Brokers vs. Carriers

They’re are good Auto Transport brokers and there are good Auto Transport carriers. Sad to say there are also bad Auto Transport brokers and bad Auto Transport carriers. Our website helps u find the good ones and we give you the tools to understand the Car Transporter industry, so that you can make and educated choice.

There are three general types of Car Shipping companies:

• Auto Transport Carrier: This is the company that owns trucks and in most cases is going to ship your car.
• Auto Transport Broker: This is a company that doesn’t own trucks and will use a network of Auto Shippers carriers to move your vehicle.
• Auto Transport Carrier Broker: This is the company that owns trucks and in most cases is going to ship your car, BUT they also have a brokers bond and if they don’t have a truck that can haul your car they will use the network to find a Vehicle Shipper company that can.

Things that can go wrong when using a broker:

1. Paying too much: I don’t care how you spin it when it comes down to it your not going to save money by using a middleman (broker)!
2. Liability: Brokers have no liability of your vehicle! When they become bonded through the federal motor carrier the liability ends when they turn the car over to the Car Transporter company. In most cases if the car gets damaged you will have to deal directly with the Car Shipping company anyway.  Some brokers have ethics and will deal with the Auto Shippers companies for u, but ethics are not found frequently in the Vehicle Shipper industry. The sad thing about this is you won’t know unless your car gets damaged.
3. Paying the Broker: in most case the broker will have you pay a fee up front. This is usually their cut for shipping the vehicle. They will have you pay the Car Transporter company the remainder at delivery and that is usually the Car Shipping carriers cut. The problems that usually occur with this are that if the broker doesn’t move your car, your stuck trying to get your money refunded. Don’t pay a deposit!
4. Know who is going to move your vehicle: When using an Auto Shippers broker to move your car u run into the problem of not knowing who is going to pick up your car. Brokers and Vehicle Shipper carriers use a load board to post your cars. Car Transporter companies use it for over flow and brokers use it for every car they ship. The industry has one major load board that everyone uses. This load board is not policed very well. Company’s that use the load boards to ship your car often post it on the load board as cheap as possible. This is not a good way to ship your vehicle! In most case the broker is charging the customer top dollar and moving the car as cheap as possible. This is bad for the customer that is shipping their car because it tends to attract the bottom end Car Shipping companies.
5. Insurance: You can also be sure that your vehicle will be insured by the actual Auto Shippers carrier you are dealing with - a guarantee that can never be given by a broker. Remember that Vehicle Shipper brokers do not insure vehicles. At best, all that the broker can do is find a reputable carrier for your vehicle and mediate in the settlement of the insurance claims in case of loss or damage. In summary, both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. Some companies offer both services, so be sure you know which sort of company you're dealing with and what exactly is included in the service.

Since Car Transporter carriers actually own the trucks, they may be able to give a more definite delivery schedule than most brokers can. But just as with cost, you can't assume that you'll get better scheduling information just because you use a Car Shipping company directly.

Auto Transport brokers usually cannot, however, give you an exact loading schedule for your vehicle at the time you book your vehicle shipment order. Since they do not own the trucks they cannot dictate what routes they run. They can provide you with estimated times for loading and delivery but until they know which Auto Transport carrier will be moving your car they won't be able to give exact dates.

Auto Transport carriers usually transport vehicles only on a specific route at a definite schedule. If they don't run the route you need, they either won't be able to help you or they'll charge a very large fee to deviate from their route.

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