Here in PA, it’s not exactly a secret that trying to get around can be a hassle. Whether you’re traveling across the state or even just a bit north or south, you’re bound to run into mountains, rivers, or some other obstacle. It’s why a lot of us have started to look for alternative solutions to driving ourselves long distances.
What are these alternatives? Today, we’ll be taking a look at some of the most popular options. Our focus will be on enclosed auto transport in PA, but there is also unenclosed transport and more. Stay tuned!
What Is Auto Transport?
Naturally, the big question here is this one: what is auto transport in the first place? Often, you’ll see it referred to as “car shipping,” which is just another phrase for the same thing. It’s when a third-party company ships a vehicle from one location to another. Typically, this is a long distance as opposed to a shorter one.
In some states, they might not consider from the east to the west to be a long distance. However, as most of us know, trekking across the mountains isn’t an easy feat. It’s hardly a surprise that folks trying to move a car from one part of PA to another end up using these types of services rather than trying to drive themselves.
What is it Useful For?
Something else you might be wondering is of course, what can we use car shipping for? There are tons of different things you might do, so we’ll cover the basics.
For one thing, the most popular use of car shipping is when people decide to move across long distances. Whether you’re moving to Pennsylvania or out of the state, you’ll be able to find options that suit your needs. This method simply cuts down the time involved by saving you a long road trip.
Of course, you’ll also be saving some cash just by skipping out on a road trip. As you can see here: https://nomadicated.com/cost-of-road-trips/, it’s quite pricey to plan one these days. Gas alone can run you upwards of a thousand dollars depending on where you’re headed. So, getting plane or train tickets while your car gets shipped tends to be a less expensive option.
Another way that a lot of people utilize these services is when they decide to sell a car to a customer who lives a long way away. Often, we limit ourselves to only selling locally. However, thanks to this type of auto shipping service, we can expand our range and sell to anyone in the country!
Now, that will require a bit of planning on your end. For instance, it might be a matter of whether or not you want to foot the bill of shipping or if you want to have the customer cover it (or a percentage). This will play a big part in your profit margin, so keep it in mind if you do decide to sell automobiles using transport services.
How it Works
Once you’ve decided to ship a vehicle, you might be wondering what comes next. The process is fairly simple, thankfully. You’ll want to prepare your vehicle for transit before a driver comes to pick it up, since most companies offer what’s called door-to-door shipping options. This takes a lot of pressure off of us, since we don’t have to drop off or pick up the car.
Make sure you’ve got your ID on hand, and any insurance documents for the vehicle. Additionally, ensure that it’s clean inside and outside. Don’t leave anything inside and wash it beforehand to make everyone’s lives a little easier.
When you’re considering how much gas to put in, you shouldn’t need much. You can read about it in this article, but the main idea is that you only need to put in enough for the drive to and from the shipping areas. Most of the time, the depots have gas stations in them as well if there is an emergency.
Everything that gets left behind in the vehicle, including fuel, will add weight to it. For anyone who didn’t know, transport companies tend to use weight as a metric to calculate how much you pay for the service. You can easily reduce your costs by following those tips.
Finally, you’ll have to decide between an open shipping container or an enclosed one. The former is less expensive, but there’s a higher chance that the vehicle will end up dirty or somehow damaged. Enclosed ones are a bit pricier, but they’ll keep your automobile a lot safer.
It’s up to each of us to decide which option is right for us. Hopefully, next time you’re looking to transport a vehicle either to PA or out of state, you remember this advice.
