Whenever you move, you have a lot of things on your mind. You have to organize all your tasks that include making reservations, sorting out your stuff, getting rid of things, packing the belongings, ensuring everything gets sent to the new house, etc. Getting your personal car shipped from your current house to the new place is certainly add-on stress for you during the whole process.
But you need not worry about your vehicle shipping because several companies will make this process seamless and smooth for you. But don’t forget that getting your car shipped is as expensive as it is stressful. In this situation, discount offers tend to be a big stress reliever. Want to know what kind of auto transport deals are available for you? Read on to find out more!
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Best Auto Transport Discounts
Prepare to spend a considerable amount of money because getting your vehicles shipped isn’t that cheap. Fortunately, most of the auto transport companies will offer you a good discount. When you make your reservations with these companies, ask for the following discounts if at all you qualify for them.
1. Military Discounts
Each and every resident of the country respects the commitment made by the military members to the nation. Members of the military are often required to move at very short notice for their duty. In order to express gratitude and make these military relocations simple and easy, auto transport companies offer discounts to the members of the military. These members could be either active-duty, retired, or even veterans.
Also See: Moving Companies With Military Discounts
2. Student Discounts
No one appreciates the value of saved money as much as students do. They need to move frequently and also need to ship their vehicles from one place to another. To help the students cut down on the cost of vehicle shipping, auto transport companies let students avail of their services at discounted rates.
3. First Responders
First responders are the people who are into public service professions like police, EMTs, firefighters, etc. These people work dedicatedly for long hours to serve the general public and this is a very noble thing to do. In order to honor them, auto transport companies offer discounts to first responders as well.
4. Senior Discounts
Seniors generally have a limited and fixed income for every month. A move can deplete their financial resources as they generally can’t do all the work by themselves. On top of that, vehicle shipping adds a lot to their final bill. In order to reduce their expenditure, auto transport companies will provide them with great deals and discounts and also help them out throughout the shipping process.
5. Seasonal Discounts
There is a change in the demand for the services offered by auto transport companies as the year progresses. Summers prove to be the busiest time of the year for these companies as more and more people want to move in that season. To incentivize moving throughout the year, auto transport companies advertise some really attractive seasonal discounts for their customers throughout the year. For instance, there might be a spring discount, winter discount, and so on.
6. Snowbird Discounts
Many people stay in places that experience weather extremities. Because of this, these people tend to move twice a year every year. When the weather becomes too cold, they move to a warmer place. Once the weather becomes warm enough, they come back to their homes. Such customers are given a snowbird discount from auto transport companies so that they can bring down the price of these moves.
7. First-Timer Discounts
You will experience a variety of ‘firsts’ regardless of how old you are. At some point in your life, you will be shipping your vehicle for the first time. You might struggle a bit, search for professional movers and understand how the process works. To add to this excitement, auto transport companies offer first-time shipper programs which let you save a considerable amount of money when you ship your vehicle.
8. Early Bird Discounts
Most of us get quotes from these shipping companies and ponder over what should be our next step. However, did you know that you could actually save money if you act fast? Auto transport companies will let you avail of their services at a discounted rate as long as you make your reservations within 48 hours of getting a quote from them.
9. Multiple-Vehicles Discounts
Buying stuff from a wholesale market is much cheaper than buying stuff from a retail market. This principle also applies when you are planning to ship your vehicles. The cost of shipping 2 or more vehicles at the same time (per-vehicle cost) is much cheaper than shipping one vehicle at a time, multiple times.
When you ship multiple vehicles at the same time (even though you might want to send them to different places), you are generating a lot of business from your side for the auto transport companies. Because of this, you will mostly get shipping services at a discounted rate from them.
10. Online Booking Discounts
Auto transport companies invest a lot of money into technology to give their customers a seamless booking and moving experience. You can get quotes and even make your reservations using their online quote and reservation tools. These companies like to be thankful to the customers who use their online quote generating and booking tools because of which they offer discounts to the customers who reserve their moves online.
11. Discounts for Return Customers
Auto transport companies appreciate the company loyalty shown by their customers. If a customer uses the same company to ship their vehicles multiple times, the company will provide them with shipping services at a discounted rate.
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Also Read: Moving Companies : Discounts and Deals | Moving Truck Rental Deals and Discounts
Ways To Get Good Auto Transport Deals
Discounts do reduce the cost of the move but there are many more things that you can do in order to bring the price of shipping your vehicle down. You have to first learn about how the entire process works. By doing this, you will be able to find spots where you can do some things differently and save some money. Let’s look at the ways in which you can make an auto transport deal a steal deal for yourself.
1. Broker or Carrier?
When you are searching for companies to ship your vehicles, you will come across two types of moving companies which are known as carrier companies and broker companies. Carrier companies are the ones who have their own staff and fleet of trucks to carry out your move. On the other hand, a moving broker is the one that assigns you a carrier company for your move.
A broker company functions by partnering up with a wide network of carrier companies. Because of the availability of so many carriers, the rates offered to you by a broker company will be slightly lower than the ones offered by the carrier company that you personally approached. Always do business with a reputable moving broker in order to score a great deal on vehicle shipping services.
2. Getting Quotes From Multiple Companies
Shipping services are priced differently in each company and there are a lot of auto transport companies out there who want you as their customer. Getting a quote from a single company and hiring it is an unwise thing to do.
Make sure that you get quotes from multiple companies and see which company is offering the lowest prices. You would ideally want to hire the company that is offering the best services at the lowest prices.
3. Asking For Discounts
Many people feel embarrassed to ask for discounts because of a variety of reasons. Let us tell you that there is nothing shameful about asking for discounts. After all, shipping your vehicles is expensive and you ideally wouldn’t want to spend all your savings on it. Ask the company for discounts politely and persistently.
If the customer service representative does not comply with your requests, ask to speak to their managers. Their managers would be able to give you discounts if you put your points forward convincingly.
4. Using Price Matching Policies
As we mentioned before, there are several auto transport companies out there who want to make you their customer. There is a lot of competition between these companies as a result of which, they try to attract customers by beating the prices of their customers.
If you have your heart set on one particular company, try to obtain a low quote (written) from another company and show it to the company of your preference. They will most likely lower their own quote to match that quote so as to gain you as a customer.
To add to that, you can also use the discounts offered by a company to get better discounts from another company. Show a company the deals and discounts you obtained from another company and they will certainly try to offer a better deal to you.
5. Ask about Insurance
Each and every company is required to include some basic insurance coverage within its quotes. The companies will try to persuade you to purchase expensive insurance plans for your vehicle shipping. Before you purchase any additional insurance, try to be more aware and read up on the coverage that is already included in your quote.
Evaluate whether that is enough for your move. Many times, that coverage plan tends to be sufficient and there is no need to purchase additional insurance.
See Also: Do I Need A Moving Insurance? | Car Shipping Deals and Discounts
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put stuff in my car when I ship it?
The Department of Transportation has not explicitly said anything about this. They haven’t declared any rules regarding whether you can put any personal stuff inside the car that is being shipped. This means that you can put your moving boxes and other stuff inside your car or in the car trunk while it is being shipped. But we ask you to do this at your own risk.
What is the best auto transport company to use?
If you want to hire a company that offers great car shipping services, low rates, and excellent customer services, here are some of the companies that you should consider hiring.
- Sherpa Auto Transport
- Easy Auto Transport
- Bargain Auto Transport
- Montway Auto Transport
- AmeriFreight
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Final Thoughts
Moves are difficult and car shipping adds nothing but stress and financial burden to your already expensive moves. However, if you are smart and well-read, you will find some way or the other to reduce the cost of the entire move. Do your research thoroughly, try to do most of the stuff by yourself, and use the tips we gave while you try to find a good deal for yourself. Doing all this will ensure that no one can dupe you and you can reduce the pressure on your financial resources.
Also See: Top Auto Transport Companies in the US
