March 6, 2015

Is a Three-Day Window Normal For Auto Shippers?

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When you’re getting ready to move, you may feel like a chicken with its head cut off. Between packing up your life’s possessions and finding a new place to live, there is a lot to think about. For their part, auto transporters try to make the situation easier by offering painless and safe shipping for your car or truck so that you don’t have to make the long drive yourself. These shipments are done with precision, from pickup to drop-off, with the route carefully mapped in between. With every detail so carefully attended to, you may be surprised to find out that many auto transporters offer a window inside which you can expect to have your vehicle picked up.

The truth is that a 3-day window is very normal for auto transport pickups.

As odd as it may seem for companies to provide such a large window, it is actually quite normal. The reason is because these auto transports are typically extremely complicated. When you ship your vehicle, you are not the only one who is loading their car up on the truck. In fact, most transports will be relocating several vehicles at once and rarely will they be arriving in the exact same place. Often they will travel to different destinations along the way. For instance, if you are shipping your vehicle from New Jersey to California, you may have cars on board with it that are being dropped off in Ohio, Missouri, and Colorado. This means that there are a lot of factors in play with each trip.

Numerous things can delay a trip.

While shipping companies do their best to keep to a schedule, with cross-country trips, many things can cause delays. From late customers to long weigh station lines to traffic to flat tires, even a tiny issue can delay the trip hours or even days. For this reason, companies are careful not to promise exact pickup times as these times may change. Instead, they provide a three-day window in which you can expect to have your car picked up.

It is a good idea to plan ahead so you can be present for the full 3-day window.

When scheduling a pickup, do yourself a favor and plan ahead. Rather than scheduling it to be right before you move, leaving you with little wiggle room, schedule it a few days beforehand so you can be present for the entire window. The trucking company might show up on the first estimated day, but if there are delays, you’ll be glad you chose to leave yourself some room.

If a company does provide an exact pickup time, you should be suspicious. Rather than showing that it is a detail-oriented company, it can mean that it instead does not have many customers. This could be for any number of reasons, but often will indicate a poor reputation or a lack of experience. Remember that three-day windows are normal and plan accordingly.

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