Snowbird Season

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As the season is in full swing  i have received a few phone calls from new customers looking to move there car to Florida. In talking with them they all mention they got lower quotes from this online brokers and there is ton of them. I was 100-200 prices high in some cases. What i don’t understand is why customers alway thnk the lower price will move their car. It is not even that they are dealing with some broker they have never met or know anything about this person just the liars they probably told them. i.e have trucks in area/we have a fleet of 12 trucks/The pick up date/timne is no problem and so on. The broker is just that once your car is picked up you will have no contact with them if there damage take my word you won’t hear from him, or time to pick up and no carrier shows up he will not return call or will be out of office happens all the time

You will meet me on all pick ups in New England and my office in Worcester, Mass been there for 15 years, so to save a few hundred bucks is it worth it? Answer the questions above and say to yourself is it worth it?

Fall/Winter Season 2020

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As we enter the 2020 season for customers heading south for the winter a couple of things. The last 5 months with Covid 19 has been a change for everyone in business and for everyone in general.  Usually around this time I start getting calls for students going to college in Florida which I started getting this week. Brokers can’t move cars it is that simple. They can give you a quote but have no trucks so if it is low will never get picked up which happen twice this week with students trying to get to florida. This is why I don’t price match with companies because the quotes are bogus and are never going to be moved unless they tell you they need more money and this is a bait and switch lower quote beginning and last minute tell you price is going up 200. Happens all the time in this business so don’t fall for it.

Snowbird Season 2018

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Dropped off the last of my snowbirds today. The spring season was a crazy one as there was way too many cars for carriers to handle which is good if you are a carrier. With the new ELD elog coming on board in December 2017 it has caused alot of problems for everyone. Brokers are telling customer delivery 3 or 4 days NO WAY that is going to happen anymore so don’t believe a broker when they tell you this. Longer delivery times and price increases are on their way. Be careful if shipping this summer alot of carriers take time off so with teh ELD, carriers taking time off this summer back and forth might take a little longer. Next fall prices will increase as carrier are dropping out of this business left and right so be careful when you book next fall.

 

Snowbirds 2017/2018

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The 2017/2018 wave of snowbird is just about over. I saw alot take place during the last couple of months. The major one was the ELD for truck drivers read below happen Dec 18th

A new rule starting Dec 18th 2017 all commerical trucks must have electronic logs which means drivers can only drive 11 hours a day and driver must stop driving.
Here is the link if you want more info on it  https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hours-service/elds/electronic-logging-devices..

 

In addition, alot of auto carriers are no longer doing the snowbirds as there is no freight coming out of Florida as the broker know they can post a car around 300-3500 dollars and hoping someone takes it. Alot companies are saying no way and not doing the route. However, there are companies like mine that have a list of snowbirds that need to get them down there so have no other choice to take one or 2 of these cars but doing 8 -9 of them at that price no way cost about 1k for fuel and tolls are around 300 dollars so companies are saying forget it.

So this takes me to the spring season as there is only 2.5 months everyone is trying to get home. The new law ELD will really be tested now as it had some time to come into play.

If you are using a broker be REALLY CAREFUL as most carriers already have full loads and will only pick the highest prices if they need to fill a spot. Therefore, prices will be going up and delivery times will be longer it is that simple.  If you use a broker have a back up plan. Hope this helps

 

Snowbird Season Fall 2017 and New Rules

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I have not posted for awhile as I have been enjoying my summer with the family. Took a nice trip to Macro Island, Fl to relax but told myself once i get back to stat posting again as customer need as much info as possible to pick the best car shipper.

As we start the season one major change coming. Truckers will have to stop after 11 hours of driving. No more 16-18 hours a day that most of them did to make money. The bottom line a lot of small companies will be going out of business. You can read more here

A new rule starting Dec 18th all commercial trucks must have electronic logs which means driver can only drive 11 hours a day and then stop for the day.
The bottom line is it may take a little longer to get your vehicle so please plan for it remember delivery can sometimes be delayed for several reason
In addition, Florida auto insurance rates for truckers have gone up because they were giving out CDL license without any school and everyone was getting them, so please keep that in mine if you decide to use a broker remember the first company that calls for your load it could be one of those drivers.
My prices will be as follows door to terminal and door to door. I will not price match the price I give you is final. My insurance has also increased. There will be less carriers this year and I can see lot of customers not getting their car picked up because broker price it to low. Please keep that in mind if you go to a broker.

Snowbird Season

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Ok summer is over and kids are back in school. Yes, the fall is when a lot of snowbirds start heading to Florida and Arizona for the winter. The question is when does it start? My rates kick in right around Oct 1st because there are a number of vehicles being ship to Florida now. As of 9/21/2014 the number of vehicles going to Florida from Mass is approx. 114 vehicles ready to be shipped in 14 days. That  number is going to increase very quickly within the number of weeks. Here is the problem a lot of carriers doing the route is not going to increase that much because they have went out of business( it cost over 14k for insurance, equipment is very pricy and fuel is costly so they have gotten out of the business)Some carrier decide to stay on the same route they do every year and not bother with snowbird season. HERE IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM. THE NUMBER OF CARS COMING OUT OF FLORIDA IS FEW AND EVERYONE WILL BE FIGHTING TO GET THEM. therefore, a lot of carrier have decided to not bother with it as it isn’t worth it. As of 9/21/2014 there is approx. 17 vehicle coming out of florida to mass within 14 days that is not much so think about it.

The bottom line is supply/demand the supply of vehicle will be very high but the demand for carriers is few. So there is going to be a lot of cars sitting this snowbird season. Last year was one of the busy seasons I have seen since the great depression of 2008. The economy is improving, housing in Florida is cheap compare to Mass can’t speak for other parts of the U.S. so a lot of snowbird are heading south.

Vacation In Florida

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SDC11927 (Large)Yes, the family took a vacation in Florida in July. The weather in Macro Island was very hot 90’s plus but it was a great time. My step daughter had an awesome time at the pool and the ocean. we go to Florida twice a year always in Oct to Disney world. Had a lot of fun but love New England in the summer.

 

Out to get some shells on an island.

 

What is a Snowbird Person

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A snowbird is someone from the U.S. Northeast, U.S. Midwest, Pacific Northwest, or Canada who spends a large portion of winter in warmer locales such as California, Arizona, Florida, Texas, the Carolinas, or elsewhere along the Sun Belt region of the southern and southwest United States, Mexico, and areas of the Caribbean.

The season usually start right around Oct 15th and runs up until April 15th or so. During this time car carriers are very busy and the best price cars get picked up first.

 

Snow

Upstate Vermont

Most Popular Auto Transport Snowbird Routes

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In North America, the eastern seacoast is the most popular snowbird route. The most popular auto transport snowbird routes are Montreal and Toronto down to the New England states down to New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C. and ends in Florida. This route runs the I-95 corridor is the most popular. The second is the Vancouver, BC and Seattle, WA through I-5 and ending in Arizona or California. The third route cuts down the center of North America –from Minneapolis and Chicago down to Texas or cuts of west to Arizona or east towards Florida.

Auto Transport and Snowbird Prices

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snowbird auto shipping

Please keep in mind that during the winter moving season snowbird auto transport shipment prices on snowbird routes are higher. American Transport advice to all customers is not to fall for the lowest price. The truckers have too many cars to choose from and they usually go by the highest price tag, thus a really low car shipping rate raises a red flag and vehicle could sit 3 or 4 weeks. Auto tranports Snowbird prices are usually from Oct 15th until Jan 15th