Feels like Summer

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Yes we are getting a heat wave this first week in Sept 2015. Looks like prices are heading north right now. There are 285 cars within the next 3 days heading from New England to Florida. What does that mean only the highest price one will get picked up. I usually start my snowbird prices in Oct 1st but the way thing are looking and the number of cars to move I will have to increase my prices to snowbird rates right now. The problem is the number of trucks on the road are few a lot off drivers have given up the New England route as they do not want to go over the bridges in New York and pay the extra tolls/bridges as you can almost get the same money in New Jersey and save 3-4 hours of time. By the look of things my snowbird prices for the fall are as follows of course all these are approx

4 door sedan drop at terminal 875/pick up 925

regular size SUV drop at terminal 900 and pick up 950

this is all within 1 hours of my office in Worcester, Mass

Anything further or bigger will be price by me and the computer

 

Again, always watch those Brokers most of them have no idea what the market is calling for and your car could be sitting.

 

Hope anyone has a great fall and football season is here. Go Pats

 

Summer Time Is Coming To An End

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I know summer time is getting close as some of my snowbirds call or e-mail looking to move their car in Sept. Most head down starting  in Oct. I probably have around 100 snowbird customers so each year it’s growing. My prices are not the cheapest in the business but not the most expensive either so I’m right in the middle I would say. I tell customers all the time when they call like this summer why in the world would you use a broker in Maryland, Texas etc if the price is 50-75 dollars cheaper even 100. If you have booked your flight and no one shows up to pick up your car your are screwed believe me it happens all the time. With me at least you can drop it off at my terminal or I can pick it up and that is one less worry for you. I can meet you and there will be a trust factor with each other. The out of state broker you listed with only cares about ONE THING there broker fee and there is no trust factor at all and if something happens forget about it you will be in trouble. I get this all the time from customers I got a quote 100 less and I tell them to come to this website and read the blog. I will never price match because I would hate to have a customer in a situation they have to leave and their car is still sitting in the driveway. I get a knot in my stomach if that happens as I feel bad.

Therefore, my prices are to move the car and that is always the way I will run my business you will not get me calling you back several times or sending you e-mail after e-mail telling why you should use my company, I do not bash other companies once you start getting quote after quote and talking with brokers this is what goes on in this business because these brokers live on their broker fee’s. LOOK ON ALL THESE OTHER COMPANIES WEBSITES AND SEE HOW MANY WRITE BLOGS AND IF THEY DO ARE THEY UP TO DATE. THIS SHOULD TELL YOU ABOUT A COMPANY AS THEY ARE TAKING TIME TO WRITE ABOUT TRANSPORT TOPICS.

 

Price Match With Other Brokers

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Please do not ask me to price match. I do not do it. I had a customer yesterday who is moving 2 big SUV’s to California and got a better quote to move them. I told the customer I will not match the other broker quote because I think they  will not move for that price. I honest believe that the broker will have to call back the customer and get more money. I have never done that. The only way I may reduce the price if you are going to be a regular  snowbird going both ways. I hate dealing with brokers to get loads they have no idea about the business and are only salesmen looking to get there broker fee., so the more people I get on my snowbird list the less I have to deal with brokers.

 

Please use common sense when booking your transport needs to safe you alot of time and headaches.

Summer Months

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Summer is here an in the transport industry it can be a busy time. However, for me the snowbird season is busy for me. There is some traffic running back and forth to florida and prices even out both ways so be super careful when you get a quote. THERE IS VERY LIMITED TRUCKS RUNNING from New England to florida at this time.

 

I just got back from a family vacation in Tampa/Clearwater florida this past week. Very nice weather if you don’t like the heat then Florid isn’t the place for you. Mostly visit Busch Garden and Adventure island. Also stayed by the pool to relax a little. Here are a few photos of the trip with the family. 20150627_213036

The Lowball Limbo

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This happens all the time in this industry. The price I give you is the price to move the vehicle so far I have moved all my customers. READ THIS I DO NOT PRICE MATCH. I will be straight forward and honest.

 

Pricing can fluctuate all throughout the year, it is dependent on the popularity of the route, the number of vehicles trying to move, the number of truckers available in your area and fuel prices. A broker’s job is to provide pricing that will secure the services of an independent trucker and have the job done smoothly and efficiently.

What is the lowball “limbo”?

The lowball limbo is what happens when, in this highly competitive industry, brokers in an effort to garner a customer’s business will drop the price of the transport  to gain the upper hand with the customer. Sometimes, it works out but most times it does not.

How so?  For example on a particular route the current price to move a sedan in $700 total. Broker #1 calls the customer and gives their spiel.  They tell the customer the price of $700.  Broker #2 reaches the customer and asks what Broker # 1 offered them.  The customer lets him/her know, so Broker #2 offers to get it done for $650. Then along comes Broker #3 and the price drops even further- the “lowball” limbo.

Now, everyone wants to save money especially on an expensive move such as auto transport. What is not communicated to a customer is this – No broker can force a trucker to take less than they demand on a route.

The lowball limbo works in tandem with the “bait and switch” which is to get the person to jump on the lowball limbo price and then have them agree to work along with that particular broker. Usually at the 11th hour, that broker will call the lowballed customer and state that the “cheap” driver they had on deck encountered a problem and can no longer pick up the car. They have, however, found another driver who can do the job but the cost has risen dramatically, putting the customer back to the price the broker knew from the beginning  would have gotten the job done but felt they would not have gotten the customer to “bite”.

While this industry is competitive, there are brokers who will be up front with customers. They will do      “realistic” price matching for that competitive edge. Customer service will be the key

When do I Give My Broker A Credit Card

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This is a question you can only answer. I only charge the credit card when the vehicle is on the truck. A lot of brokers once they assign a carrier will charge your card,or once you place the order. This is not good as a lot of Broker have a little writing in their contract saying if you cancel a 50 charge, or if you don’t cancel within 48 hrs the deposit is ours even if we don’t get a carrier. If a broker ask you for half or a 300 dollar deposit keep going no way they should be asking for that amount.

Brokers contract are very complex and if you don’t find a honest broker you could be out the deposit. You can do a chargeback on your credit card but that takes a lot of time and effort that a lot of people don’t have the time for. A lot of brokers will just refund the deposit if the carrier doesn’t come through. These trucks do break down or something else happens if this business for often then you would think. The bottem  line use a broker that you can go and visit. A lot of these guys workout of their home or a giant warehouse (Florida brokers) just trying to get your contract they are salespeople and really have no idea how the business works most are gone with 3 months or the company is gone in less then 2 years. The reason why most companies go under is that they have too many chargebacks and the credit card company cancels them. It happens a lot in this business.

 

Also, if you pay the full amount by credit card I have to charge 3% extra because the credit card companies charge me 3% so it adds up after awhile.

Don’t Trust Some Auto Broker’s

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Snowbird season is almost coming to an end. My last couple customer come back first week of June. The last few week prices are jumped alot over 800 dollars for a 4 door sedan to Mass. The problem is there are alot more snowbird cars then trucks in a short amount of time. I gain a couple more customer this year after getting calls from customer as Broker’s have left them high and dry. No pick up, no call backs and the list go on. I might not be able to get to your car but I have approx 14 Terminals you can leave your vehicle at so your car will get back to New England. Brokers can’t move cars it is that simply they will tell you everything you want to hear but the bottem line they don’t have trucks.

 

This what will happen they will take your order posted it on Centraldispatch.com for all the carrier to see very few brokers have carriers in their back pocket to go to because they don’t have a steady stream of customers for a certain route. On the other hand I do so i use 2 companies besides myself so my loads never get posted on centraldispatch.com.

 

The problem any carrier can call on the load and most broker go with the first company that calls. This could be anyone and they should verify there insurance but most don’t as they just want there broker fee. I don’t have to get into detail but is there is damage to vehicle and the carrier is from Arizona good luck trying to fix your vehicle or get money for it. You are not going to court for 1,000 dollars it would cost you more for attorney fees and travel.

 

Also, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to ask brokers what their fee is. The average broker fee should be from 75-200 dollars anymore then that the carrier is getting less and might not move the vehicle. They just do a couple of keyboard entry and assign it to a carrier. The carriers do all the work. Don’t be afraid to ask broker what the fee is.

Hope this helps.

 

Snowbird Season

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Yes snowbird season is in full swing. It started right around Easter time. The weather is finally starting to get better up here in New England  and yes you snowbirds missed one of the worst winters I can remember very cold and ALOT of snow. Like I tell all my customer this is a very busy time and you have to have a little bit of  patience because it takes awhile to get cars loaded and moved.  Your car will get moved it just might not be on the exact date/time you want but it will get moved.

This takes me to my main point. This happen last week twice and it will happen yo you if not careful. A couple of customers booked with a broker promise a pick up time at a very good price. The price was around 625 to move their vehicle to Mass. Actually one of the customer I spoke to before they called me again and I told them I couldn’t beat that price and I don’t price match. Long and behold the car never got picked up and the broker wasn’t answering the phone or taking calls. The reason no carrier to take that vehicle for the price they posted. They quoted 625 probably going to take a 125-150 broker fee so price is posted for 500 dollars. No carrier is going to take that vehicle for that amount when there are vehicle going north for 700-800 dollars would you and plus it was an SUV., so the vehicle sat and the customer had to get the vehicle to a friends house because they had to catch a flight. It is very simple supply and demand a lot more vehicle then carriers. That is why you can’t always take the lowest price because this will happen.

I’m not saying everything goes great when you have a carrier in place but your car will get moved. Also, I have bout 10 terminal I use in Florida so if I can’t get to your vehicle you can drop it off at one of my terminals. You can view them on this website go to home page and put your cursor over the home tab don’t click just put it on it and do down and auto transport terminals tab comes on and click it.

Just drop your vehicle there it will save you a lot of time and headaches. There is no extra charge actually it cost me money to use these terminals. Truck break down, traffic, inspection etc there is a lot involved  with getting a car loaded. If I had it my way I would use a terminal all the time.

Why Terminals

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I started using terminal s a few years ago. It cuts down on time and having people wait until the carrier shows up. Florida is a huge state and it takes awhile to move around. I can get most of my snowbird customer in New England in one day mostly with 2 hours of Worcester, Mass. My terminals in Florida customers can just drop their car off and head to the airport or drop it and get a ride to the airport. It reduces the amount of stress that customer wait around all day waiting for a phone call or finding a place to meet the driver or if driver breaks down could be the next day so you can see how important terminals area.

TO VIEW A LIST OF MY TERMINAL GO TO MY HOME PAGE WITH THE QUOTE FORM PUT YOUR MOUSE ARROW ON THE HOME TABE AND MOVE IT DOWN A TERMINAL BOX WILL COME UP AND JUST CLICK ON IT. Those are all my terminals in Florida

Auto Transport Terminals

Here is a list of terminal that my snowbird customers use. Terminals are the best way to ship your car you save on price and easy pick up close to all airports. In addition, I save time/fuel  using a terminal. Please ask about our terminal service. We do not offer shuttle service please ask the terminal or get a taxi thanks

Headquarters

1) American Transport

21 Eskow Road, Worcester, Mass 01604

1-508-450-5564

2)Auto Driveway -Orlando

6909 Partridge Lane, Orlando, FL 32807

1-888-612-4873

3)Auto Transport of Naples

3673 Prospect Ave, Naples, FL 34117

1-239-352-2277

4) Brady Auto Transport

8101 Mainline Parkway, Fort Myers FL 33912

1-239-340-0656

5)BT Auto Carriers

3359-G Belvedere Road

West Palm Beach, FL  33406

1-561-504-3360

6)Kauff’s Towing

4701 East Ave, West Palm Beach, FL 33407

561-753-5343

7)Kauff’s Towing

8920 N.W. Glades Cutoff Road, Port St. Lucie

561-753-5343

8)Kauff’s Towing of Miami

2435 Ali Baba Ave, Opa Locka, FL 33054

1-305-685-7593

9)Lee’s Towing

3778 Dixi Highway Northeast, Palm Bay, FL 32905

1-321-728-5588

10)Memorial Parking   No check in only drop off from New England

6010 West Chelsea Street, Tampa, Fl  33607

813-731-6309

11)Mike’s Elite Towing

6099 Deacon Road, Sarasota, FL 34238

1-941-954-0100

12) Swad Auto Transport

2901 Southwest 6th Ave Fort Lauderdale , FL 33316

1-954-764-5700

 

Auto Transport Websites

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Do not fill in your information on one of these webpages. You will be harass by e-mails and phone calls from brokers. You gave them your e-mail and phone number so they have a right to call you. Please just use a local company or if not sure check with the Better Business Bureau in your area. These websites are a bunch on salespeople on commission trying to get your order and make a living. To be honest the quote you end up with is probably going to move your vehicle anyways. Just be careful before you fill one of these pages out.