Just to make it clear, I never transport a car unless it has insurance on it. In every case I always let the customer know that he/she needs to check with their insurance agent to be sure that it covers third-party transports. In every case the answer has been an unequivocal "YES".
As far as price goes, you would be hard pressed to find someone who transports one car at a time in an enclosed trailer for less than I do. The guys that have gotten better deals are comparing my single-car transport service with a multi-car transport service where the cars are stacked (6 to 7) in a trailer and the truck meanders throughout the country picking up and dropping off cars along the way. This means your car could be loaded/unloaded numerous times. Some of the big guys also use "warehousing" where the car is dropped off at a central location and left there until another truck comes by to pick it up.
All of these techniques save the big guys money, but it also subjects your car to much more risk of being damaged. This is not to say that the big guys aren't capable of transporting your car safely, but the exposure is much higher with them because of the way they do business. And believe me, I've heard first hand many, many stories about some of those transporters and the way the cars were handled. It's really an apples to oranges comparison.
Also, I have to say that in most instances I'm competitive (price-wise) with the big guys depending on the pick up and drop off locations. Here's an example:
I got a call to transport a car from a dealership in Amarillo, TX to Houston, TX and my quoted price was $700. The dealer also provided a quote to the customer of $695. The difference was that my transport was in an enclosed, single-car trailer and the dealership was going to use one of their multi-car, open trailer vendors. Which would you rather use?
Here's an example of how I compared to another single-car transporter:
A VCA member called and asked how much it would cost to have a car shipped from Chicago to Virginia. My price was $950. The other single-car transporter quoted the same trip for about $1600. Also, two weeks before I picked up the car I went about 200 miles out of my way to inspect the car (at no extra cost).
In a lot of cases, I'm asked to carry extra parts/tires/rims etc. For me that's no problem and I don't charge extra. The big guys normally don't deal with extra parts (there's no room in those trailers packed with 6 or 7 cars). Those that can accomodate extras normally charge more for doing it.
I call the customer every day to let them know where I am and how their prized possession is doing. I've had a lot of feedback from customers who really value this level of personal attention.
All in all, I believe I offer the best service for the best possible value. The good news is that there are many, many quality alternatives out there and it's a challenge keeping up with the demand. Let me know if I can help when it comes time to transport your car.
