The most frustrating thing for many customers is that some cheap car transport companies don’t make it easy to understand how car transport costs are charged.
You could potentially end up paying hundreds of rupees to transport a car interstate but do you really know what you’re paying for?
So, how is car transport costs charged in India?
Here's a quick breakdown of the most common factors that many car transport companies take into account when determining the cost to ship a car:
I belong to an Indian Army family. My father has been transferred to many states of India while on duty. We used Matro Car Transport's interstate vehicle transport service each time. He never disappointed us. Now considering Matro Car Transport as our own, we always hire for every work whether it is interstate vehicle transportation or domestic household shifting. – Abhishek Singh
Car Transport Company Brand Value
The vehicle transport industry in India is actually much unregulated and there are many, many questionable car transport companies out there. Going with the cheapest vehicle transport company is not always the best idea to transport your car the cheapest.
In fact, one of the worst things you can do when shipping a car is to choose the company that offers the cheapest rate without verification and inquiries. The words on a company's website are too cheap to put up with and the "fine print" in their terms of service means that you can only find out the real quality of a vehicle shipping company after it's too late.
Vehicle Type and Size:
There is only limited space available on the car carrier and larger vehicles will come at a premium charges.Some companies also factor weight into their pricing plans, so shipping a small car will be cheaper than a large SUV or sedan car.
Many companies usually require that customers remove all personal belongings from the inside of their cars. When considering the total cost of a car transport service, keep in mind, you may have to pay for the transportation of value added services as well. It may not be much but you should definitely consider it in the all inclusive price.
Vehicle Transportation Distance
When you have to move a car, distance is one of the main factors in determining the cost. Where will your car be picked up, and where will it be delivered after transportation?.
Luxury cars and antique/expensive cars lose their value as more kilometers are put on the vehicle speed meter, but when you ship the car, you don’t have to worry about your odometer increasing up on the actual car you’re transporting.
Keep in mind, too, that fuel cost and surcharges also the main factor into this equation. If fuel price is on cheaper side, then you might get a more attractive quotation for transporting your vehicle.
Forward-Loading vs. Back-Loading:
Some car carrier companies have large established contracts with the vehicle manufacturers to transport vehicles from manufacturing facilities to the dealer networks.
It means that they are a likely to have limited capacity on certain routes. For example, vehicle transport from Delhi to Bangalore and Guwahati has traditionally been more expensive because many of the larger carriers are under contract to Maruti Car Company in Gurgaon.
From Bangalore and Guwahati to Delhi, those carriers need to return and, spots are often load at a discounted rate. It’s this scenario that is known as back-loading. You would see this if you were to compare quotes to transport a car from Delhi to Guwahati with quotes to transport a car from Guwahati to Delhi.
Transporting a four- wheeler can expensive. Trusted and reliable car transport companies won’t try to hide that fact. Instead, they’ll make sure that customers are aware of the true costs, damage liabilities, and if certain car carriers (like enclosed carriers) might provide better protection during transportation than others (like multi-car open carriers).