How most companies calculate auto transport quotes

 
Many car shipping companies calculate a quote using a basic and “one size fits all” approach. They will simply take an average estimate of the cost to ship an average-sized vehicle per mile, and then they will multiply that by the exact number of miles of the shipment you entered in the quote form. This does not account for other factors such as demand for car shipping, industry standard pricing at the time of the quote, overall carrier availability, and more.
 
However, RoadRunner Auto Transport has a more advanced way of calculating your vehicle shipping quote. We take a unique and transparent approach to pricing that distances us from many other auto transport companies. Unlike conventional car shipping companies, we use predictive algorithms to estimate the cost of shipping your car on your preferred shipping date. Our algorithms use machine learning to draw from extensive historical data and up-to-date market prices to provide an accurate and dependable quote.
 
Our historical data comes from years of successful vehicle transportation, which allows us to detect trends and patterns in the industry and continually refine and improve our algorithms. Moreover, we incorporate present market data into our calculations to account for fluctuations of the most impactful variables affecting the cost for customers to ship their cars.
 

The price you get from a car shipping quote

 
The price of your car shipping quote is typically calculated with several fundamental factors in mind. These factors include:
 

• The total distance of the shipment
• How close to the shipping date are you calculating your quote
• Which shipping options you selected
• How many other shipments are being made along that route during the same time
• Overhead costs such as fuel and man-hours

The transit time you get from a car shipping quote

 
Your shipment’s duration, or “transit time,” is also estimated for your quote with multiple variables in mind. This will include:
 

• The average traffic along your shipping route during that particular time of the year
• How many other cars will be picked up and delivered along your shipping route
• What the average duration of weather-related delays amounts to along your shipping route during that time of year
• How far out of the way your pickup and delivery locations are
• The overall distance of your shipping route.

 
These factors get assigned a particular weight based on the intuitiveness of our car shipping quote calculator’s algorithm. Then, based on the average values mentioned, the algorithm generates the most accurate estimation of your shipment’s transit time with the information it has. However, your transit time will still be subject to change; thus, the quote you receive will state your transit time as a range of days, such as “5-7 days,” due to the potential for completely unpredictable delays.
 

Why you shouldn’t trust car shipping quotes that aren’t instant

 
Companies that won’t provide you with an instant online quote tend not to be the most trustworthy providers. Often, they will turn out to be lead generation companies that just sell your information to unscrupulous car carrier drivers. These carriers have likely been fired by and/or blacklisted by all reputable car shipping companies and need business. So, they rely on companies that sell people’s phone numbers and email addresses gathered through a website presenting themselves as an actual car shipping company. While a reputable company may ask you for some contact information like a working phone number or email address, make sure you are getting an instant quote on their website if you do so. RoadRunner Auto Transport provides all potential customers with a no commitment instant online price to transport their vehicle.
 

The information that you need to provide for an auto-shipping quote

 
To get car shipping quotes online, you could be required to provide several pieces of information to receive your price and transit time estimates. Every company might require a different combination of these things. Most car shipping companies require all of it, while some may not require one or two things. One thing that no trustworthy and reputable company will ever require will be for you to provide any sort of payment or payment method before getting your car shipping quote. If a company asks for that in their online quote form, they are likely running a scam of some sort.
 
The following are the pieces of information that a car shipping company’s website might ask you for if you want to get a free instant quote:
 

• Your first and/or last names
• Your city or location
• Your preferred shipping dates
• The make and model of your car
• Your email address
• Your phone number
• Whether or not you anticipate choosing special shipping options like enclosed transport or inoperable vehicle transport

Beware of suspiciously cheap car shipping quotes

 
Some less reputable companies will deliberately provide cheap car shipping quotes instantly that are half the price of the next cheapest competing company or even less than that to get your business and then charge more than twice the original price once they already have possession of your car. An example would be if you are gathering car transportation quotes in order to comparison shop and five companies quoted the following prices for the same shipment: $1,100, $1,025, $999, $345, and $1,200. Those prices are all within two hundred dollars of each other except for one, which is about two-thirds lower than the rest. You can rest assured that the absurdly low $345 price will never be what you will pay for that shipment.
 

Getting the most out of your auto transport quotes

 
You will want to use the ability to get a free instant car shipping quote to your advantage. There are a few ways to get the most out of any auto transport quotes you get, including getting multiple quotes for multiple dates, keeping records of the quotes you get, and using your quotes to eliminate potential scams.
 
Many car shipping companies will allow you to get unlimited free quotes. So, you can test as many combinations of dates as you would like. This will help you select a date when car shipping demand is at its lowest, and the overall shipping cost will be lower as a result. You should keep records of the dates, price, and transit time associated with each quote you get because you might need to refer back to them later on, and if you get multiple quotes, it can be hard to remember all that info.
 
Finally, as we mentioned earlier, “too good to be true” prices from quotes are exactly that, not true. So, if you find a couple of outliers in all the quoted prices you get, which are way lower than most of the quotes you received, they are false; thus, you can eliminate the possibility of shipping with those companies. If a company requires payment info to get a quote, it is also a scam.
 

Conclusion

 
Vehicle shipping quotes are a straightforward and easy-to-use way of starting your auto transport process. These instant and free quotes will give you price estimations and the probable duration of your car shipment. Never trust auto transport quotes that are not instant, quotes that require payment info to get the price estimate or quotes that give prices way lower than all other companies. Remember, RoadRunner Auto Transport has one of the most advanced and data-informed car shipping calculators out there, so do yourself a favor and take advantage!
 

FAQ

How much does it cost to ship a car?

 
The cost of shipping a car usually falls between $0.50 and $2.00, meaning your median shipping price will be about $1.25 per mile. So, with all things being exactly average, your cost to ship a car 1,000 miles would be $1,250. However, several perpetually fluctuating variables, such as how much notice you give your auto transport company, the time of year during which you are shipping, and what shipping options you choose, will all impact your final cost to ship a vehicle. To most accurately predict the cost of a specific car shipment, use our car shipping quotes calculator.
 

Do all car shipping quotes require I provide payment info?

 
No. The vast majority of car shipping quotes you can get online will not require any payment information. You should never provide payment information in an online free car shipping quote form, as it could be a scam.
 

What is the cheapest way to ship a car across country?

 
Shipping a car across the country will cost between $0.50 and $2.00, depending on several factors. If keeping your cost low when shipping a car across the county is your primary concern, then you should book your shipment as early as possible, avoid any premium shipping options, and, if possible, ship during a less busy month of the year, such as October or February.
 

Is the price a car shipping quote gives me a guarantee?

 
No reputable car shipping company will claim that your quoted price is not subject to any change or fluctuation. This is because the variables beyond control involved in car shipping, such as fuel cost, the demand for shipping, and the supply of available auto carriers, are always subject to constant change. As a result, so are car shipping rates. Thus, your quoted price may vary from your final cost of shipping.
 

Is there a limit to how many car shipping quotes I can get?

 
Any reputable car shipper will allow you to get as many free and instant quotes as you would like, whether for the same car and the same shipment or different cars or shipments.
 

Are shipping quotes available for all types of vehicles or just regular passenger cars?

 
You can get a quote for any type of vehicle, whether you are shipping an RV, motorcycle, limo, or something else. However, suppose it is not a typical passenger car. In that case, you will likely have to call each car shipping company for a quote as instant car shipping calculators tend to only have the info available to calculate quotes for regular cars only.