Getting a quote to ship a car across the country is easy. Simply enter your car’s destination and dimensions, along with your preferred shipping method, and multiple carriers will submit their quotes for shipping your car. But these quotes often don’t tell the full story. By the time your car arrives at its destination, the carrier might ask you to pay surcharges and extra fees – increase the cost of shipping by a lot.
In this guide, you’ll discover the 5 types of hidden costs of auto transport you should watch out for while assessing a quote. This article will also tell you how to avoid these add-ons so you can avoid paying more than you should to ship your car.
1. Expedited Shipping Fees
If you need to ship your car within a deadline, a lot of carriers will offer to ship it. However, they’re also very likely to charge a premium for expedited shipping.
There’s a good reason behind this – they might have to re-route a carrier out of its way and schedule to accommodate your pickup. So, the shipping company will simply pass that cost onto you as the customer.
To avoid paying extra for expedited shipping, you should always plan in advance and book your pick-up at least 15 days in advance. It’ll give the carrier plenty of time to assign you a carrier and ensure that you don’t end up getting billed for express shipping.
2. Fuel and Route Surcharges
The most common hidden fee in car shipping is fuel surcharges. It’s the extra cost that the carrier will charge you in case the fuel prices rise between the time at which you booked the pickup and the time your car is actually delivered to its destination.
All carriers that operate transparently usually add fuel and route surcharges to their quote. So, you should examine the full quote in detail before committing to a carrier. If you don’t see a section for surcharges, ask the carrier about their policy.
Another way to avoid these charges is by opting for off-route or remote destinations. That means accepting your vehicle’s delivery at a nearby location (usually a relatively suburban or rural area).
3. Door-to-Door or Residential Pick-up and Delivery
Another very common hidden charge is for residential pick-up and delivery. Especially if you live in a densely populated area, the carrier might charge you extra for residential pick-up and delivery. This is because the driver might have to drive through compact roads to service your pick-up requests.
One way to avoid or anticipate this fee is by asking your carrier directly about their residential pick-up charges. Another is to opt for terminal or port pick-up and delivery. However, if you opt for this option, you might have to drive your car to the nearest terminal or port to hand over your car to the carrier. While it might be inconvenient, it’ll definitely help you avoid paying extra for residential pick-up and delivery.
4. Storage or Holding Fees
If you miss the delivery window of your car, (for instance, because you didn’t reach your destination in time) the carrier might charge you extra for safely storing your car. This might be the case, especially if you’ve not communicated to the carrier that you’ll miss the delivery window.
So, you should first find out the estimated delivery window that the carrier is promising. If it doesn’t align with your timeline, clearly inform the carrier when you’ll be able to accept your vehicle’s delivery. This way, you might be able to negotiate the daily storage charges or eliminate them entirely.
5. Insurance Coverage Gaps
While car shipping insurance is mandatory for all carriers and vehicles being shipped throughout the United States, your insurance might not cover all types of damage. For example, car shipping insurance often excludes coverage for pre-existing damage, damage to personal items within the car, and damage to your car resulting from personal belongings in it.
Alternatively, the coverage might itself be inadequate to cover the cost of any damage to your car. Therefore, it’s always advisable to double-check the insurance information to ensure that you will be compensated for any damage to your vehicle. This is all the more important if you’re shipping a luxury, classic, sports, vintage, or expensive vehicle.
Avoid Hidden Fees and Ship Your Car Hassle-Free
This article has helped you understand the 5 most common types of hidden fees that carriers charge for auto transport. So, the next time you’re looking to ship a car across the country, be sure to ask your carrier about these extra charges. Be sure to get answers from your carrier in writing. Lastly, we recommend not always trusting the lowest bid you get – sometimes, it’s better to pay a higher up-front fee for car shipping than paying a lot of hidden charges later on.