Why Does it Take So Long to Ship a Car?

An auto transport driver’s job is often more complicated than it seems. And all of these complications can add up to create a delay in your car’s shipment.

One of the biggest reasons that your shipment can get delayed is other peoples’ cars. Remember that your driver has to please a lot of people and sometimes his customers’ desires can be conflicting. Lets say, for example, that you are waiting for your car in Miami. You’re driver could get there on Saturday if he drove straight to you but he has a drop off at a body shop in Savannah that he can’t do until Monday because they are closed over the weekends. After Savannah your driver then has to drive to Orlando and drop off a few more cars, by the time he is done in Orlando he doesn’t make it in time for a drop off at a towing company in West Palm Beach, so he has to wait until Tuesday to drop off your car. These types of situations arise all of the time, your driver could be waiting for a business to open, a customer to fly in, or any number of other reasons.

Another reason that it could take a long time to ship your car is because of the Log Book. The Log Book keeps tracks of drivers’ working time. If they work more than a certain amount of time, regardless of if they are driving or dropping off/picking up, then they will at a minimum get fined and could get taken completely out of service or lose their license. The government takes over-worked drivers very seriously. They operate very large machines and if their judgement is clouded by lack of sleep or exhaustion then they can be extremely dangerous to anyone on the road. The average working day for a driver is about 11 hours.

Breakdowns are not common but they are certainly worth mentioning. Transport trucks are always in motion, their engines are running 24 hours a day. For this reason breakdowns are unpredictable. If one does occur the reason it takes longer for your car to arrive is probably because your driver is waiting on parts. Transport truck parts can be hard to find and usually take a few days to come in.

There are a million different reasons why it could take a long time to ship your car. If you absolutely need to have your car delivered at a certain time then mention this to your broker who will find a company meant for that type of work. These are smaller trucks with only 1 or 2 car trailers, they are called hot shot transporters. While the service is superior the price is also much higher. Discuss your options with you broker to see what choice is best for you.

Remember to get a quote from the best car shipping company in the world!