How Does Auto Transport Work?
Auto transport looks mysterious from outside and is beautifully simple from inside: a licensed broker matches your car to a vetted carrier, one truck does the driving, and two signed inspections bracket the whole trip. Here is the machine with the cover off.
What is the difference between a broker and a carrier?
Carriers own trucks and drive; brokers hold federal authority to arrange shipments across thousands of those carriers. No single carrier covers the whole country on your schedule, so the broker's job is matching your exact lane and dates to the right truck, vetting it, and staying accountable to you from booking to delivery. We are the broker, and our fee is shown upfront inside your quote.
What happens after I book?
The search begins immediately: your shipment is matched against carriers running your lane, one is vetted and assigned, and you receive the dispatch with the company, driver name, driver's direct phone, and pickup window. From there the driver coordinates the pickup meet, the Bill of Lading inspection happens at loading, and the truck rolls.
Who do I pay, and when?
Two clean pieces, no games. Our service fee is included in your quoted price and paid at booking, when the carrier search begins. The remaining balance goes to the driver at delivery, after you have inspected your car. Nothing is owed in the middle, and the total never exceeds your quote.
What exactly is the Bill of Lading?
The single most important document in transport: part receipt, part condition report, part contract. It records the car's condition at pickup, travels with the driver, and is inspected against at delivery. Sign it accurately at both ends and it protects you completely, which is the theme of our safety guide.
Can I skip the broker and book a carrier directly?
If you can find one running your exact lane on your exact dates with verifiable insurance, sure, that is what brokers do all day with better tools. The honest math: carriers fill their trucks through brokers because hunting individual customers lane by lane is impossible, so direct booking mostly means fewer options, not lower prices.
How it works questions
Why did my quote include a service fee?
Because that fee is the entire cost of our work, shown upfront instead of hidden in the freight. The balance goes to the carrier who drives, and the split is stated before you book.
Does my car switch trucks during the trip?
On the vast majority of shipments, no, one truck loads it and one truck delivers it. Rare long-haul exceptions are handled between vetted carriers with paperwork at each transfer.
What is dispatch, in plain English?
The moment your shipment stops being a search and becomes a specific truck: named carrier, named driver, direct phone, pickup window. It is also when your documents start flowing.
What happens if no carrier accepts my shipment at the quoted price?
Then we tell you the truth instead of playing games. If we cannot honor a price within your quoted range, your fee is refunded in full, that promise is stated at booking.