Auto Shipper
The first type of auto shipper we’ll break down is the type that actually moves your vehicle – the auto shipper carrier. The auto shipper carrier is essentially what the name implies: they carry the automobiles from the pickup location to the destination location. There are literally thousands upon thousands of auto shipper carriers on the road – some service specific areas, others travel across the country. Some only ship for dealerships, and some ship for whoever they can get a load from. Most auto shipper carriers use what are known as open ten-car carriers to move vehicles – they can load multiple vehicles onto their truck, saving time and money while they are on the road. Some auto shipper carriers have a central office where a dispatcher will help them locate freight – still others just use truck stop computers to find something in the area. Ultimately, the carrier isn’t the one that you will usually be dealing with – that is, you’ll be dealing with the next type of auto shipper on our list – the auto shipper brokerage.
An auto shipper brokerage is a company that handles everything but the actual transport of your vehicle. That is to say, they deal with all the paperwork and the hassles of finding an auto shipper carrier for your vehicle, and they handle most of the money (some companies handle all the money)., leaving you free to deal with other aspects of your life. An auto shipper brokerage could be as small as a one-man operation to as large as an office full of people – it just depends on the company. A one-man auto shipper company is nothing to laugh at, however – many auto shipper brokerages are no larger than three or four people working together.
However, unlike an auto shipper carrier, an auto shipper brokerage needs to be able to find new customers, so some of the larger companies will advertise their services online, while most others will simply utilize the third type of auto shipper – the advertising website, which we’ll talk about in a minute. Auto shipper brokerages handle almost any freight – whether it’s oversized or going overseas, many auto shipper brokerages will be able to handle it. They should always be your number one stop, as they keep the prices healthy and competitive by being the main vendor for auto shipper brokerages, allowing you to save your money for other things.
The final auto shipper company we’ll talk about are the advertising websites – these auto shipper companies spend most of their money on advertising, getting to the top of search engines and getting you in contact with the best auto shipper brokerages in the auto shipper industry. Most of them offer multiple free quotes by filling out their auto shipper quote request form, and some of the really fancy ones even have a telephone number you can call if you have questions or just want to talk to a live person instead of filling out some random quote request form. These companies don’t make their money from you – they make their money from the auto shipper brokerages as they are a part of those brokerages’ overhead costs. With an auto shipper advertising website, you won’t have to give any information more personal than an e-mail address – some ask for telephone numbers, but it’s not hard to get around that if you really don’t want to give one (however, telephone numbers make it easy to get in touch with the auto shipper brokerages – which is the whole point of filling out a quote form in the first place!).