In the US, 83% of adults drive at least several times a week. Without our cars, it’d be difficult getting to and from home, work, the gym, the grocery store, restaurants, etc.
Needless to say, your car is like an extra appendage. So when you’re moving, chances are high that you’ll bring your vehicle.
While you can take it upon yourself to drive it all the way to your destination, it’s not always the wisest choice. To avoid excess miles, as well as extra wear and tear, car shipping is the way to go.
To learn about car shipping prices and what affects them, keep reading! We’ll discuss several scenarios where you’ll pay more or less, depending on the factors involved.
Distance
The farther you go, the more you’ll have to pay for auto transport. However, the car shipping cost isn’t on a linear scale.
Generally, you can expect to pay $1.00 per mile for anything under 500 miles. For trips between 500 to 1,000 miles, it costs $0.75 per mile.
On the other hand, you’ll pay significantly less (per mile, not total) for long-distance trips.
On average, you’ll pay $0.50 per mile for a trip between 2,000 to 2,500 miles. And for anything above that, you’ll pay $0.40 per mile.
When a trucker makes a longer journey, he has more opportunities to pick up more vehicles along the way to get multiple jobs done at once. This makes transporting your vehicle more worth it.
To get a better idea of how much you’ll be paying, you can always use a cost calculator.
Type of Hauler
You have 2 options for auto shipping: open and enclosed haulers. Most people choose open haulers because these are more readily available and also more affordable. This is thanks to the numerous open trailer truckers around!
Plus, these haulers are able to carry a much larger capacity than enclosed ones, which means the truckers can transport more vehicles with 1 trip. As a result, there are great cost-savings for their clients.
However, open trailers don’t come without their drawbacks. While these professional drivers will do everything they can to keep your vehicle protected, the open nature of their haulers means it’s more exposed to the elements. Also, thieves can clearly see which vehicles are on the hauler, which can entice them to steal.
So if you have a particularly valuable car (like a luxury or classic car), or your vehicle holds huge sentimental value to you, you might want to shell out a little more on enclosed hauling services.
Season
There will be higher or lower demand for car shipping companies, depending on which season you’re looking at. So a 500-mile journey might be dirt-cheap one season, while eye-wateringly high the next.
We’ll tell you this straight off the bat: try to avoid summer if you can. Almost all clients will want to ship their cars during summer since there’s more off-time. So not only will it be difficult to get a hold of a driver who can transport your vehicle when needed, but the prices will be absurdly high as well. You should also avoid shipping your car during holidays for the same reasons.
In addition, the different seasons will have different weather conditions. In the winter, roads are more dangerous and there’s not as much daylight, so prices won’t be great then either.
But if you book early enough in the season, you just might get some great prices. Take care to avoid when snowbirds “migrate”, as this will drive up the price too.
Generally, the best season to get auto transport services is spring. The weather’s good enough and demand isn’t too high, so both availability and pricing should be optimal.
Direction of Travel
Not only does the season matter, but which direction you’re going in does as well.
For instance, take our snowbird example from above. In the winter, they’ll be flocking from the north to the south. But if you’re going from the south to the north during that time, you can get some great deals since truckers won’t have many clients for that direction.
However, working with experienced transportation companies like Nexusautotransport.com will ensure that your car is delivered safely regardless of the complexity of the job.
Speed of Service
Do you need your vehicle ASAP? Then expect to pay a premium for these expedited services. Many companies offer same or next-day pickups, so this can do in a pinch.
Otherwise, you can choose between economy or standard shipping. To save the most money, choose economy shipping. It’ll take just a little bit longer to receive your car. Different companies have different standard delivery times. For example, Nexus Auto
Transport
Your Vehicle Itself
The larger your vehicle, the more you’ll have to pay for shipping. Not only does it take up more space, but it’s heavier, which means more fuel consumed.
Plus, if your car is in inoperable condition, this will cost you extra too. The driver will have to source extra equipment and spend more time to get your car on and off their hauler.
Not to mention, it’ll take a lot more labor to move around your vehicle, so it’s got to be worth a trucker’s time to take on yours. Except to pay around $150 more for shipping inoperable vehicles..
Learn About Car Shipping Prices Before Committing
If you learn about car shipping prices before committing to services, you’ll do yourself a huge favor. By understanding what can tip the scales in terms of pricing, you’ll be able to have better control over what you pay.
And as a result, you won’t have such a big surprise when you get the bill for car shipping! So make sure to ask around and get multiple car shipping quotes before you say “yes”.
You’ll have a bigger pool to choose from, which means more affordable prices and higher quality services! To find out more about car shipping services, browse our blog page now!
