What Happens After You Book Your Car Shipment
The moment you book: what we do and what we charge
When you press book, two things happen and one pointedly does not. Your price is locked on our side, tied to your quote for ten days, so the number you saw is the number that rides through the whole process. Your order lands on our dispatch desk with everything a carrier needs to say yes: vehicle, route, dates, and your notes. And nothing is charged, because we have not done the work yet; we explain that philosophy fully in why we don't take payment when you book. You get a confirmation email with your order number, the locked price, and what comes next, written so you can forward it to a spouse or a buyer without explaining anything.
Days one to three: the driver search you don't see
Behind the scenes your route goes out to the national carrier marketplace where real trucks plan real weeks. We are choosy on purpose: before any carrier gets your car, we verify their FMCSA authority is active, their safety record is clean, and their cargo insurance, typically $50,000 to $150,000 in coverage, is current, with the certificate checked before dispatch, not after. Pickups usually begin two to three days after your earliest date, faster on busy corridors, and if your route is moving slower than normal we tell you instead of letting the silence do the talking. You can text us at +1 (646) 450-6465 any time for a plain status answer. And until a driver is assigned, you can cancel free, no fee, no argument.
Driver assigned: the email that matters most
This is the hinge of the whole process. When a vetted carrier commits to your car, you receive the dispatch email: the carrier's company name, the driver's name and phone number, the truck and trailer details, the insurance we verified, and your pickup window, usually a one to two day window rather than a vague week. Now, and only now, our broker fee comes due, payable by card through a secure link or by Zelle, because now we have actually produced something: a named, insured, committed driver. The carrier's portion is not due yet; that waits for delivery. From this email on you have two phone numbers, the driver's and ours, and you will never need to wonder who has your car.
Pickup day and the ride: the condition report is your shield
The driver calls ahead, arrives in the window, and walks around your car with you, photographing and noting its condition on the Bill of Lading, the single most important document in auto transport. Walk the car together, note what you see, keep your copy; our Bill of Lading guide explains every line. Then your car rides, insured under the carrier's cargo policy, with transit running roughly a day per 400 to 500 miles. Most people hear from the driver directly for timing; you can always text us for the bigger picture. If anything unusual happens, weather, a breakdown, a reroute, you hear it from a human, not from a tracking page that stopped updating.
Delivery and the rare bad day
At delivery you repeat the walkaround against the pickup condition report, and only when you are satisfied do you pay the carrier their portion, usually cash, Zelle, or certified funds, which keeps the leverage in your hands to the last minute. In the rare case something is wrong, the pickup report plus your delivery notes make the claim factual instead of arguable: note it on the Bill of Lading before signing, photograph it, and we help you run the claim against the carrier's cargo insurance rather than leaving you alone with it. That is the entire journey, and every piece of it, the locked price, the vetted driver, the verified insurance, the pay-at-the-end structure, exists so that the process protects you even on the days when trucks and weather do not cooperate.
Your questions answered
What happens immediately after I book a car shipment?
Your price locks, your order goes to our dispatch desk, and the carrier search starts, with nothing charged at booking. You get a confirmation email with your order number and the next steps spelled out.
How long after booking is a driver assigned?
Pickups usually begin two to three days after your earliest date, so driver assignment typically lands a day or two before that. Busy corridors move faster, remote routes can take longer, and we tell you plainly if yours is running slow.
How do I know when a driver is assigned to my car?
You receive a dispatch email naming the carrier, the driver, the truck, the verified insurance, and your pickup window. From that email on you have the driver's direct number and ours.
What is in the dispatch email?
The carrier's company name, driver name and phone, truck details, the cargo insurance we verified before dispatch, your pickup window, and the invoice for our broker fee, payable by card or Zelle.
When does the broker fee get charged?
Only after a driver is assigned, never at booking, because the fee pays for a produced result: a named, vetted, insured driver committed to your car. Before that moment you owe nothing.
What should I do on pickup day?
Walk around the car with the driver, confirm every scratch and ding on the condition report, photograph the car yourself, and keep your copy of the Bill of Lading. Ten careful minutes at pickup protects the entire shipment.
How is my car protected while it rides the truck?
Under the carrier's cargo insurance, typically $50,000 to $150,000 in coverage, which we verify is current before dispatch. The pickup condition report is what makes that protection enforceable.
Will I get updates while my car is in transit?
Yes, the driver is usually your most direct line for timing, and you can text us at +1 (646) 450-6465 any time for a straight status answer. If something unusual happens en route, we tell you, not a stale tracking page.
What do I do at delivery?
Walk the car against the pickup condition report before signing, note anything new on the Bill of Lading, and pay the carrier their portion only when you are satisfied. Paying at the end keeps the leverage with you.
What if my car arrives with new damage?
Note it on the Bill of Lading before signing, photograph it immediately, and contact us. The pickup condition report makes the claim factual, and we help you pursue it with the carrier's cargo insurance rather than leaving you to fight alone.
Can I change dates or details after booking?
Yes, before a driver is assigned changes are easy, just text or email us. After dispatch we coordinate changes with the driver directly, and most reasonable adjustments still work.
What if no driver is found for my route?
Then you have paid nothing and lost nothing, which is the point of our structure. We will tell you honestly whether more time or a small price adjustment would move it, and you decide, with free cancellation the whole while.