How to Choose an International Auto Shipping Company

 

Do you wish to ship your vehicle from the United States to an overseas destination? Are you sure that your vehicle will arrive at its destination in one piece? Cars tend to be very big investments. They are not something that many people can afford to lose. It’s important, therefore, that the shipping company that you opt for is up to the job. The following are important considerations for those looking to ship their cars internationally in today’s environment;

 

1. Check out online reviews

Are you aware that, up to 90% of people will first consult online reviews before making a purchase? You should be among these people. The first port of call before choosing an international vehicle shipping company should be online reviews. In all fairness, you don’t have to be a pioneer, particularly when it concerns one of your most prized possessions.

 

 

1. Reviews on Shopper Approved

Let’s say you are interested in Shipoverseas. The first thing that you need to do in that case is to go to Google. Type in “Shipoverseas reviews,” and you will see that a lot of pages will pop up (see above screenshot). On number one are reviews from Shopper Approved that we host on our website.

These are useful. However, you should rely more on reviews that are elsewhere other than on the website of the company that you are interested in. If you scroll down your Google results, you will see a link to our Shopper Approved page.

Click on that, and you are taken to our Shopper Approved page. You can see there that we have a 4.7 satisfaction rate. That’s out of 5.

 

1. Reviews on Yelp

From the results on Google, you will also get reviews from Yelp. That’s assuming that the business that you are interested in is on Yelp. We are, so our customers can go there to check out what other people have to say about us.

 

2. Read negative reviews

Most businesses, no matter how good they may be, will have negative reviews. We are not shy to say we also have those, though fewer than our competitors. Anyway, it’s important for you to read not only positive reviews, but also those that are negative.

That’s an integral part of choosing an international car shipping company. Negative reviews tell you the areas where you are likely to have issues with a particular company. If ten reviewers say staff at a company is rude, or that they do not respond to queries, then you need to be ready to deal with that.

 

3. Don’t just focus on one company

Your quest for a reliable international car shipping company should be a veritable hunt. Don’t just focus on the first company that pops up on Google. Look at 3 or 4 companies.

Check them out. See what people have to say about these companies. From there, you can then settle on one that you think is the best option for shipping your car or motorcycle.

 

4. Make sure that the company that you are interested in is fully licensed

To be fair, this one is easier said than done. But if a company has been around for some time, such as is the case with us, then chances are high that they will be fully licensed.  The following are some of the licenses that Shipoverseas has;

• We have been in business for over 30 years, and we are fully licensed by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). This enables us to arrange for customs clearance and issue House Bill of Lading (HBL).
• You can also view our profile on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) website. FMCSA provides information on our safety record. That should be highly useful when it comes whether or not a company is able to guarantee delivery of your precious cargo in one piece.
• We also have Better Business Bureau (BBB) accreditation. As such we follow a strict set of standards that ensures our reliability.

 

5. Check out pricing

Pricing tends to be a big consideration when it comes to choosing an international auto transportation company. How much does it cost to get your vehicle to its destination? You can get a free quote from our website if you are interested in us.

Most of the companies that are out there offer this facility. What you want to do is to balance price with reliability. It’s not enough to simply say company A is the most affordable. You also need to look at their track record. Otherwise, you are going to have problems at the end of the day.

In many instances, the best shipping company will not be the cheapest. There are costs that are associated with reliability. As an example, they will want to hire the most reliable car carrier. Your choice here should be determined by how much you value your car.

 

6. What insurance is offered?

When shipping a vehicle overseas, it’s important to get full cover marine insurance. You can learn more about that here. Truth is, though we strive as much as we can to ensure that your vehicle arrives at its destination without suffering any damage, situations may occur that are beyond our control.

There have been a number of incidences where cars were damaged on the high seas. Should that happen to you, you want to be insured against loss. At Shipoverseas, we offer full cover marine insurance against loss or damage at a rate of $1.75% of the value that you wish to insure for.

 

1. Choose a company that communicates

The period when your vehicle is transiting from one point to the other will likely be very stressful for you. It’s important, therefore, to choose an international vehicle shipping company that’s open and communicative.

It’s inevitable that you will have questions along the way. You may wish to know where your precious cargo is at a given point in time. Maybe you will be looking to get estimates on arrival times. You can only do that if the company that you have hired is open.

Communication is one area that you need to check out when looking at a company’s online reviews. Also ask if they offer tracking on shipments. That’s offered by some companies. You can also easily track where the ship that’s carrying your vehicle is useful free online tools.

 

1. Summary

It can be a challenge to find the best auto shipping company. However, there are things that you can do to simplify the process. First, you need to go through online reviews. These will tell you what others who have used the company have to say. Also check out the company’s policies. Finally, compare the company that you are interested in to one or two other companies.