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Last Updated: Jan 01, 2024
Ship A Car Direct is a vehicle transport broker that hooks customers up with one of its pre-researched vehicle carriers and provides an answer to any questions customers have about car shipping.
The company offers both open and enclosed car transport and can take any size of the vehicle. Ship A Car Direct is a favorite of customers. With its low shipping prices and damage-free guarantee, the company has good reviews and some of the best in the industry.
The fact that the company requires you to call in to obtain a quote can be taken as a strength and weakness. Even though you don’t get the convenience of getting quick online quotes offered by some of the best car shipping companies in our network, customers continue to praise Ship A Car Direct for its friendly customer service agents.
With this company, you can customize your auto shipping to meet your needs, only that there are exceptions as regards pickup and delivery method. Ship A Car Direct offers just door-to-door transport, no terminal-to-terminal shipping.
Below is a list of auto shipping services offered by Ship A Car Direct:
Ship A Car Direct will perform as suggested by its name – transport your vehicle from one location to another. But know that the old saying ‘there are many ways to ship a car or skin a car, either way, is true.
Below is a detailed chart of the standard features and extra services that available with Ship A Car Direct for your vehicle shipping.
| Feature | Available | Standard or add-on? |
|---|---|---|
| FMCSA certified* | Yes | Comes standard |
| Door-to-door pickup | Yes | Comes standard |
| Enclosed shipping option | Yes | Costs extra |
| Non-functional car | Yes | Costs extra |
| Expedited shipping | Yes | Costs extra |
| insurance coverage | Yes | Comes standard |
| Allows items in the car | Yes | Comes standard |
| Guaranteed pick-up dates | No | Not available |
| RV transport | Yes | Costs extra |
| Boat/ski-doo shipping | Yes | Costs extra |
| International shipping | No | Not available |
| Real-time tracking | No | Not available |
| Extra moving services | No | Not available |
Ship A Car Direct provides standard features in its service that you would ordinarily expect from any major vehicle transport company like enclosed shipping and door-to-door shipping.
You could make a comparison of its offerings to other companies like Montway Auto Transport for reference sake. The company stands out in many ways, though, for positive or negative.
For instance, Ship A Car Direct doesn’t provide real-time tracking of vehicles, so you don’t have any means to know whether your valuable classic is delayed on the road or already in your street for delivery.
One other possible issue for Ship A Car Direct customers is that the company doesn’t perform residential moves. You will have to get a moving company like Adams Van Lines for such service.
There is, however, damage free guarantee available at Ship A Car Direct, which is standard on each shipment. You will get more of that later.
Shipping a vehicle with Ship A Car Direct costs $850 or around 10% lesser than other companies. Contextually, Ship A Car Direct is cheaper than many other vehicle shipping companies. It can save you a lot of money.
The average cost of shipping with Ship A Car Direct is $120 per 100 miles, even though prices are different based on factors like vehicle condition, shipping type, and time of year.
| Distance | Ship a Car Direct | Amount lesser than industry average |
|---|---|---|
| 150 miles | $330 | $130 |
| 2,750 miles | $1,120 | $150 |
Ship A Car Direct is one of the most affordable companies for shipments of 150 miles or more. While the company is costlier for medium-distance shipments, its prices for short and long-distance moves are almost 20% less than the average.
| Distance | Ship a Car Direct | Amount lesser than industry average |
|---|---|---|
| 150 miles | $330 | $130 |
| 2,750 miles | $1,120 | $150 |
Prices of car transport change every day. Ship A Car Direct says a lot of things will affect your price:
Prices also increase or decrease based on your residence, extra services, number of cars, and how the carrier bidding process goes.
Every licensed carrier must have their insurance as required by law and it usually covers about $1,000,000 in damages. However, there may be cases where the insurance of the carrier will not cover damage to your vehicle. This is where you will appreciate the damage-free guarantee from Ship A Car Direct.
If your shipping ends with you having to file a claim with your insurance provider then your deductible will be covered by Ship A Car Direct up to $500.
Even though the case of damaged cars while in transit is rare, this policy can provide you some additional rest of mind when you ship your vehicle out into the big, bad road.
The reputation of Ship A Car Direct is one of the best in the industry, despite a few negative reviews about the company on the BBB’s website. (Better Business Bureau complaints are opened to everyone to see).
But regardless of a company’s reputation, it is always important to find out what you are about to sign up for. So, below is a quick review of what you may encounter when you hire Ship a Car Direct.
Some companies pride themselves on providing you a quick quote. However, Ship A Car Direct is not interested in instant ballpark quotes but is only concerned with inaccuracy.
The company will provide you a shipping quote range on the website, and then you will get an email from a representative with an actual quote within some hours. That implies that you don’t need a phone call.
Regarding pricing, Ship a Car Direct is one of the most affordable auto transport companies. We had a test case sent to two companies (Ship a Car Direct and Montway Auto Transporters) for shipping a Honda Accord to Dallas from Chicago, Ship a Car Direct was $89 less costly than Montway Auto Transporters.
Vehicle shipping prices so much vary based on timing and location, so be sure to obtain a few quotes before you select any company, including Ship a Car Direct.
Now, you can bid your precious vehicle goodbye. But you will want to confirm some things before it is loaded onto that vehicle carrier.
Ensure there are no additional racks, accessories, loose parts, or other potential hazards on the exterior of your vehicle. Fill the fuel tank to a minimum of one-quarter full, if it is not filled already.
Make sure you disable your vehicle alarm, we beg you. If you don’t want to pack any item in your vehicle, store them in the truck part of your car, not in the cab. And make sure it doesn’t exceed just one bag or suitcase, if possible. Don’t forget that your car is not a moving container.
Immediately your vehicle shipper is sent by Ship a Car Direct, you will be required to make a deposit or broker fee. This price will be paid to the company directly.
Your carrier will call you to double-check the address, time of pickup, and any other important details (such as the size of your street and if an 18-wheeler can access it).
Immediately the carrier gets there, you will perform a quick inspection of the vehicle (also at drop-off). These inspections are to aid in the process of filing any insurance claim, so make sure you are thorough.
Lastly, ensure you have someone present during drop-off. You don’t necessarily have to be the one who receives the car as long as your representative can sign off the car and, most importantly, pay the driver that delivers the vehicle (yeah, cash payment or cashier’s check may be required at delivery).
When you transport your vehicle with Ship a Car Direct, you can save about $70 on average.
We find the average of transport costs for three various vehicle sizes over five distances, and even as the typical shipping company charges $920, Ship a Car Direct handles it for just $850.
The savings is wider for short and long-distance shipping. You can save almost $150 with Ship a Car Direct on the distance of 150 miles and up to 2,750 miles.
However, Ship a Car Direct doesn’t offer special deals or discounts (its prices are already low), but many auto transport companies do. Common vehicle shipping discounts include deals for snowbirds, students, seniors and return customers.
The average customer review rating of Ship a Car Direct is at 4.8 out of 5. That’s almost unheard of in the vehicle shipping industry.
Positive reviews usually focus on helpful customer service representatives, professional drivers as well as timeliness.
When customers are not satisfied (which is unusual), complaints often focus on unprofessional drivers or issues regarding billing.
This company does all it can to provide extra insurance coverage to customers. Even though a lot of vehicle shipping companies have just the lowest legally required coverage, Ship a Car Direct pays $500 to cover your deductible if your carrier’s insurance refused a claim.
Yes, we recommend Ship a Car Direct because its customer reviews are perfectly positive, and we also appreciate the rough estimates it provides on how much shipping a car could cost without asking for personal information, a feature that is not easy to come by among vehicle shippers. Among its unique features are also damage-free guarantee and door-to-door shipping.
Thomas has a degree in literature from Stanford University and a profession in Mass Communication. Thomas is a member of the Moving Feedback research team, an expert in writing educative articles to help readers make the right buying decisions. He is well versed in moving industry matters to give the best advice on moving needs.