identification until after he is committed and has taken assignment of your order.

Are there good carriers ..?  Of course.  Are there good brokers ?? Most certainly.  Most of the carriers and brokers you will come into contact with are very honorable and efficient individuals.  This comparison is not made to discover faults, but instead is provided to compare traits and services.

You can find examples of both at www.best-transport-quotes.com.

Hope it has been of some assistance.

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Aug
16

How To Save Money And Ship Your Car/Truck Safely

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Save Money

For most folks, shipping an automobile or other vehicle can be a daunting task.  Why, you ask?  Simply because like most things we have never done before, we really don’t know our way around the task.  Not many people have had reason to ship a vehicle on many occasions.

But, it’s not something you need fear.  The industry is tightly regulated by the federal government and it’s competitive enough that the really bad guys tend to get washed away over time, like most industries.

The auto transport industry is peopled by mostly great folks.  Honest and hard working, this is what they do and for the most part they do it very well.

But, like all areas of business, there is a way of getting around and a language to speak.  That is what this article is all about, sharing information on how to do those things and do them as inexpensively as possible.

The very first thing you need to do is get some pricing so that you will know what to expect.  The way to do that is to go to your computer, do a google search for auto transport or car shipping.  This search will produce

the usual organic material in the center of the page, but more importantly it will show you the little rectangular text ads along the right side of the screen.  Look for one that says something like “Free Quotes” or “Get 10 Free Quotes”.  You are looking for an ad that will provide you with pricing from more than one trucking company or broker.  When you click on it, you will be asked to provide the basic information on your shipment as well as some contact information on yourself.  Go ahead and provide what they ask for and within a short period of time (usually just a few minutes) you will not only see several emails with complete quotes attached, but also you will probably receive a couple of phone calls from the more ambitious ones.  If you provide your phone number you learn, if you don’t then you miss out on the education provided by conversing with the experts.  You choose.

Just a word here, if you want to ship your car safely and inexpensively, you are simply going to have to communicate with the folks that want to do business with you.  They can’t read minds, and the only way they are going to know what you want to do is by communicating.  A lot of people these days don’t want to be bothered, but a little bother is certainly worth the safety and cost savings a little comparison can accomplish.  Once you have made your selection of companies, simply request that the other companies stop contacting you.

So, what are you looking for in the quotes?  Price is right up there at the top of my list. Make sure the companies you talk to are licensed with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and have all of the proper insurance and bonding.  One way to accomplish this without doing it yourself is to simply select an Auto Transport Broker.  They do all of this background checking for you at no extra cost, and then they hire the trucker.

Once you have had a chance to talk with a few companies, and listened to their sales pitches, you will be well armed in the search for the company that can please you.  A good place to get lots of competitive quotes is www.best-transport-quotes.com.

More on hiring Auto Transport Brokers vs Carriers later.

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Aug
03

Various Ways To Transport Your Vehicle

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best-transport-quotes

Most of us wonder how a car/vehicle is transported ?  Is it on a truck or train or driven ?  This short article will mention and discuss some of the various manners in which auto transport takes place, and some of the reasons for the different modes of transport.

There are several options available when it comes to auto transport, depending on time available, your budget, and the area of the country you are shipping to or from.  Even the type of vehicle you are shipping plays a large role in the selection.

Some of the choices might be open trailer, enclosed trailer, dolly, flat bed, and even train transport.  Each method of course has it own positives and negatives.

Let’s take a look at each and figure our which one just might work for you;

The open carrier:  For those of us shipping “typical” cars, that is the family sedan style of vehicle that you normally see on all the highways, the open carrier is probably the best.  This is the standard of the auto shipping industry and is typically less expensive than an enclosed truck, while still offering the protection and utility of professional transport.

The open carrier is the one you see constantly going up and down the highways usually carrying 6 to 10 cars on it.  This is the industry standard.

The enclosed carrier:  Do you have a classic collector car … or an expensive luxury vehicle ?  Or, perhaps you just purchased a new car and the worry of weather and possible scratches or incidental damage caused by sticks or rocks is just something you don’t want to be concerned with.  The enclosed trailer provides additional environmental protection for your car by enclosing it completely in a “van” or “box” type trailer looking in appearance much like a standard freight trailer.  More expensive to use, but definitely more protection for your car.

The dolly:  This is the little two wheel carrier that you can rent at the truck and trailer rental facilities to utilize to move your car yourself.  Or, you can hire a transport company driver to do it for you.  One pulling vehicle towing one dolly with your car attached to it.  Simple and cheap with no special license required (normally).

The flatbed truck:  This style of auto transporter typically isn’t going very far.  For distances of up to about 200 – 300 miles normally, this can be the quickest and most practical method of moving your vehicle.  No multiple pickup and delivery schedule to contend with just load one car and go.  The drawback is that if you are going very far this can get rather expensive.

The train:    Train transport is environmentally friendly and very cost effective, but has somewhat limited availability.  So, unless you live near a train line which offers train transport of cars, it is probably not a method which could normally be taken advantage of.  The Auto Train and other rail options are available but don’t expect a “hurry up” situation here.

By requesting your quotes you are offered the above services through several trucking/transport companies at their very best price.  So you get to compare service and price without spending a dime.  Compare and then choose the one you are comfortable with.

Quotes from www.best-transport-quotes.com come only from properly licensed and insured companies eager to do business with you.

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