what is car shipping

(per wikipedia)

Car Shipping is the transport of a vehicle from a seller in one place to a buyer in another place. This includes country to country shipping as well as state to state shipping. Auto shipping and transport was largely a commercial activity conducted by dealers, manufactures and brokers until the last ten to fifteen years. The explosion of Internet use has allowed this niche service to grow and reach the general consumer marketplace.

Before The Internet

Prior to the Internet, people had to purchase cars from local dealers due to the difficulty in transporting a vehicle from its point of origin to the purchaser's place of residence. While freight businesses did exist, this method of transporting a vehicle was generally expensive and not cost efficient. Freight shipping is still based on increments of weight, and can cost you quite a bit more than a specialized car transport company that charges based on distance or other basis. Due to this cost, the shipment of automobiles was restricted to those who had the money to purchase both the car and the transport.

Advances From The Internet

This car shipping industry has grown explosively since the advent of the Internet. People are now able to purchase cars from anywhere in the world and have them shipped to their doorstep. In fact, more and more dealerships are marketing online towards people from all over the world. Even the small used car dealers are selling cars online. These businesses are finding that these online sales are accounting for more and more of their profits. Ebay and other online market places have provided customers with an endless supply of choices. People can now search online to find the perfect car, both new and used. Collectible cars make up a large portion of the cars that are purchased via the Internet. Because rare and collectible cars are limited, people have turned to the Internet to find the car of their dreams. In most cases, the car that they want is not local, and the person must find a way to transport the vehicle. Because of this need, car shipping companies have come into the picture.

Market Expansion

Car shipping companies and online marketplaces have given people the power to shop for the things they want in a new way. No longer bound by the regional borders, people can now shop online for rare and unique items as long as they are willing to pay for the shipping. Because of the rapid growth of this market niche, the cost of shipping a car has dropped dramatically from the time when freight was the only option. Many companies are in competition with each other today to get the most customers. Because there are many different companies, a person shipping a car needs to take a few steps to ensure that the car arrives at its destination in a single piece.

Car Transportation

There are basic steps that each consumer must take when moving a car. When a car is shipped, it is loaded onto a carrier. This carrier is what transports a vehicle to a new place. Before shipping, each car must be subjected to records and inspections. Records of damage and other markings of a vehicle are kept so that a company is not liable for damage that did not occur during transport.

Customer service as well as reputation are two things that are very important to car shipping companies. Most companies will make sure to post the information regarding how long they have been in business and how many customers they have served. There are also umbrella companies who can work to point consumers to various transport companies that they work with. This is one way that consumers find information about different companies.

The following are some steps in vehicle preparation before the vehicle is picked up for transport:

Vehicle Washed - helps expedite and allows for a fair and quick inspection at the time of pick up.

Alarms - should be turned off and deactivated. The driver is not responsible for drained batteries as a result of an activated alarm.

Fuel Level - try to keep it at 1/4 tank.

Luggage, Ski and /or Bike Racks - non permanent racks should be removed.

Antennas - should be lowered or removed.

EZ-Pass - should be removed so it will not to be charged at toll crossings during transport.

Mechanical Problems - should be reported at the time of placing your order as Additional Comment.