Auto Transport FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

If you are considering hiring a car shipping company to transport your vehicle, and this is your first time transporting a car, you probably have many questions about it. We have put together these frequently asked questions on auto transport service. If your question is not one of our auto transport FAQs, please contact us; we are just an email or phone call away. We want to help you make an informed choice when you’re ready to book your auto transport order.

Distance is a huge factor in calculating the cost of a shipment of a vehicle. Prices differ considering distances, locations and seasons, but with Tempus Logix you can rest assure as we make sure to provide the best prices to satisfy our clients.

Makes and models of vehicles play a big role on prices, as the carrier needs to know the nature of the vehicle, to best assist with the shipment and provide the best of services. Higher and wider vehicles need certain types of carriers to be moved, as well as modified or specifically engineered vehicles require experienced and specialized transporters to assure the safe transportation of the vehicle, which in terms plays a role on the final price and cost of car shipment.

It is very important to choose the correct type of transportation for your vehicle. Where open auto transport may be the cheapest way to have your vehicle moved, it won’t always be the best choice depending on the car in question.

With enclosed car transport on the other hand, your vehicle is transported in a fully-enclosed trailer which provides a safe and secure environment for vehicles during transportation. It is more expensive as assures safety from the elements, and professionalism at its finest.

Operability of a vehicle also has its toll on pricing and is a major factor as to how much more it would cost to have the shipment moved, vehicles with incapability of steering, rolling or breaking require more labor hours to load and unload and also more attention, as the smallest mishap or mistake could lead to many unintended damages both to the vehicle itself and others beside it.

When pricing shipments for our customers all aspects mentioned above are taken into consideration to assure our customers not only will have the cheapest prices on the market, but also to assure they are honest prices and will not infer false promises and headaches to our clients.

Shipping personal items in a car during auto transport is not illegal. For these reasons, yes, you can. If the overall weight makes 100 lbs, we can have them in it free of charge during your car transportation, as long as they’re neatly packed and stowed in the trunk or below the window level. If the weight exceeds the 100 lbs mark, extra fees may apply because now the shipment becomes heavier. However, we advise against it altogether.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) oversees vehicle and personal items shipments separately. These rules aim to make carriers accountable in the event of specific property damage. Shipping car with personal items necessitates meticulously documenting each item on the Bill of Lading (BOL), which does not happen. In other words, auto transport carriers are exclusively responsible for carrying cars. Anything wrong transpires with the personal items in the vehicle won’t be subject to a claim. Firstly, you will not have anything documented on BOL to prove their initial condition, and secondly, if they go missing, you won’t be able to show they were there in the first place.

Separate property regulation is, indeed, a sensible concept for a variety of other reasons.
Because the securement standards for each sort of cargo differ, combining them further
complicates matters.

Auto transportation carriers and brokers are a part of the same industry. Nevertheless, the two have fundamental differences between them when it comes to moving motor vehicles. The main one is that auto transport carriers own their trucks and operate them independently with their administration, whereas vehicle transport brokers don’t.

It gives advantages and disadvantages in the auto shipping industry owning one’s trucks. They are better at knowing the extent of their orders and can usually process them more precisely. But, having a set capacity is a double-edged sword because when the orders outnumber capabilities, the transportation becomes constrained. When carriers cannot locate customers for their services, it forces them to outsource and rely on brokers to obtain the requisite number of clients to sustain their operations.

For an auto transportation brokerage company like Tempus Logix, such hindrances do not exist. They have an unlimited number of individuals or corporate carriers to assign shipments. The timeframes for pick-up and delivery may fluctuate more with them. But for the rest, their performance in finding different types of trailers appropriate for specific vehicles or transporting boats and heavy equipment is far more reaching.

Tempus Logix is an auto transportation brokerage company licensed and bonded by FMCSA: USDOT #: 3117533 / MC #: 86120. It complies with all the Federal regulations and offers high- quality service to the general public. Its operations specialize in the logistics of shipping cars, boats, motorcycles shipping, heavy equipment transport and transportation of other motor vehicles. It has evolved over the years to become a top auto transportation company in the US by creating collaboration with a far- reaching network of carriers. Tempus Logix transports motor vehicles day after day with great success for individuals and businesses. The track record reaches in the tens of thousands and continues increasing repeatedly.

The company consists of people with values and expertise, and it is not a mechanically operated system where things happen by blind chance. We take calls, read quotes, emails, text messages, and comments. We take in everything communicated to us and answer any questions related to auto transport. Our vehicle shipping professionals actively look for carriers, ideal routes, and the best price alternatives for customers. Our experts treat each vehicle carried as if it were their own most treasured possession.

Tempus Logix always provides its customers ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival). It is a timeframe in which vehicles will reach their destinations. In most cases, the carriers drop off the freight either earlier than/or on the last day mentioned in the ETA, but there are times when ETA changes. The changes are always due to situations that are out of anybody’s hands, meaning traffic, weather, closure of the roads, etc. ETA changes are never due to our carriers lacking. We always keep our clients updated when ETA changes, and we always tell them why it is so.

After the booking is complete and all the information needed is forwarded to our dispatch teams, all you have to do is sit back and relax, as our team is working around the clock to assist you with your car shipment, and as soon as a carrier who can accommodate your shipment is assigned we will contact you for further assistance.

When customers book an order with us to transport their vehicles from/to auction lots, our drivers need authorization. The customers authorize the carriers through a form called Gate Pass. In the Gate Pass, the cars’ VINs are always present because the drivers need to identify the cargo they pick up. In some cases, auction lots require additional authorization before releasing vehicles. For example, some cars have liens on them, so carriers will need a notarized letter from the lienholder(s), allowing the transportation to take place. These documents are specific to auction lots and ports. Please note that when we process an order, we guide our clients through all the formalities. We get everything ordered for our customers as quickly as possible. Once our customers make a quote with us, we do the set up in no time. These are simple paperwork that we generate along with other standard documents, such as BOL and Delivery Order.

BOL stands for the Bill of Lading, which means a bill of loading. It is essential paperwork that contains the necessary information for the carriers and shippers alike before the loading and after the unloading of the motor vehicles. On this document, the carriers upon the arrival for the pick-up record all the information about the cargo: vehicle type, its destination, delivery time, and the names of drivers and the shippers. Also, in it, the person who picks up the freight jots down the condition after examining it, so when the customers receive their property, they can see if it is the same way they have shipped it. If some happen to the cargo, the carriers’ insurance immediately reimburses our clients because BOL will show and prove the damages.

Tempus Logix’s team works around the clock to ensure a satisfying transaction with its customers. Our clients decide the time in which to have their motor vehicles moved, and from that point on, the target dates become our priority to satisfy the pick-up day. However, we set timeframes to give carriers a chance to meet their pick-up and delivery schedules. Also, time frames are necessary after booking to find the best-fit trailers for the specific freight and accomplish the perfect logistics. This window of time, either way, is beneficial for all the parties involved. For customers, it can save money if the desired time is farther in the future. Nevertheless, our auto transport company does provide expedited services for its patrons. We do work with hotshots to get everything moving as speedily as possible in the industry.

Delays might be caused due to multiple reasons, varying from natural disasters, weather difficulties, and/or holiday seasons. As such your vehicle might have some issues being moved due to the difficulties on the route, to compensate such issues, price change or rescheduling might resolve matters.