Auto Transport - FAQ

This is a great question, and if you ask 15 different companies, you’ll get 15 different answers. There is no “set” amount of necessary lead-time. Whatever you can give is great, but don’t worry if you have to hold off until the last minute, here at eShip we can get last minute moves picked up as well.

YES. We verify that the carrier we put you on is covered by the requisite amount of insurance and that it is up to date. There is never any additional cost to the customer for this coverage, and their insurance is primary.

The carrier will contact whomever you tell us to contact, whether it is you, a friend, a dealer, etc. Someone simply needs to be present on both ends to sign off on release and or receipt of vehicle, unless arranged with eShip prior.

YES, Before a carrier is assigned a full refund will be issued. Once EShip secures a driver your deposit is now NON REFUNDABLE.

The most challenging thing for people researching auto transport companies to understand is that the prices they are getting are not hard and fast guarantees, but rather ESTIMATES or offers of what one company thinks it will take to get a vehicle moved, versus another company’s opinion of what it will actually take. Don’t be fooled, there are not carriers committed to take your vehicle at these low quoted prices, the company you choose will still have to get to work, securing a carrier to commit to move it at the price they quoted you.

Your total price breaks down into two parts, the broker’s fee (or ‘deposit’ as everyone calls it) and the carriers fee (your COD amount). Make no mistake about this, EVERYONE you are getting sales calls from is going to broker your transport. In this industry, there are brokers who try to fool you into thinking that they are the actual carriers and there are an equal amount of carriers who sell themselves on the fact that they have a truck or two but are not being honest about the fact that they broker out 95% of the orders they book.

All companies, and we mean EVERY company, brokers and carriers, use a site called Central Dispatch, the national load board, similar to eBay, to post and find a carrier to accept the vehicles available to transport, the main thing you are paying any company for is ACCESS to this site, and a REPUTABLE CARRIER. ALL companies use it, their fees to post your order on it will vary, but the site is the same.

No, all dates given are estimates, unless otherwise arranged with driver, and dispatch. We ask that you give us the earliest possible date you would be willing to release the vehicle to start working on your order. We than put you in direct contact with your carrier and the carrier and or driver will typically call you the afternoon or evening before your pickup and delivery (they won’t just show up unannounced, and if they do we want to hear about it). However, drivers are out on the road battling traffic, weather and any number of other issues that can throw off their pickup and delivery projections from time to time.If the projected dates we give you come and you are unable to make contact with your carrier, please call our office immediately so that we may help resolve the situation.

The average transit time from pick up to delivery on any vehicle going coast to coast will be between 7-10 days. From either coast to the Midwest averages 3-7 days. From there you can figure your transit time based on how far your vehicle is traveling.

We do both open and enclosed vehicle transport. The majority of cross country moves will be on an 8-10 car carrier, the kind that you see new cars on all of the time. The smaller 2-3 car carriers will tend to do shorter, more “localized” shipments.

Yes, we always ask for your specific pickup and delivery addresses, if the carrier can get right to the addresses you provide, they will. However, if the addresses that you provide us are not safely accessible for a car carrier, you will need to make arrangements with the driver to meet at a nearby location where the driver can safely load or unload your vehicle.

Officially, no. I know not what you wanted to hear, but that is the honest answer.