What is car shipping?

When we decide to take a trip or even move across the country, oftentimes the thought of what to do with our car isn’t at the forefront of our minds.  Despite that, though, there’s really no denying how important a step that it can be.  Sure, we could end up taking a super long road trip.  However, for most of us, this just isn’t a very appealing prospect.

After all, even just taking into account the amount of time it can take (never mind all of the costs from things like the hotel stays and eating out), it tends to cost a lot more than we might expect.  Gas isn’t cheap.  So, looking into other options is probably starting to sound rather appealing, right?

That’s where something like car shipping comes into play.  It wasn’t even something that crossed my mind until I was preparing to move.  If you’d like to learn more about it, make sure to stick around!

What it is

Perhaps you’re asking yourself, “well, what is car shipping, then?”  You can find one explanation of it here, https://www.forbes.com/home-improvement/moving-services/how-to-ship-a-car/, but thankfully it’s not really that hard to understand.  The idea is that instead of you hopping into your vehicle for a days-long road trip, you can get a company to do the move for you.

There are a ton of reasons that this could come in handy, really.  Most of the time, it is for folks who are relocating.  However, since this is a possibility now, it can also allow us to buy a vehicle in other states without having to make the trek out there in the first place.  As far as the “catch” goes, the biggest thing to keep in mind is that there will be some costs associated with it.


How it Works

As you start to look into this, there are some questions to keep in the back of your mind.  One such is, what’s the make and model of your vehicle?  How much does it weigh?  Is it big and bulky or smaller and compact?

All of these (amongst other factors, of course) will play a pretty significant role in how expensive the process ends up being for you.  Other things to consider include how far you want it to be transported and the works.  While most folks don’t really enjoy math (and can we blame them?), there will probably be a certain amount of number crunching involved here if you want to figure out what will be most cost-effective for you.  You can find some explanation of that in this article

For instance, ask yourself how long it would take to drive the car yourself.  From there, you can start to also factor in how much gas will cost you.  There’s also the matter of paying for places to stay along the way and all of your meals.  Compare that with the cost estimates that you get from a company that does this, and you can get a feel for what will be more worthwhile for you in the long term.

Other Things to Know

While this might seem like a sort of niche need, you might be surprised by how many people utilize car shipping services every year.  The opportunities that this sort of thing opens up is pretty cool, really – being able to make a purchase for a vehicle out of state is a pretty big deal.  Since there are different taxation levels and the like, it could easily turn out that going about it this way is easier and less expensive for a person!

The important thing, though, is that you do the math beforehand.  That way, you can be certain that you’re coming out “on top” in terms of finances.  While it might seem like a huge chore to have to deal with it, at the end of the day it is well worth your time.

No one wants to be stuck without having their car, especially if they’re moving into a new place across the country and they don’t really have a support network in the new neighborhood yet.  Having a way to quickly and easily get around is really important, even if it doesn’t seem like it in the moment. 

Next time that you’re going to be travelling far or you’re making a big move, remember that it doesn’t have to be as stressful as it might seem.  You can take a plane ride there instead of having to deal with the whole “road trip” sort of deal.  Instead, you can be confident knowing that your car will be ready to go once you arrive, undamaged and with everything still in place.  It might seem a bit nerve-wracking at first, but not having to worry about that can be a real weight off of the shoulders.