Questions worth asking any auto transport broker

There is no flat rate, and any site quoting one before it knows your lane is guessing. The price turns on distance, the size and weight of the vehicle, open deck versus enclosed, how busy the route is, the season, whether the car runs, and how far your dates can move. Long hauls cost more in total but less per mile than short ones. Send us the details and a real number comes back the same business day.

Usually because ours is priced to dispatch. Some brokers quote under the market to win the lead, then return a week later saying the rate has to rise because no carrier accepted the load. You have lost a week and you pay the real price regardless. We would rather show you that number on day one.

Nothing is owed to request a quote or to hold a place while you decide. Once you accept and a carrier is assigned, a deposit comes to Milepost; the balance goes directly to the driver at delivery, generally in cash, certified funds, or whatever that carrier has agreed in writing. The exact split and the accepted payment forms are confirmed before you commit.

Yes, at no cost, at any point before a carrier is assigned. Once a carrier has been dispatched and has planned a route around your vehicle, the cancellation terms are that carrier’s — and we will tell you exactly what they are, in writing, at the moment of dispatch.

One to two weeks on most lanes. Three to four through snowbird season — October to December southbound, March to May northbound — and around the big college move dates. A release window of a few days will nearly always beat a single fixed date on price.

Yes — door to door is the standard. The only limit is what a 75-foot rig can legally and safely do. Narrow streets, low branches, tight cul-de-sacs, and local truck ordinances all mean the driver may ask to meet you at a large car park a few minutes away. We raise that before you book so it is never sprung on you.

Because your car is one of eight or ten on the trailer, and the driver is bound by federal hours-of-service limits. A hold-up at the third stop moves the fourth through the ninth. Anyone promising a precise hour a week out is telling you what you want to hear.

Yes, at both ends — you, or an adult you authorise. They need to inspect the vehicle with the driver, sign the bill of lading, hand over or receive the keys, and settle the balance at delivery. Give us that person’s name and number when you book.

Regional moves under 500 miles usually run one to three days once loaded. Cross-country is typically five to ten. Add time for winter weather in the mountains, and for delivery points that sit well off the driver’s main route.

It is. Every carrier we dispatch to holds cargo insurance, and we verify the certificate before assignment. It answers for damage the carrier causes during loading, transit, and unloading. It does not answer for damage already present, for personal belongings, or for acts of nature. Your own motor policy may extend cover — worth a call to your insurer before you ship.

Record it on the bill of lading before you sign at delivery, and photograph it there and then. Then call us. We help you file against the carrier’s cargo policy and stay with it alongside you. Damage discovered after a clean delivery receipt has been signed is extremely difficult for anyone to recover — which is precisely why the two inspections matter more than anything else you do.

It is three documents at once: your contract with the carrier, the condition report at both ends, and your receipt. It is the evidence every claim stands on. Walk the car with the driver, make sure existing damage is written down, never sign a blank or vague form, and keep your copy.

Carriers are not authorised to haul household goods, and cargo insurance does not cover your possessions. Many drivers accept up to roughly 100 pounds in the boot, below the window line, entirely at your risk. Some decline outright. Ask your agent first, and never leave anything valuable or irreplaceable.

A broker. Milepost Vehicle Logistics LLC is registered with the FMCSA as a property broker (USDOT 7119870, MC 80359316). We arrange your shipment with vetted, FMCSA-authorised motor carriers, who move the vehicle under their own authority and their own insurance. We do not own trucks.

Seven years in auto transport between us, and the company now runs under its own Ohio authority. That experience is the reason the quotes look the way they do: we have watched what happens to shipments priced to win rather than priced to move.

Look up USDOT 7119870 in the FMCSA SAFER system. It is public, free, and takes a minute. Do it for every broker and carrier you consider, not only for us — it is the single best defence against the bad actors in this industry.

All 48 contiguous states, door to door. Alaska and Hawaii need ocean carriage and separate arrangements; ask, and we will tell you plainly whether we can help with your particular move.