Best Car Shipping Company Based on In-Depth Reviews

Car shipping has become a twelve-billion-dollar industry, comprised of over 4,500 companies. As a consequence, the competition for customers is so fierce that the industry has effectively become a breeding ground for unethical and downright illegal practices. In fact, according to Jay Wertzberger, host of Auto Transport Intel, the only YouTube channel dedicated exclusively to car shipping advocacy, unscrupulous schemes have become so common he now recommends that:

To help steer you away from the congested car shipping highway, we have created the following list featuring the most important info you should know before contracting the services of any car shipping company.

1. There are Brokers and there are Carriers 

A car shipping “carrier” refers to companies that actually own the trucks and directly employ the drivers that do the shipping. These are mostly small, individually-owned private endeavors that only work intrastate. When contracting the services of one of these companies, you’ll only have to deal with them: there are no intermediaries.

On the other hand, a car shipping broker does not own trucks, but rather serves as a middleman between the customer and a host of carriers. From their central office, they will take your request for service and share it with a long list of carriers in order to get you the most affordable quote. As for customer service, you’ll only deal with the broker and never with the carrier.

Why do we recommend brokers over carriers? First, carriers only want to deal with brokers and not with individual customers, because brokers provide an endless influx of work while taking care of the administrative and logistical burdens. Then, there is the fact that, as mentioned above, most carriers only work within state lines, meaning that most won’t be able to ship your car from state to state. Also, there’s the convenience of dealing with a central, one-stop-shop that lets you customize your order, look for alternatives, and get round-the-clock customer service.

Last but not least, we recommend brokers over carriers because, by making the latter compete for car shipping requests, they are able to provide more affordable quotes than if you only dealt with individual carriers.

2. Door-to-door is more convenient than terminal-to-terminal 

As the name suggests, terminal-to-terminal is a delivery system that requires you to take your car to a specific terminal in order to ship it, and to visit another terminal once the car is ready for pick-up. Logistically, this is not ideal for customers looking for the most convenient way to ship their car.

The best alternative is door-to-door delivery, in which the shipping company will pick up and deliver your car at the locations of your choosing. All the companies included in this review offer door-to-door services.

3. Open or enclosed?

During the process of requesting a car shipping service, you’ll be asked whether you prefer an “open” or “enclosed” shipping method. Here’s what you need to know:

An open carrier is a two-level platform with capacity for ten standard-sized vehicles. Cars shipped this way are, as the name suggests, open to the elements. Open transport is the default mode of transportation, preferred by 95% of customers because it is the more affordable option.

On the other hand, enclosed shipping refers to covered trucks that protect shipped cars from any outside elements. While this is definitely a safer way to transport your vehicle, you should keep in mind that, on average, enclosed transport costs 75% to 100% more than open transport. However, if you’re shipping a luxury or classic car, enclosed shipping is the way to go.

4. Prices vary depending on a variety of factors

Shipping distance is not the only thing taken into account when determining the total cost of shipping your car. As you can see below, several factors come into play:

5. Insurance is mandatory for carriers

The Department of Transportation requires all carriers (not brokers, though) to insure all the cars they ship. In fact, most offer liability and cargo policies, meaning that any damage to your car will be covered. While brokers are not bound by the DOT’s insurance mandate, the best among them—such as the ones included in this review—do offer insurance policies in case the carrier’s policy should prove insufficient.

It’s important to note that none of these policies cover personal belongings that may be inside your car during transit, so it’s recommended that you clean out your car before shipping. Also, we recommend that you read the insurance policies carefully. Should you find that they are still not comprehensive enough, you might want to get your own policy.

6. Car shipping takes time

Unless you get expedited or “rush” shipping, which is a lot more expensive than standard shipping, deliveries will be made inside a one-week window. This being the case, we recommend you schedule your shipping request as soon as you can.

Ready, Set, Go 

Before handing over your car to the shipping company, it’s important that you inspect it for any damages. That way, you’ll be able to see whether anything—scratches, extra mileage, dents, etc.—happened to it during transit. Taking photos is a great idea, since they could be handy in case of an insurance claim.

Also, we recommend you go through the following checklist prior to shipping, so that there are no unwanted surprises:

One of our editors at ConsumersAdvocate.org, Taína Cuevas, shared her experience of shipping her Honda CR-V from Florida to Puerto Rico.

"It's a pretty fuel-efficient car so that was a challenge. If I didn't do that, the shipping company would have charged an additional $200 for them to take the gas out themselves,” Ms. Cuevas went on.