For anyone looking to transport a vehicle in or out of Texas, you might find yourself wondering how the process works. After all, shipping a car can seem rather complicated, and maybe even a bit intimidating, depending on where you are and what you’re doing the shipping for. Wondering how to do it? Well, we’ve got you covered!
Today, we’ll be explaining what car shipping is, how it works, and some of the tips and tricks you should be aware of. If you want some context, you could check out this page: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2092521222000153 to get some information about how car shipping works as technology improves. Otherwise, stick around!
What is Car Shipping?
Now, before we delve into how this works, let’s start simple: what is car shipping, anyway? You may also hear it referred to as car transport or vehicle shipping, for one thing. That said, we’ll use this definition: it’s the process of moving a car from one location to another, usually across long distances. Easy, right?
Something else you’ll want to keep in mind is that there are several different types of vehicle shipping available. Let’s cover a few of them.
Closed Carrier: Starting strong, this type of shipping provides added protection for high-value or luxury vehicles. This is because the car is loaded into an enclosed trailer to protect it from weather and road debris. Of course, the trade-off is that it’s more expensive than the next option we’ll be covering.
Open Carrier: In contrast to the above, this is the most common type of car shipping. With this option, the car is loaded onto an open trailer and transported with other vehicles. It leaves the car more exposed to the elements but comes with a cheaper price tag. You’ll have to decide which makes more sense for you.
Door to Terminal: Switching gears just a bit, let’s look at some of the options for how the vehicle will arrive at the destination. With this option, the car is transported to a designated terminal, and the consumer must pick it up from there. Places like RoadRunner Texas Car Shipping offer this, along with the others.
Door to Door: For this process, the car is picked up from the customer’s doorstep and delivered to their new location.
Terminal to Terminal: Finally, there’s this option, in which the car is transported to a designated terminal, and the consumer must pick it up from there.
How it Works
Let’s take a look at how the process works. Thankfully, it’s not too complicated to transport a car in or out of Texas – it just requires a bit of know-how.
Step One: Booking
Naturally, the first step you’ll want to take is actually booking the transport. Now, you’ll want to know a few things ahead of time, such as what carrier you’re utilizing as well as when you need the shipment to happen. Keep in mind that there are differences in pricing between seasons, so that could play a role in your decisions here.
Once you have that figured out, though, you can begin to book. You’ll be able to select what type of carrier you want as well as how you want the delivery process to work. When choosing a carrier, here are a few extra perks they might offer:
- Insurance coverage (for a premium)
- Vehicle inspection
- Car preparation (such as cleaning, vacuuming, and waxing)
- Gasoline filling
Step Two: Pickup or Drop-off
The next step will be either a pickup for your vehicle, or you’ll be dropping it off at a terminal. This will depend on what option you selected during booking, as well as what type of shipping company your carrier is. Ideally, it should go pretty smoothly!
If the carrier sends a driver to pick up the car, just note that you should have identified paperwork on hand, as well as relevant documentation for the vehicle (such as insurance information). This will help the process go along quickly and without a hitch.
Step Three: Transportation
From there, the vehicle will be transported in an open or closed container, per your specifications in the initial booking. Prior to this, be sure to empty out any important items from your car, as there is always a chance that they could be lost along the way!
Step Four: Delivery
The final step is, obviously, the delivery of the car! This will either be at your new location or at a terminal for you to pick up, based on what you’ve opted for during booking. Overall, the process of Texas car shipping isn’t a difficult one, as you can see.
Rather, once you get over the initial hurdle of booking, it should be a total breeze! Hopefully, this resource can be your guide.
