So you booked to have your car transported with an auto transport company but it's been weeks since then and your car still hasn't moved, what's going on? Firstly, it's important to understand that the predominant majority of car shipping companies are brokers. Brokers are the middleman, not the trucking companies. There are many good and honest companies and some not as much. Such car shipping companies are the ones who will quote rates that are far below market prices just to get a customer sign a contract. The customer may feel like they landed a good deal, for a little while at least. The problem with these super-low rates is that the trucking companies, who actually do the transport work, refuse such orders. What then happens is the customers' car ends up sitting on the National Dispatch Board for weeks with no interest from truckers.
For the years that I've been in the trucking business myself, I dispatched thousands of cars for my drivers and have come across many orders that we had no interest in moving due to the low rates some brokers were paying. I would still call on these orders but asked the brokers if they could pay more. Some refused to pay and some would go back to their customers and ask for the extra money. In many cases those who got the extra money had their cars moved sooner than those who refused and had their cars sitting for even more days and weeks. The dilemma with going back to a customer and asking for more money is that they have a signed contract with a promised rate and therefore asking for more money would mean the broker isn't living up to their end of the deal. I see this as the main reason why the auto transport industry has earned such bad reputation.
There are occasions when rates could significantly change in a matter of days. It usually happens when there is a shortage of drivers on a particular lane due to either weather conditions, holidays, or when overall rates drop so low that carriers pull their trucks from those lanes. This is where brokers need to communicate very well with their customers as to what is taking place and work on a solution.
The solution to this long-time problem is brokers need to be honest about how the industry really works and live up to their promises. The rates I quote are researched on a per-order basis and are not computer generated and therefore are the actual rates the I know drivers will take. It's been a principle for me, I would rather be honest and not land an order than over-promise and not live up to it. I think being honest is the best long-term investment one could make.
Author - Andre M (Owner of Gideon Logistics)
Earlier this morning I received a call from one of my clients, but before saying much he quickly went to apologize for cancelling one of his shipments he assigned to me over two weeks ago and not listening to what I explained to him. Right after the New Years he purchased a car at an auction in upstate New York and needed it transported to California. Because it was purchased at an Insurance Auto Auction, he had to move it within five days before storage fees would start accruing. So I explained to him that due to the holiday season most of the drivers take time off, so there's a shortage of drivers around Christmas and New Years as a result the cost to ship his car would be more than usual and it might take some time longer until it would be picked up. I explained to him that I understood his urgency and will do everything I can to help him and have the car picked up.
Immediately after calling me he thought he could help me by going online and searching for New York auto transport companies with the reasoning that if they were local they might have a better chance of locating a driver. The following morning I received a call from him asking me to remove his car from the load board because he found a "trucking" company that was able to pickup his car the next day. I told him I was willing to remove it yet kept asking him if he was sure that the "trucking" company does actually have their own trucks and are not just another shady broker. He reassured me that it wasn't the case. Two weeks later I hear from him that his car is still sitting at the auction and by that time he was paying storage fees with the Insurance Auto Auction.
As I originally speculated, the "trucking" company he hired was not a carrier, but rather a broker claiming to be a carrier. Which was very deceitful on their part since they took a deposit from my customer and weren't willing to refund it. Truth of the matter is that most auto carriers are small companies with an average fleet of 1-3 trucks, they don't have the resources and ability to advertise and handle sales, so they rely on brokers to fill their truck space. That is why over 95% of the auto transport companies that show up online are brokers or companies that sell leads and not the actual trucking companies. Unfortunately there are some dishonest brokers who go as far as to even call themselves "XYZ Auto Carriers" yet that a simple search with the FMCSA will reveal that they are not a carrier but a broker.
So as you're shopping around for your next auto transport company, it's vital to understand who you are working with. If your situation happens to look something like what happened here, we at Gideon Logistics want to help you. Feel free to contact us and we'd be glad to talk to you.
Here is one of our carriers loaded up at Adesa Auto Auction in Mira Loma, CA and ready to transport the cars to Seattle, WA. Driver Mo was great to work with. He even went out of his way and waited over the weekend until of the cars became available. This is one of the 7 full loads Legend Auto Sales out of Seattle, WA trusted Gideon Logistics to ship.
New drivers, means more available car transport routes. We're adding another dedicated driver who will cover the Las Vegas to Sacramento, Bay Area and back to Las Vegas car shipping route. Depending on load availability, we will also cover Los Angeles and Riverside along the way. This will really benefit the customers who regularly ship cars from and to Las Vegas and Bay Area.
Customers buying cars at Copart, IAAI, Manheim, Adesa, and other auctions will be relieved to know that we will ship to and from Las Vegas, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Riverside on a weekly basis.
Las Vegas car shipping can be difficult for many shippers because of its' location on I-15. Most of the auto carriers traveling in and out of California run on I-40 and I-10. I-15 is not part of a regular route for most auto carriers because of its' long distance to run from any other major highway. That is why having our own dedicated driver cover Las Vegas car transport to and from California will greatly benefit those who need their cars shipped in and out of Las Vegas.
As part of our standard car shipping services, we can also help the car transport drivers. Loading and unloading vehicles, driving a truck, calling and meeting up with customers is hard enough being an auto hauler driver and we know that; our drivers do just that. How we can help is to take the stress and work involved with self-dispatching that drivers have to deal with. We will research the best route and the loads available, the rates paying on these routes, and book top paying cars. Car transport drivers don't have to worry about calling brokers, receiving and filling out setup paperwork with every broker, we do all of that. Car transport driver should do what they do best, and that is transport cars. Gideon Logistics can become a back office for a single driver or a whole truck fleet. Email us for more information.
Gideon Logistics continues its growth all across the country by adding more cities to our dedicated car shipping routes. This time we added an independent auto carrier to our network of dedicated carriers who will service the New Jersey to Florida car shipping route on a weekly basis. We can now ship cars out of Raleigh, NC to New Jersey and from there down to Florida cities such as Miami, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Boynton Beach and others along the coast. New Jersey car shipping and Florida car shipping are now part of our regular car shipping states.
Gideon Logistics now offers local terminal drop off for our Sacramento region and even Bay Area car shipping customers. Even though most of our customers choose to ship door to door, some still opt for a terminal drop off. It usually happens when a customer has only one car and needs to use it until the last day of their move. Because we require a pickup window of 3-5 days for door to door car transport, it doesn't work for them. That is where terminal drop off becomes very convenient. They may simply drop off their car on their last day and be on their way.
Our terminal car shipping is also a very convenient option for those who travel. Often customers have a flight to catch but need to use their car up until the flight. Conveniently enough, we are located approximately 15 miles away from the Sacramento International Airport.
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