An online quote is always correct.
While a quote provider tries their best to provide accurate pricing, pricing can fluctuate according to time of year, route popularity and truck availability.
Another factor that can affect a quote is incorrect data. This is usually the result of zip codes not being correct or someone putting in a city with the wrong state. For example, a customer submits a quote request to ship a car from Dallas, TX to Los Angeles, TX. A quote was sent. The customer responds to the quote especially because the price was so low. After interaction with the customer, it was discovered that the customer meant Los Angeles, CA. Now one of them is in the SW corner of Texas, while the other one 1,400 miles away, in Southern California. The difference in quoting such a destination may go up to $500. So what do you do?
This is an easy thing – always make sure that both zip codes have been correctly input.
The cost to ship your car is totally dependent on distance.
Distance is an important factor, but it is not the be all and end all. Location matters as well.
A lot of times, customers are miffed because they had a friend who shipped from point A to point B for $X. It is important to understand that while the distance might less than your friend’s, your location is totally different from theirs.
So your friend shipped from Los Angeles, CA to Orlando, FL. Distance just over 2,400 miles. They paid at that time $850.00.
Your trip is from Afton, WY to Atlanta, GA. Distance just over 1,900 miles. Your price $1500.
Why is this? CA-FL is a very popular route. There are always trucks to be found to pick vehicles up. WY, not so much. In addition, the little town of Afton is up in the mountains on a two lane highway leading to Yosemite National Park. No trucker really wants to make that type of trip. As an incentive, a customer will have to offer a lot of money to get this picked up and delivered.
Pricing can also be impacted based on the customer’s needs. Case in point, a customer needs a car picked up today and it just putting out a quote request. This means the customer needs expedited service which can costs hundreds more than a car on the same route with a customer who is not a hurry to have their car shipped. Flexibility can help when it comes to cost.
Therefore, when assessing a shipping quote factor in ease of access (location, location, location), customer flexibility and of course, distance.
Also read the fine print to make sure that the price provided is all inclusive and there are no surprise fees. Make sure that your intermediary is communicative at all points throughout the shipping of your car.
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