What Is a Car Transporter and What Does It Do?

What does a car transporter do? Good question. You know those big vehicle haulers you always see driving to a family vacation? That’s called an auto hauler, otherwise known as a car transporter.

Car transport companies, like Montway (an auto transport management company) will quote you for the cost of car transport and coordinate all of the logistics.

Sometimes, car transporting consists of a sole vehicle being individually moved across the country in a covered, enclosed trailer. And sometimes, the car transporter is open and that sole vehicle is now on a 10-car auto hauler with nine other vehicles.

What is a car transporter company?

The best way to view all the different car transporter companies is looking at the major review websites. You should look at websites such as BBB, TransportReviews, Google, Facebook, and Trustpilot. Typically, the best vehicle transport company will have a presence on all of the major review websites.

For later: Why Does Yelp Hide Certain Reviews?

An auto transport management company, such as Montway, serves customers from-end to-end, serving as a single point of contact from quote to delivery. Some smaller or local companies operating smaller car carriers — or single vehicle flatbed carriers — can get your vehicle from Point A to Point B, but delivery time could be slower.

Now that you have a better understanding of what a car transporter is, let’s learn a little bit more about what exactly they do.

What does a car transporter do?

When it comes to the role of a car transporter, the first topic is always going to be
the process of getting a quote.

Reliable auto transport companies will always be happy to give you a free and instant price quote. This quote should be based on a multiple of factors, including the vehicle’s make and model, the vehicle’s condition, the distance it will need to go, the pickup address, dropoff address, and finally,
the type of transport. It just depends on the booking options that they specified, where they’re
going and when they need to be there.

Here are some more tips to make sure you hunt down the best possible car transporter cost:

• Larger vehicles usually cost more to ship than smaller ones.
• Shorter trips will cost less than moving your car from one state to another.
• If you need your vehicle to reach its destination ASAP, you’ll likely have to pay a little extra.
• The most-traveled routes will typically be the cheapest.

Montway Auto Transport has an intuitive online quote calculator that can provide instant auto shipping quotes. Knowing what factors contribute to that quote, however, is key to finding a dependable auto transport company.

According to AAA, the national gas price average in us is $2.79 per gallon (as of July 2019). If you drive a standard vehicle that gets 25 miles to the gallon (and your vehicle has a 12-gallon tank), here are a few examples of what you can expect in terms of cost differential:

Example 1: Traveling from Chicago, IL  to Seattle, WA may take approximately 1 day and 9 hours while you put 2,030 miles on your vehicle and spend $257 for gas. Or, you can have it shipped for approximately $1079.

Example 2: Traveling from Chicago, IL to Albany, NY will put 816 miles on your vehicle and cost $102.73 for gas or you can ship it for $709.

Example 3: Relocating from Chicago, IL to San Antonio, TX may take you 19 hours and 59 minutes and put 1,205 miles on your vehicle. You could spend $152 for gas, or you can ship it for approximately $799.

Example 4: Traveling from Chicago, IL to Miami, FL may take you 20 hours and 48 minutes and put 1,371 miles on your vehicle and you would spend $173 on gas. Or, you can easily ship it for an average of $889.

Read also: Car Shipping Cost FAQs

The best-case scenario involves booking as far in advance as you possibly can. Once you know you’ll be relocating, begin looking at auto transport companies and getting quotes immediately so you can take your time choosing a transporter.

Once you’ve got a quote, here’s a simplified breakdown of how the rest of the car transporter booking process might shake out. Keep in mind everything depends on which car transporter company you go with,  but any reliable company should make the process pretty seamless for you.

How do you book a car transporter?

When you work with trusted experts like Montway Auto Transport, it can be as easy as pie. Here’s a
a quick overview of the process involved in booking a car transporter:

1) Get a quote and book your shipment

• Decide on the destination you want to ship to/from.
• Decide on the pickup and delivery dates.
• Look at reviews to find the best-rated car transport company (ask people you know, read online reviews, etc.).
• Search for the best car shipping cost.
• Book with the car transporter.

2) Get your vehicle picked up.

Next, you’ll need to prepare your vehicle for shipping. Requirements for what you can or can’t include in your car will depend on the company. But, here are basic guidelines that you would be safe to sticky by:

• With Montway you can have free of charge up to 1 piece of luggage, such as a suitcase or a bag, of up to 100 lb. placed in the trunk or cargo area only.
• Vehicle must be clean (inside and out, no dirt if possible).
• Vehicle must have a working emergency brake.
• No cracks or chips in windows or windshield.
• The car must have less than a ¼ tank of gas. Having ¼ tank of gasoline or less in your car is required by law, as gasoline is considered hazardous material at the port.

3) Get your vehicle delivered.

Your trucker will call you when your vehicle is almost home. You can greet them both right at your own driveway, or wherever the nearby agreed-upon pickup location is.

Why are car transporters better than driving?

Instead of risking it, trust the experts to get your car there safely. According to the U. S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):

“Drowsy driving is related to at least 100,000 motor-vehicle crashes and more than 1,500 deaths per year. About 71,000 drowsy-related crashes involve non-fatal injuries. The estimated annual monetary loss related to drowsy driving is about $12.5 billion. Drowsy driving often goes unreported when the police complete an accident report. Unless the driver admits falling asleep, drowsy driving can be difficult to detect.”

With the multitude of auto shipping options available today, you can easily find the best service for the best price.

Montway is an industry leader with an established network of 15,000 carriers. We’ve shipped hundreds of thousands of vehicles for individual customers and dealerships, from city-to-city and state-to-state. It’s our job to generate quotes, coordinate orders and figure out the best possible way to get the vehicles at your dealership where they need to go.

Give us a call if you have more questions about what a car transporter is, what it does and how you can find the best one to work with.