Whether gifting a car across the country or receiving your dream vehicle, you’ll need to find a reliable and affordable car shipper.
Today, the car shipping market is more competitive than ever, which is to clients’ advantage since they can choose from thousands of options offering the same services with different incentives.
This allows for a more budget-friendly car shipping, which we will explore more about in this guide that addresses these topics:
- Is car shipping budget-friendly?
- How much does it cost to ship a car?
- Budget-friendly car shipping options
- Strategies to save on shipping costs
- Budget-friendly car shipping tips
- Final thoughts
Is Car Shipping Budget-Friendly?
Car shipping services generally cost a relatively considerable price that can further increase as more premium options as clients order. Clients can basically find many ways to ship cars at affordable prices after doing a little research in the market.
Various car shipping options are available to meet different client’s needs and budgets, making finding budget-friendly services possible. So, car shipping prices are overall variable and can start at affordable rates as long as clients go for the smallest plan that provides the basic shipping requirements.
How much does it cost to ship a car?
It is hard to set a fixed shipping rate for a car, whether inside the same state or from one state to another since several factors make for different final shipping rates for each order.
These factors are primarily the shipping locations, time, timeframe, vehicle type and specifications, shipping methods, and special extra requirements. The following briefly explains how each factor affects the final shipping quote:
- Shipping locations refer to the states or areas car owners want to move their cars from and to. The distance between these locations will determine how much fuel car shippers need to make the journey.
- The shipping time also affects the price, whether clients ship in the off-season or the peak season. Of course, shipping cars in the peak season will cost more because of the increased demand for car shipping services.
- Shipping timeframes can add to or reduce the final shipping cost depending on clients’ flexibility with delivery timeframes.
- The vehicle type and its special features, like its size, height, weight, make, and model, play a role in determining its shipping cost. Large and heavy vehicles take extra space on the carrier, which makes shipping them more expensive than small regular vehicles. Also, cars with special shipping requirements, such as inoperable cars or cars with special dimensions, add to the shipping costs because of the additional tools and labor involved in handling them.
- Many shipping methods serve different purposes. Some of these methods are more affordable than others and depend on clients’ specific methods to define the shipment’s overall cost.
- Last but not least, car shippers offer clients optional premium services at additional cost, like GPS tracking, last-mile delivery, expedited shipping, etc. Using one of these services adds to the introductory shipping rate according to each service’s cost.
Budget-Friendly Car Shipping Options
Among the variety of options and services most car shipping companies provide, some specifically target people seeking an economical car shipping method.
These are called budget-friendly car shipping options, and they basically include open car and terminal-to-terminal shipping. In some cases, other more expensive options, such as enclosed car shipping, can also be considered budget-friendly when thinking in the long term. Here is what makes us classify each service as budget-friendly:
- Open car shipping: This is the most economical and efficient option to ship a car across the country. However, it has one major drawback: exposing cars to external elements. It is ideal to ship regular cars intended for everyday use.
- Terminal-to-terminal car shipping: Though less convenient, terminal-to-terminal car shipping is cheaper than door-to-door. Drivers have to drive their vehicles to and from the shipping company’s special terminal at pick-up and delivery, which is quite daunting, especially when the terminal is far from clients’ homes or work locations.
- Enclosed Car Shipping: This shipping method is not a budget-friendly option in theory, as it is rather an expensive shipping method dedicated to exotic and rare cars in particular. Still, shipping such high-end vehicles with enclosed carriers saves clients from exposing them to external elements that can result in costly damage to their exteriors.
5 Strategies to Save on Shipping Costs
Besides learning about available, affordable options in the car shipping industry, people looking for budget-friendly shipping will benefit from these strategies to push down the final shipping price.
Find People You Know to Ship Your Cars Together
One of the best ways that only a few people may think about to save on their shipping costs is inviting other people they know, like friends, relatives, neighbors, or even colleagues, to ship their cars with the same car shipper.
This is a win-win strategy, as all the parties involved will benefit from this collaboration’s outcome. Car owners will benefit from a generous price cut, and car shippers will fill empty spaces on their carriers faster. The more the shipping routes of the two or more cars are alike, the more it will be for the advantage of car owners.
Many car shipping companies provide special offers for customers who refer to the company to people they know.
Tempus Logix, a leading car shipping company in the United States, offers shipping services for individuals and companies. It provides college students shipping their cars simultaneously to and from the university campus with a special discount.
Ship in the Off-Season
Waiting for the off-season to buy your favorite bag from a popular brand is an old norm we all have. The same applies to shipping a car across the country, where car owners can wait until the off-season to ship their cars at the most competitive prices.
The off-season in the car shipping industry starts in the late fall and continues to the late spring, except during the Holiday Season. During the off-season, many car shippers will provide high-quality car shipping service at lower prices to fill up their carriers before starting their trip.
Stay Updated about Shipping Offers and Discounts
People looking for budget-friendly car shipping can simply research car shipping companies, learn about their discount policies, and learn whether they qualify for a discount. They can also follow car shipping news and important events during which car shippers can make special offers, like Mother’s Day.
It is easy to stay updated about car shipping discounts. It offers these days since most car shipping companies have official social media accounts on different platforms, where they would tell their clients about any upcoming event and how they would celebrate it, maybe by offering an inclusive, one-time price cut.
Cut Down the Shipping Package
Another practical method to save on car shipping costs is by cutting down the car shipping package that might include unnecessary services, which are still adding extra fees to the final shipping quote. Car owners can cut down as many extra services as needed to meet their shipping budget.
In this case, it is helpful to pre-set a fixed shipping package based on which car owners can determine what car shipping service they will choose and what extra complementary services they can afford.
Hire a Car Shipping Broker
Hiring a professional car shipping broker is the best way to ship a car nationwide at a knock-down price. Car shipping brokers possess exceptional negotiation skills that enable them to bring the most competitive prices to the market.
Besides, brokers usually work with a large network of carrier drivers, which feeds the competition for doing clients’ business. It also means that brokers can propose a car shipping order to multiple carrier drivers so they can find another driver if one doesn’t take it at a reduced cost.
Most importantly, professional car shipping brokers, like Tempus Logix, don’t simply go for the cheapest offer a driver provides. Still, they meticulously evaluate drivers’ trustworthiness to handle the business and measure their qualifications and shipping history first.
Tempus Logix is a top-rated car shipping brokerage company with over 25,000 carrier drivers with insurance coverage of up to $1,000,000. The company can ship any vehicle type nationwide with such a massive network and insurance.
Budget-friendly Car Shipping Tips
The following are additional helpful tips to have the most budget-friendly car shipping service ever:
- Research multiple car shipping companies and request a free quote from each to compare prices.
- Learn some price negotiation hacks to win the deal you aim at.
- Ask the car shipping company for a detailed invoice and ensure no hidden fees will come up upon delivery.
- Be flexible with shipping timeframes and remember to make an early booking as possible, between 3 to 4 weeks before the actual pick-up date.
- Make sure to empty the car of all personal belongings and send it as lightweight as possible for shipping. The more the vehicle weight is, the more money the carrier driver will charge.
Final Thoughts
Shipping cars across the country budget-friendly is something every car owner looks for, besides professionalism and efficiency. Car owners, dealers, or senders can reduce the cost of shipping a car in many ways.
It is also important to remember the different shipping options, specifically the most affordable ones, to settle on a particular option that is more cost-effective, whether at the moment of shipping or in the long run.