American Auto Transport wants you to make the best possible decision for yourself when transporting your vehicle. We understand that most people that look for auto shipping are first time customers and may not know much about the auto transportation industry. Because you need the best information to make the best decision, we have assembled some information that will help you understand what you need to know.

The very best way to learn about the industry is to speak to an auto transportation expert. By calling American Auto Transport at (866) 327-7863, you may instantly speak to one of our many experienced team members about what will work best for you. If you cannot speak to an American Auto Transport team member, then the following information should provide a basic understanding of the auto shipping process:

Brokering is a common practice amongst auto transport companies.

Nearly 100% of companies that you will speak to about transporting your vehicle will be in some way, shape, or form, be a broker. In this industry, brokers operate by establishing a transport price with you and then finding an independent transporter to perform the service.

After communicating with transporters, you may notice, oddly enough, that you’ll often hear brokers being disparaged. This is because many brokers have difficulty determining the actual cost of shipping. The price given to you by a broker may not be the actual price of shipping. Drivers, not brokers, ultimately decide which vehicles get picked up, and this is determined by the price. Drivers need sufficient payment to maintain their livelihoods and will rarely, if ever, perform their services without making enough money to cover their costs. Therefore, many brokers try to represent themselves as actual transport companies to create the illusion that the price you’ve agreed to is a guaranteed price.

What you must understand as a customer is that nearly everyone you’ll speak to is a broker of some sort, so you’ll need to work with brokers if you need to transport your vehicle. The key to avoiding the uncertainty of working with brokers is finding a broker that knows that they are doing. American Auto Transport is one of the few companies large enough to work exclusively with a large network of drivers. This means that we have a faster turnaround time than nearly all other auto transporters and, perhaps most importantly, our prices are always right because we work with flat rates. Nearly every customer who makes a reservation with us for transport along main routes is dispatched within 72 hours. Additionally, our high volume of business allows us to offer pro-rated prices that are amongst the most competitive in the industry. If you’re looking for a service that offers a reliable service at a reasonable rate, then call American Auto Transport at (866) 327-7863 today!

Preparing your Vehicle for Transport

There are a number of preparations that you must make to your vehicle before using a car shipping service. Although the best way to be sure that your vehicle is adequately prepared for transport is by calling American Auto Transport at (866) 327-7863 and speaking to an expert, there are a few basic guidelines that can easily be explained here:

Make sure your vehicle is operable. We define your vehicle as being operable if it can be loaded and offloaded on a truck under its own power. If your vehicle is inoperable but easily made operable (e.g. changing or charging you battery,) it is in your best interest to make sure that it is made operable. Inoperable vehicles must be loaded with special equipment and is therefore more expensive.

Make sure that we know about modifications to your vehicle. Modifications such as lift kits, oversized tires, suspension drops, etc. will determine what type of tools we will need to use to transport your vehicle. Note that your vehicle must be less than 7’ tall to be transported on most carriers, so make the appropriate adjustments to keep it under 7’ tall if possible.

Make sure your vehicle has more than 4” of ground clearance. We need at least 4” of ground clearance to safely transport your vehicle. If your vehicle is lowered, make the necessary adjustments to raise it to at least 4”.

Make sure that your vehicle is clean at the time of pickup. We will be performing an insurance inspection before your vehicle is transported, and having a clean vehicle will make it easier to perform an accurate inspection.

Make sure to have between 1/8th and 1/4th of a tank of gas in your vehicle. We will need to be able to drive your vehicle on and off the truck, so keep at least 1/8th of a tank. However, be careful not to exceed 1/4th of a tank as to keep the total weight of your vehicle down.

Make sure that you’ve removed or secured your valuables before transport.

Make sure that you’ve disabled any and all alarms before transporting your vehicle.

Make sure that you’ve retracted all antennae before transporting your vehicle.

Make sure that you provide your vehicle’s key to a driver so that he can load and offload your vehicle.

Choosing your Date of Transport

Our availability to provide a pickup date that works for you is largely dependent on how far in advance you let us know. Each route has its own availability, so make sure that you call American Auto Transport at (866) 327-7863 for the most up-to-date information, but 1 week of notice is typically enough time to have your vehicle picked up on a particular date.