Often customers that are new to the auto transport industry are inundated with options. There are thousands of different auto transporters in the market, and each auto transporter offers different types of car shipping service. In general, however, there are two different ways to transport your vehicle: terminal transporting and door-to-door direct auto transporting. Knowing which kind of auto shipping service you’ll need is an important step in making the right auto transport decision.

Terminal shipping is a variety of auto shipping that requires you to pickup and drop-off your vehicle at a designated location. Most often, this location will be a warehouse or lot where your vehicle will remain until the auto transport company can assemble a full load. Once a full load has been assembled, the car transporter will then ship all of the vehicles to the destination terminal. After your vehicle has arrived at the terminal, it will be offloaded and then available for your retrieval.

Door-to-door direct auto shipping is the other, more common variety of auto transport. Car shipping Door-to-door direct generally means that your vehicle will be picked up and dropped off at the addresses that you provide. Door-to-door direct auto transporters provide a 2-3 day pickup window, after which your vehicle will be on one truck for the duration of the trip. Once the auto transporter is in your area, he will arrange for a time to drop your vehicle off.

Choosing the type of car shipping service that you'll need largely depends what your particular situation is. Terminal transport may in some cases be slightly cheaper and is more flexible in terms of storage options. Auto Transport Door-to-door is the faster, more convenient option for the vast majority of auto transports because your vehicle will be picked up and dropped off at the addresses that you’ve chosen.

Although there are some cases in which terminal transporting is necessary, the vast majority of auto transport is best served by door-to-door direct. Terminal may be an appropriate choice for some auto transport situations. Port-to-port auto shipping, for example, almost always utilizes terminals. The nature of auto shipping on freighters necessitates that the largest number of vehicles possible be loaded at once to maximize efficiency. Additionally, door-to-door direct transporting for routes that require the use of freighters is simply not possible unless you have a port in your backyard. Therefore, terminals are unavoidable in some situations. However, for just about any other transport situation, direct door-to-door auto transporting will be your most car transport method of choice.

Door-to-door is the most common type of auto transport for a number of practical reasons. One obvious perk of the door-to-door auto transport is its convenience. Unlike terminal transporting, door-to-door direct transporting allows your vehicle to be picked up and dropped off at the addresses you’ve provided. Terminal shipping requires that a full load of vehicles be assembled at the terminal before your vehicle is shipped, so delivery times are often dubious. Door-to-door auto transport services almost always have faster delivery times than terminals because a full load of vehicles will always be assembled prior to your pickup. This allows the driver to being making deliveries immediately after his pickups are made.

Door-to-door direct transporting should in most cases be your preferred method of car shipping. Although this form of transport may appear to be more expensive, it often winds up costing less than or equal to terminal transport once storage fees are included. For most routes, door-to-door direct aut transport works out to be a better service for at an equal price. Insurance and liability for door-to-door direct transportation is often more favorable for the customer as well. Terminal shipping involves multiple vessels for the transportation of your vehicle. If your vehicle is damaged in the auto shipping process, determining who is liable for that damage may be a long and complicated process. When using a door-to-door direct auto transport service, your vehicle is on one truck for the entire duration of the trip. Thus, any damage to your vehicle will clearly be the responsibility of one driver. Transport times are another benefit to auto transport door-to-door direct: faster auto transport will save you money on rentals and opportunity costs.

Remember to think carefully about what car shipping service to use before making any reservations with a auto transport company. Terminal shipping should only be an option if you are comfortable with taking the above mentioned risks, or if you’re planning on shipping your vehicle from one port to another. Auto transport Door-to-door direct should be used for nearly all other cases.