Well, let’s go back to the above examples.

As Joe’s car makes its way to the West Coast, it could (and probably will) make multiple stops in order to load up more vehicles and get a full load. So, a true nonstop auto transport would be one where all the cars are loaded in the same city as Joe’s.

They do exist, in some cases – but to accomplish this, the auto transport companies employ towing companies known as terminals to go out and collect the vehicles for them.

We’ll discuss terminals in a later section.

So, if I would venture to guess, I’d say that true nonstop auto transports are not as common as the more widely-used practice of the ‘load and drop’ technique I described above.

Here’s a common example of the ‘load and drop’ technique:

1. Pick up 5 vehicles in the northeast
2. Drop one vehicle in Maryland
3. Pick up 3 More vehicles in Virginia
4. Drop 2 vehicles in North Carolina
5. Pick up 4 vehicles in Atlanta

See what I mean?

To top it off, each stop takes about 40 minutes to an hour, depending on where Joe’s car was picked up (if loaded properly, it will be at the back of the trailer).

So, if you add up all these stops and the normal driving times, you’ll come up with about 10 days from one coast to the next.

On top of all this, you have some misinformation to filter through. We’ll go into that next time.

Because carriers like to fill up every spot on their trucks, they move on to the city after yours, always heading in the general direction of the destination.

I say general direction – and it is an important distinction – because auto transport companies don’t always take the most direct route.

Take Joe’s NYC to LA example. If they wanted to be logical, they could just cut across the country and get there in just 5 days. Wouldn’t that be great?

But – they would miss out on a lot of potential business that way. So instead, they create corridors. Just like the airlines, they maximize their potential to get a full load.

In Joe’s case, here’s what they would do to create a corridor:

Ø Take I95 South to I20

Ø Cut Through Atlanta

Ø Go Down To Dallas

Ø Pick Up I10

Doing this dumps them right into L.A.

Now, the key to all this is that by taking the route above (again, not the most direct route), they will maximize their potential to pick up more vehicles and get a full load going.

If you want to prove this to yourself, take a look on a map (Google maps is a good tool to use) and check it out. Notice how many major and secondary cities they hit on their route to L.A.

Clever, huh? It makes sense, too.

So when Joe (or you) calls an auto transport company and sets up a time for your vehicle to be picked up, they may or may not tell you that this is a non-stop trip.

Based on the principles you learned earlier, that probably isn’t true. This is because the chances of an auto carrier being completely full and taking the most direct route (more on this later) are slim at best.

Sure, they could pick up your car and go straight to your destination. But given the factors that we discussed before – price of gas, more customers, etc – it ain’t gonna happen.

Why? Because it just wouldn’t make sense – financial or otherwise.

So when you’re told by an auto transport company that your car will be going nonstop from where they pick your vehicle up to your destination, you can take that information with a grain of salt and plan accordingly.

In short, nonstop auto transport is an oxymoron.

If you really think about it, this kind of thinking makes a lot of sense, at least financially speaking.

Think of it this way:

Gas costs over $4 a gallon. You and your friends are going on an overnight trip – but a few of them want to go the next day, which would mean that you would have to double back to pick them up, resulting in 2 trips – and lots of gas.

Are you going to do that? I think not.

It’s the same way with the auto transport industry.

See, car carriers like to fill up every spot on their trucks; and if they can’t completely load up their carrier in your city, they’ll move on to the next, and so on until they do.

So when Joe’s car was picked up, I’m guessing he didn’t notice if the carrier was completely full; which would have told him that they probably didn’t hit the road right away.

But there’s another reason why Joe’s car probably won’t get there on time. We get into that in the next post.

Well, if you’ve taken a look at how high the gas prices are these days, this next concept is going to make a lot of sense.

But that doesn’t mean it’s going to benefit you. Or that you have to like it.

The last time the oil companies hiked their prices, where I live, it went up like 13 cents overnight. It was probably more than that in some places. Ouch!

Well, if you’re a regular consumer with one car to drive and you drive a decent distance to work, that’s enough to make you wince. Now imagine you have an auto transport company and you have lots of cars to haul.

You’ve got to find a way to make more money and save on gas costs.

How do the auto transport companies do this? Well, there are a few ways:

1. Make sure every truck is full of cars
2. Maximize exposure to more customers via route selection
3. Delay your car until #s 1 and 2 are accomplished

We’ll address #s 1 and 2 in the next post.

So by now hapless old Joe’s car in on a carrier and on the road (finally!). Now the big question is – when will it arrive?

That’s a good question. So what’s the answer?

Well, by now old Joe knows that nothing is as simple as it seems in the world of auto transport. So here’s how it goes…

Joe is on a nonstop transport from NYC to L.A. Normally, he’d have to add 10 days transport time – but this is August (a peak summer month) and now he has to add 5 more days (he doesn’t know this yet).

So he’s thinking what’s taking so long. Everything should be fine.

We’ll, it would have been – if they’d hit the road right away.

They didn’t.

Want to know why? Stay tuned!

Is it possible to reserve an auto transport from one day to the next? Again, just like the airlines, sure it is! But it will cost you a pretty penny.

Have you ever tried to purchase an airline ticket – to anywhere – at the last minute? If not, we invite you to so and see how much it costs. We guarantee you that your wallet will report you for abuse!

So what can you expect to pay if you actually do cancel and rebook? Well, doing that can set you back a cool $500-$600. But remember that several factors will determine the cost – including where you’re going and when and the type of vehicle you have.

If you’re in a rural area or going to an out-of-the-way location, you can add a few more hundred dollars to the above figures.

If you have an SUV or larger vehicle, well…your bank account is going to suffer….can you say ‘kaching’!?

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m not made of money.

So here’s how to avoid this from happening to you.

If you know that you have to have your vehicle transported, do your homework and plan ahead of time. We can’t stress this point enough.

Just like there are no guarantees that your flight will depart on time, there more you plan in advance, the better chance you have of your car being transported on time.

Remember – reserve at least 10 days in advance of the actual pickup date – and always allow for a 3-day pickup window.

Speaking of planning, I wonder what’s happening with Joe…..

Let’s digress again (there’s a point – I swear!).

Remember our airline industry analogy earlier? Well, just like the airline industry, in the auto transport industry, you can count on 3 things:

• Delays Are Inevitable
• Space Is Limited
• There’s Always A Next Flight/Carrier

The thing you need to know is that the timeframe in which these situations occur are completely different.

For example, take a 40 minute delay on the runway due to bad weather. In the final analysis, it will probably add about 1 to 2 hours to your whole trip. Well, in the grand scheme of things, that isn’t too bad – and you should plan for some minor delays anyway.

However, in the world of auto transport, time isn’t quite so forgiving.

In the auto transport industry, those same 1 to 2 hours actually ends up being 1 or 2 days – and that is terrible for your timeline – and your wallet.

Where if your airline flight is overbooked, you can usually find another flight – and in the worst-case scenario, you’ll get another flight in the next couple hours.

But in the auto transport industry, it can be as long as an entire week before the next truck comes through your city.

Unless, that is, you’re willing to pay a cancellation fee (and a steep one, at that!) to change carriers (transport companies).

And, if you’re in a rural area and on a limited budget, well…let’s just say I wouldn’t keep my bags packed.

Ok, so Joe is waiting…waiting…waiting…

Understandably, after awhile he’s going into panic mode. Not a good mindset to be in when you’re planning a big move, as it leads to loss of sleep, anxiety and a whole host of other problems.

Anyhoo…

Still no call from the transport company. So Joe starts calling and calling and calling some more. After what seems like the hundredth call, he finally gets someone at the company. Guess what their response to his rather panicked voice is?

The truck is delayed and could be there tomorrow. But probably on the 15^th.

Now, because we know better, we know that it will be the latter. But because poor old Joe doesn’t know better – the same position you would be in if you weren’t reading this blog) – he assumes it will be tomorrow. As a result, he does nothing to rearrange his plans for the move.

Big mistake.

Well, it was supposed to work out OK, but anyhow…

Using the timeframe above, Joe Consumer gets around to calling on August 7^th

to reserve his spot with the auto transport company.

Still with me? Good.

Here is where it gets a bit tricky. Now pay attention, ‘cause this is critical information.

The company Joe has decided to use gives you assurances that they absolutely will get there by the 13^th and that you have nothing to worry about. Of course, he knows no different and has no reason to doubt them, so Joe simply takes them at their word and relaxes.

Now, because we know how the auto industry works, we aren’t quite so trusting.

This is because we know that they really don’t have any space for Joe’s car and they are hoping – no, wishing would be the more appropriate word here – that a spot will open up in the next 6 days.

That’s the misinformation part that you have to know, but wouldn’t if you weren’t reading this blog right now.

Aren’t you glad we’re around to tell you the truth?