There can be a lot of confusion about the process of Car Shipping. Basically Car Carriers operate in one of two ways; either keeping a car on their Car Carrier for the bulk of it’s journey or utilizing trucking terminals. Trucking terminals are large holding lots where customers drop off and pick up their vehicle. It’s the most cost effective way to ship your car BUT puts you at the greatest risk for damage, due to the greatly increased handling by multiple people and carriers. 90% of damage occurs in the loading & unloading process and with terminals that happens a lot. Other Car Carriers will load the vehicle at our near your home and keep it in their possession until they drop at or near your home as well. This is commonly referred to as ONE TRUCK auto transport. All of the carriers we utilize use their own trucks to haul your vehicle, putting it on a multi-car carrier for the bulk of it’s journey, and not through trucking terminals, where it can go through many depots and on and off a few different independent carriers. BUT, many “one-truck” companies will utilize smaller flatbed carriers to assist them with picking up and delivering vehicles, thereby making it a bit of a misnomer (and we address this in our terms, ALWAYS read the terms of the company you choose). The reason car carriers do this is for a number of reasons; it’s better logistically and allows them a better opportunity to give you true door to door service, it’s better economically, the larger carriers get about 5 MPG, so navigating most metro areas can be costly and it helps them to expedite your shipment by consolidating pickups and deliveries. Rest assured, it is always covered by their insurance from the time it is picked up from you to the time it is delivered. Hope this helps you choose a Car Carrier.
One Truck vs. Terminals
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