How to Decide Which Transporter Is Best For Your Vehicle Transportation

When using an online marketplace for vehicle transportation, it can be difficult to determine which transporter is best. If all the quotes are in the same price range, vehicle owners often just go with a gut feeling. They pick a transporter that “seems alright” and hope for the best. While confidence is commendable, this clearly is not the most responsible approach. Instead, we recommend going through the following criteria until you’ve established which transporter is best for your vehicle transportation.

Transporter Reputation

Before you book a vehicle transporter, you should really do your due diligence. When a transporter sends you a quote, do some research on them. Check out how well their other customers have been satisfied. Go through online reviews and star ratings. See what specific services they offer, relevant to your transport requirement.

At CitizenShipper, we make all this information readily available on each transporter’s profile page. You’ll see their average rating, their number of bookings and cancelations, and the experience they have in each shipping category. And, saving you time and effort, we compile all the reviews left by their customers into one handy list. 

Transparency is important in this business, which is why we require the independent transporters to keep things out in the open. All potential customers are invited to browse through the available info to their satisfaction.

Transporter Communication

Once you’ve narrowed down the playing field, you can start messaging transporters directly. In addition to negotiating payments and picking out delivery dates, use this opportunity to gauge each one’s professionalism. 

• Do they strike you as responsible actors, able to actually do the job you’d entrust them with?
• Do they seem flexible enough to adjust to any potential change in your plans?
• Are they willing to answer all of your questions and clear up any misunderstandings?

Speaking of which, don’t ever hesitate to ask anything. Your transporter should be able to provide satisfactory answers to any query regarding vehicle shipping. More importantly, they should not find it bothersome to share their professional insights with a layman like you. If any of these conditions are not met, move on and look elsewhere.

Payment Arrangements

No need to beat around the bush anymore – let’s talk prices! For you, the quote each transporter sends in might be the primary criteria in choosing who to hire. That’s perfectly valid, we’re just saying it should not be the only criteria you look at! Do not make the mistake of jumping at the lowest quote, ignoring everything else!

Every transporter using the CitizenShipper online marketplace goes through an extensive background verification process. Still, it makes sense to be cautious anyway. 

• If a deal seems too good to be true, it very well might be.
• When a transporter wants you to pay via wire transfer, he’d better have a good reason for it!
• If a transporter is urging you to hurry up and book him now because he won’t be available tomorrow, maybe reconsider booking him at all.

Insurance Information

Last but not least, there’s insurance coverage to consider. It’s well known that every auto transporter is required by the USDA to carry primary liability insurance of $750,000. But is this enough for the type of vehicle transport you have in mind? If this mandatory baseline isn’t sufficient to meet your requirements, you’ll need to go into detail with each transporter that contacts you.

For most people, though, it’s sufficient to know that the transporter is insured for the type of cargo they intend to ship. The coverage specifics can always be discussed directly before you pull the trigger on a booking. 

As of 2021, CitizenShipper is asking all transporters on the platform to submit their insurance info for verification. Those whose coverage is found acceptable for the type of transport they’re offering will have an “Insurance Verified” checkmark added to their profile page! This, in turn, should make it easier for you to distinguish between drivers offering different types of insurance coverage. 

And there you have it, the basic guidelines on deciding which transporter is best for your vehicle transportation. We hope you’ve found it informative, and encourage you to check out these resources as well. And for any additional questions, you can always reach out to our support team directly. Stay safe, and happy shipping!