How to Find Fast Auto Transport

You have a car that you need to transport from Point A to Point B. But in your case, standard vehicle transportation services aren’t going to do the job. You need to get the car to its destination as quickly as possible. That means you need fast auto transport.

But what is that?

Also known as expedited car transport, fast auto transport allows you to speed up the standard car shipping process. That makes it ideal for when you need to guarantee that your car arrives at its destination on an exact date.

But before you go off to book a fast car transport service, you need the answers to a few questions. What do these services provide? What are the benefits of fast auto shipping? How do you find a carrier that can do the job well? This article answers all of these questions.

What Is Expedited Car Transport?

Expedited car transport is a specific vehicle shipping service used when a car needs to be at a location at a specific time or date. It differs from traditional auto shipping in several ways, with the most important difference being that your carrier will dedicate a full set of resources to getting your vehicle there at the specified time and day. In traditional vehicle shipping, the carrier will usually move several vehicles at once. This leads to multiple pick-ups and drop-offs, which adds time to the delivery process. With expedited transport, the carrier only picks up and drops off your vehicle, meaning you don’t have to worry about any time being added to the delivery schedule by the carrier’s need to deliver other people’s cars as well.

The downside to this faster service is that quick car transport costs more than standard vehicle shipping. Your carrier prioritizes your vehicle ahead of any others they need to transport, which means they’re dedicating more resources to you. In some cases, the carrier has to purchase special transportation equipment, such as single-car trucks, which can add to your costs. The exact amount you pay varies between carriers. The dates you select for your expedited car transport may also have an effect, with shorter gaps between pick-up and drop-off dates tending to carry heavier price tags.

A carrier may also offer different types of fast auto shipping. Ground-based transport is the most common, which involves the carrier loading your car onto a vehicle and driving it to its destination. However, some carriers use air freight transportation to fly vehicles to their destinations. While this leads to shorter transportation times, air freight comes at a higher cost than ground-based delivery.

What Are the Benefits of Fast Auto Transport?

The key benefit of expedited car transport is that it’s the fastest way to ship a car. As mentioned, you don’t have to worry about delays caused by the carrier picking up and dropping off other vehicles. Instead, you get to dictate the times and dates you need for the service, so long as they’re within reason. Your carrier can advise you on the fastest times possible for the distance you need your car to travel.

However, speed is not the only benefit of this service. Several other factors may convince you to use expedited car transport, even if speed is not of the essence.

Benefit No. 1 – You Get Priority

While having priority over allows for the speed that fast auto shipping provides, it also offers several benefits from a customer experience standpoint.

For example, having priority means that you don’t have to wait around for a pick-up. With traditional car transportation services, your carrier will likely give you a pick-up window based on how long it will take them to collect the other vehicles they’ll transport alongside yours. With expedited service, you can usually choose a pick-up time between 24 and 48 hours after you make your request. That means less waiting around on the carrier because your car will be on the road within two days of you making your request.

Benefit No. 2 – Door-to-Door Service

Many fast auto transport carriers offer door-to-door service. This means they pick your car up at your address and take it directly to the specific address you requested. Compare this to standard vehicle transportation, which usually requires you to deliver your car to a designated pick-up point and then pick it up from a set delivery location. This is far less convenient than expedited transport. Plus, it creates difficulties if you’re trying to ship a non-operational vehicle. Expedited services remove the hassle of getting your car to a different location so it can be loaded.

Benefit No. 3 – Less Chance of Mix-Ups

Though carriers have systems in place to ensure their vehicle transportation systems run as seamlessly as possible, mix-ups can still occur. This is particularly the case when the carrier loads multiple vehicles onto the same transport. They may mix up different cars, leading to a vehicle getting transported to the wrong location. While this is a rare occurrence, it’s a possibility that does not exist with quick car transport services.

Why?

The carrier only has one vehicle to pick up. They also only have one pick-up destination and one delivery destination. That means there’s no chance of them shipping the vehicle to the wrong address. Furthermore, the more personalized service you receive with expedited shipping enables you to check directly with your driver to confirm they have the right delivery location before they set out.

How Do You Find a Top-Quality Fast Auto Shipping Service?

Many carriers provide expedited shipping services. However, some carriers provide far better services than others. If you’re shipping a vehicle, you’re entrusting a carrier with one of the most valuable assets you own. As such, you need to feel confident that they can do the job well and ensure that your vehicle gets where it needs to be on time and with no damage.

How do you do that?

Check that any vehicle transportation company you consider using offers all the following:

Appropriate Documentation and Insurance

Before talking directly to a carrier, you need to ensure it’s a legitimate company that has all of the appropriate paperwork in place for doing the job you require. Insurance is key here. You need to know that the carrier takes liability for any damage that may occur to your vehicle that is not the result of mistakes on your end.

The carrier’s website should provide information about their insurance and other relevant paperwork that demonstrates their legitimacy. But if you want to conduct a more in-depth check, you can also research the company via the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website. The site’s checker allows you to search for a carrier via its name or U.S. Department of Transportation number. Assuming you find the carrier, you can also check its current insurance status, location, and various other business details.

Dependable Drivers

Regardless of the specific carrier you use for your car’s transportation, it’s ultimately the driver who determines the quality of the service. If the driver doesn’t have the appropriate license or has a track record of poor service, you may not receive the quick car transport you expect.

This means you need to speak to your chosen carrier to learn more about the screening methods they use to select drivers. At the bare minimum, the carrier should tell you that it checks that all of its drivers have commercial driver’s licenses. Beyond that, quiz the carrier about their criminal background checks and any checks they have for drug use. The more in-depth the carrier’s screening process, the more likely it is that the driver assigned to your job is capable of transporting your car safely.

Driver screening is also important when it comes to punctuality. One of the main advantages of fast auto transport is that your vehicle gets to where it needs to go on the specific date you choose. If a driver isn’t punctual, you may have to deal with delays that undermine the entire purpose of expedited shipping.

Vehicle Tracking

Peace of mind is critical when transporting a car. As mentioned, a vehicle is usually among an individual’s most valuable assets. That’s particularly the case for those who have rare, vintage, or expensive cars. If you need to move a car across the country, you want to know where it is at all times.

Vehicle tracking will help you do that.

A good fast car transport service should come with a vehicle tracking option that uses GPS to show you where your car is at all times. This allows you to run quick checks to ensure the car is where it’s supposed to be. Furthermore, you can also use readouts from the vehicle tracking system to raise queries with your carrier about any strange stops or detours a driver might take.

Good Customer Reviews

When you visit a vehicle transportation company’s website, you should expect to see only positive information. That’s natural. The company wants to sell you on its service so it’s going to highlight the positive elements while not talking about the negatives.

If you want to find out about the true nature of the company’s service, you need to check reviews from previous customers. This extends beyond reading the testimonials the carrier places on its website. Again, the carrier will only showcase positive reviews from customers. Instead, use Google and social media to learn more about what customers are saying about the company.

Facebook is a particularly valuable resource because it’s often the first place that unhappy customers will go if they need to get in touch with a carrier. Check Facebook for negative reviews and, just as importantly, the carrier’s response to these reviews. Mistakes can happen with a transportation service, which inevitably leads to a bad review. But if the carrier contacts the disgruntled customer and tries to make things right, that suggests customer service is important to them.

The company’s Google Business Profile is also a good place to find customer reviews. Google also allows customers to provide star ratings (up to a maximum of five) with their reviews. It then compiles these ratings to create an average that gives you an at-a-glance idea of whether the carrier provides a good service. Look for a minimum average score of four stars.

Beyond these main review sources, a Google search of the carrier’s name should reveal any mentions that people have made of it in forums and on similar platforms. The point here is that you’re collecting information about what the carrier’s service is really like from people who have used it and can thus provide more trustworthy opinions.

Affordability

You will always pay more for the fastest car shipping when compared to standard vehicle transportation. But how much more you pay depends on the carrier and the condition of the vehicle you’re shipping. You will also pay more if you opt for an air freight transportation service instead of a ground-based one.

Still, knowing you have to pay more does not mean you should allow a carrier to take advantage of you. Collect quotes from several carriers so you can get a good idea of the average cost you can expect to pay. Once you have some quotes, compare them to the level of service and experience provided by the carrier. Going for the cheapest option is not necessarily the best decision, especially if the carrier has limited experience or you can’t find information online about the quality of their service.

Ideally, your carrier will also offer a price matching feature, such as the one provided by Ship Vehicles. We combine quality service with a pledge to match the quote of any other carrier for a comparable job.

Get Fast and Safe Vehicle Transportation

Expedited car transport allows you to get your vehicle to where it needs to be faster than standard transportation services. You will also benefit from being able to dictate pick-up and drop-off dates and locations, in addition to getting more personalized and privileged service. It is the fastest way to ship a car.

However, finding a good carrier is not always a simple task. You need to confirm that the carrier has the appropriate insurance paperwork and that it properly screens the drivers who’ll transport your vehicle. Plus, you must research your chosen carrier to confirm that they have the experience and can offer the quality of service you expect when paying more than you would for a standard transportation service.

The tips in this article help you do just that. And when you’re ready to move forward, Ship Vehicles is here to help you. We specialize in providing the fastest car shipping available in the United States. We also transport other types of vehicles and vessels, including boats, yachts, and recreational vehicles. Visit us today to get an estimate for your car transportation needs.