Posts Tagged ‘auto shipping’
That is the question. Despite the ever-growing opportunities in the auto-shipping industry and the growing enthusiasm of the general public with these possibilities, not a few people find much of what the industry offers not worth either the money or the trouble, or both. This is only reasonable: the industry is a recent phenomenon, the competition in the market is fierce, and much of it does not so much offer affordable services as exploit the bloom and boom to convince you to make use of what you don’t really need.
Selling your car in your old place and purchasing a new one at your destination could be one option, especially if you want a new car anyway. Do a cost study to find out what your old car would sell for and how much that new car you have your eye on will really cost – including all the must-have extras. Remember, it may take some time to sell your car, and that may not be a practical option.
In a sense, trying to decide between the two may turn out to be a double hassle: there would be little point not to go through with the laborious process of choosing a reliable auto carrier. There is no quick way to tell whether auto shipping will take more time or more money than selling and buying a new car. Especially since in the auto shipping business delivery dates are always estimates, you will have to communicate with a number of companies to give them your precise time requirements to get more accurate information than may be offered on their internet sites.
In the most general terms, if your car is well used and you have no special fish to keep it, you might as well sell it and buy a better car or a cheap second-hand one at your new place. If, however, you won a new car or a unique car you would rather keep, you should naturally prefer car shipping. While some shipping routes may be complicated and thus require significant expenses, most routes are fairly simple, accessible by a single carrier, and thus are likely to cost less than the expense of a good new car.
If auto shipping is your transport of choice, you must do your research and select the company only after due diligence. The last thing you want is very delayed delivery and a car that ends its journey all beat up and filthy. Okay, now that you have decided to use the services of an auto shipper and have found one you trust, you may want to choose the closed shipping or container shipping method. It costs more and it is a little more trouble to load and unload, but your car will be safe from damages due to inclement weather, flying road debris, or theft and vandalism.
Suppose selling your car is the option for you. You can sell to either a private party or dealer. You will get more money from the private buyer but it will take more time and more effort on your part. You will have to advertise, answer calls pertaining to the sale of your car, and wait for the match up between car and buyer to take place. Doing business with a dealer is much easier for you and faster, but you won’t get as much money for your car. However, the car dealer will probably turn out to be easier to work with than the auto shipper.
For more information on Car Shipping please visit JMN Auto Shippers.
The auto shipping proves by its rapid expansion that it is an efficient and safe industry with which to do business. At the same time along the way the industry has accumulated valuable experience with regard to technology and methods of operation.
Of course, business growth also means that more companies are willing to offer serious competition. This does not mean that they all have the experience, the capital, or the knowledge of the industry to perform with the necessary safety and reliably. Beware of the shipping companies that are into it only because of it’s show of growth. They may be eager to start a business, any business, not because they have industry knowledge or competence but because they can’t do anything else, and this one looks promising.
Some of these businesses will prevail despite all odds, but many will fail because they refuse to learn the business or understand the capitalization required for success in the business. Those few that remain because of luck and some beneficial ties rather than true business acumen will hang on as long as they can given the competition but undoubtedly will not remain in business very long.
Moreover, new companies which will soon close are not always easy to detect. Their self-presentation and the prices may convince you that they are dependable. But the last thing you want to do is to trust a company which promises a terrific deal but delivers your car late to the wrong terminal, with property stolen, leaving you to discover that you have not insured the trip against damage and theft.
Do not ship your auto at the last minute without careful planning. Last minute planning will not ensure the vehicle’s safety. Plan several months ahead of the time required to ship so you will have the time to research the market.
If you plan your auto shipping in advance, you can also book the shipment in advance which will save you money. Even the major shipping companies will charge high prices for an urgent order, no matter how simple, because they have to allocate emergency personnel and equipment to your job. Given more time, your job will fit into their standard mode of operation allowing them to quote a more reasonable price for their services.
Businesses do not like to decline offers, especially when dealing with individual private car owners, and are likely to take your order even if they know they are unlikely to complete it satisfactorily. Urgency increases the risk of delay and damage.
Of great importance to you is the company’s licensing and insurance coverage. Thoroughly inspect their Certificate of Insurance and their MC license. If the insurance coverage offered does not meet your needs, ask for additional coverage. They should have no trouble meeting your insurance requirements.
One sign of a competent company is their willingness and initiative in gaining yur genuine trust. Good companies should themselves offer you to take a look at their insurance documents and will advise you to buy any extra insurance they think is necessary. If a company does not mention any of this, it would be better to find another carrier to take care of your car.
For more information on Auto Carriers please visit JMN Logistics.
There is nothing quite like a cargo ship – they are both enormous and impressive to watch. They resemble moving mountains along the surface of the sea. They are not the usual battleship grey of some huge ships. They carry impossibly high stacked loads of bright blue, orange and green containers. On a load such as this one, your luxury German car is carefully loaded and ready to disembark at its given destination overseas. An equal array of bright-hued cranes, also impressive in their enormity, will unload your new baby onto the dock. You are a satisfied customer knowing that that expensive car was shipped overseas by an efficient shipping company and saved you money and hassle by doing so.
Unfortunately, there is a downside to all this colorful efficiency. There are environmental concerns associated with the shipment of both domestic and international diesel-fueled cargo. As a new and burgeoning industry, the shipping industry is also responsible for new and growing environmental problems, with no viable solutions implemented as yet. The IMO (International Maritime Organization) met on the subject of greenhouse gas emissions from ships, particularly cargo vessels as late as 2008.
Ships discharge “ballast water”. Huge cargo carriers like the ones described above discharge oceans of ballast water. This water is taken in when cargo is unloaded or when previous loads of ballast water are discharged. When more cargo is brought on board more ballast water is discharged. The problem is that with huge carriers like these, their course usually lines across international routes: water is often pumped in in one coastal region and pumped out much later in an entirely different one.
The aforementioned person waiting for his luxury car from Germany to be unloaded at the dock in Los Angeles is probably not concerned about this, but despite our world’s excitement over foreign-made luxury products, the environment is becoming very unsettled and is bound to get worse. Ballast water has in its contents plants, animals, bacteria, and viruses. These life forms are pumped dead or alive into the vessel from their natural habitats. They are carried many sea miles to the site of their discharge. By this time, some will be dead, some will be alive, some will have cohabited and multiplied, and some will have mutated. All of them will be alarmed at being in foreign seas, and will morph into litter, vermin, or invasive species. We now have chaos and destruction of marine ecosystems.
Land transportation of cars does save gasoline because one carrier can drive across vast expanses of land with a load of several automobiles. If these cars were driven separately with a driver for each car, certainly the consumption of gasoline would go way up. This is a cost saving issue not an environmental saving issue. The customer saves money, the company earns money and the environment is ever more depleted and damaged.
If fewer people drove their personal vehicle those same long distances, the auto transportation industry would still continue to thrive because of the car manufacturing and car handling industry. The automotive industry is undergoing increasing expansion and growth because of newly developing third world countries. So more cars are in demand, which means more transportation by land, sea and air and more contribution to environmental disasters.
For more information on Car Shipping please visit JMN Auto Shipping.
Have you ever wondered at those freight ships with their checkered load of red and blue containers which, slowly passing bridges like the Golden Gate Bridge, may look almost toy-like form that windy observation point, and which you have never seen docked, but which in reality must be titanic? Don’t be alarmed at that ominous last word: shipping your car by sea is as easy and safe as domestic shipping.
If you are afraid that getting your car across a sea is not worth the trouble, make sure you compare free quotes offered by companies online. You may be surprised how much a shipping organization speeds things up and makes them easier and stress free. All car brands ship: anything from modern to vintage. Your classic and your sports, your veteran and your prestige car are guaranteed safe transport across any of the seven seas by a number of long-established large carrier companies and by a growing number of smaller but reliable modern businesses.
Shipping by sea is really not that different from land shipping. You will need maritime insurance, though, as your regular car insurance won’t cover overseas travel. Any of the three standard shipping methods will require you to prepare your vehicle for shipping just as you would over land.
To get your car into port it must be in a drivable condition. Otherwise, company trucks will be available to take it to the docks. A full tank of gas is usually unnecessary and undesirable, since it adds weight. Have enough gas to get the car into port and onto and off the ship.
There are three methods used to ship vehicles: Roll On Roll Off (RoRo), a 20-foot container, or a 40-foot container.
The least expensive way is by a RoRo ship: a great vehicle ferry. Your car will be driven onto the ship and into a slot along other cars. Though secured in place, the car will still be left open alongside other cars, remaining more vulnerable to damage or accident. RoRo is the standard method to ship over short distances.
A safer way is the container method. A car is snugly fitted into a 20-foot container so it does not shift and it is all by itself. It is securely locked in its nest to protect it from access by anyone but the authorized agents until it either reaches customs or its destination, whichever comes first. The container also protects it against damage by other vehicles and the elements.
These two methods will usually not allow transportation of any personal belongings with the car. In some cases (depending on your car make, for example) a 20-foot container has room to accommodate some personal belongings. With a 40-footer, personal belongings are loaded in first, secured and separated from the vehicle, which is then driven or pushed into the container.
You must determine from the chosen shipper all appropriate fees that are to be paid upon arrival. Fees will vary depending upon the country of destination. Documentation is also going to be somewhat different from ground transportation. The shipping companies are knowledgeable in the various requirements of foreign countries, so rest assured that your property will be safe and secure.
For more information on Car Shipping please visit JMN Logistics.
Life today is becoming more and more expensive. We, the people, with our increasingly technologically driven society, demand more luxury and just plain more stuff than ever. More people everyday are moving into a higher standard of living and our society encourages this, even though it demands more money to sustain.
The two-car family is standard in modern times. Both parents certainly have a car and the teenagers in the family probably do too, or at least share one. These are the families that also have a mobile life style, moving to a new residence at least once a decade. This movement may require either driving or shipping the vehicles over long distances.
Just one car being driven a long distance will rack up the expenses. Fuel costs can be $20 every hundred miles or even more. If you have two cars to drive, say 500 miles, you can figure at least $1000 for gasoline alone. Add to the cost of the fuel, the wear and tear on the vehicles (and the drivers). the food and lodging that probably will have to be purchased as well, and you have yourself a very tidy payout indeed. The auto shipping industry is suddenly looking mighty fine.
The inability to relocate may cramp your lifestyle. The fairly new auto shipping industry will not only save you money and personal stress, but will help you to fulfill your dreams. Relocating for a better position may have to be set aside if you can’t relocate those vehicles because of either the distance or the terrain.
Auto shipping is very much representative of the modern movement towards successful international business and life style. It makes easy what would have otherwise been impossible. To hire a professional, certified, established carrier company is now the sensible and natural thing to do. There are a number of parameter to consider and then your car is in safe hands and on its way to that next great stage in your life.
First, allowing an appropriate amount of time to plan the trip will be cost saving. If the company is given sufficient time to take orders from other customers so he can fill the carrier to its maximum capacity, your costs will be way less than if it were to ship on a less than full carrier.
Next you will need to consider whether to choose an open carrier or a closed container. Open carriers are cheaper, but the cars on it are, as the name implies, open to hostile elements: anything from hail to accidental or intention hunting-rifle fire.
So unless you must really pinch your pennies and have no choice but to go with the open carrier, go ahead and take the risk. If you are in less stringent circumstances, by all means opt for the security of the closed container shipping. Everyday new technologies are flooding into the industry. Both the shipping containers themselves and security measures are far superior to where they were ten or twenty years ago. You will want to strongly request the latest Trans-Rack containers for your car’s journey to be the best it can be.
For more information on Auto Transport please visit JMN Logistics.
