Variations of the transportation prices

As soon as you start looking for the average shipping cost for cars to be delivered from one state to another, most probably you will meet such amounts like 700-1,000 dollars. In many cases it is true, but there are so many factors that can significantly affect the final price that you should not be concentrated only on these numbers. More important is to figure out what the particular factors are and, which is even more useful, how you can affect these factors to make the final price cheaper and more affordable.

Factors of the price

Obviously, it’s the distance the transportation company will need to cover to deliver your car from one point to the final destination. Thus, if we are talking about the short distances, you can expect the costs for shipping a car around 350 dollars. If you are considering the delivery of the vehicle across the whole country, the price most probably will be somewhere around 1,000-1,200 dollars. But when we are talking about the shipping cost for a car, you need to keep in mind that longer transportations have cheaper quotes per mile. For example, if the trip is less than 500 miles (which is considered as a short-distance transportation), the quote per mile will be 1 dollar or even higher. But as soon as the distance for the delivery is more than 1,500 miles, the price per mile will be already 0,50 dollar. This is a very important factor for those who are choosing between door-to-door and terminal-to-terminal delivery. While the second option traditionally provides a cheaper cost for shipping car, depending on the mileage you can even win if you choose a longer door-to-door transportation.

The method of the delivery is one more very essential factor. Traditionally, owners of the used cars prefer to choose open transportation as the shipping costs for cars in this case are much more attractive and affordable. Your car still will be delivered from and to the agreed locations, you still will have appropriate insurance for the possible damage on the way, but you need to be ready to get your car covered with dust and dirt. This method means that all the vehicles will be placed on the open-framed platform and will, therefore, be affected by the various weather conditions on the way. If we are talking about the winter season and the across-the-country delivery, it can essentially affect the condition of your car. On the other hand, more secure and reliable enclosed method of transportation will raise the shipping costs for a car up to 60 percent, and not every owner can afford this huge gap. When you see the average price for the cars’ transportation, most probably it’s an average cost between the open and enclosed methods.

Normally, you can find an online-calculator on the official websites of the transportation brokers and carriers which will require you to put some basic information about your car that you want to be delivered. Therefore, this is also an essential part of the price. Typical sedans will not cause any problems in this case, but as soon as your vehicle is a SUV, a minivan or even a truck, you should be ready to pay more. Every transportation company has its limitation in regards to the weight, length and width of the vehicles it’s delivering, so even an extra kilo can lead to a significant change in the final price. In this regard it’s always recommended to inform the carrier about any adjustments and improvements of your car you have done to avoid any inconvenience and delays during the transportation process.

There are some other factors you can use to make the final cost for shipping cars more attractive for you:

1. Seasonality. It’s a very interesting factor, and if you can choose the particular day or even a month for your car to be delivered, you can save up to 300 dollars for the service. Thus, winter time is considered as a low season for the transportation companies, so they are trying to attract more clients by lowering the quotes for the delivery. Of course, you can expect to wait for a little bit longer as there is not so big demand, but if you can afford it, it will be a good opportunity to save some extra money. Summertime, on the other side, is a very popular period for moving to new houses and buying new cars, so the prices are higher here. You can also check with the transportation company’s representative if there is an opportunity to cut the price if you can choose another date in the near future. In some cases, it will also help you to get a better deal;
2. Advance booking is a great opportunity to find a cheaper quote. The transporters are interested in such “early birds” among the clients as it will help them to schedule the deliveries in the most effective and profitable way. Even a few months advance reservation for the cars’ delivery can be a very good chance to make the final price lower;
3. The conditions of your car. If you are planning to repair some essential parts and details of your car, its highly recommended to do before the car’s transportation. In some cases, it will be even difficult to find an appropriate carrier that will agree to deal with your inoperable car as it will require some additional equipment and skills of the truck driver to place your car onto the truck. The most important parts in this example are brakes, tires and steering wheel so you need to make sure that at least they are in a working condition;
4. Insurance. Nowadays it’s usually included in the basic quote, but depending on your particular car’s value you may need to add an extra insurance coverage to make sure your car (and your budget) are fully protected in case of some unexpected damages and breakages.