Auto Transport Tips: About the Vehicle Shipping Deposit
One of the most important parts of shipping a car is the vehicle shipping deposit. It is the payment you make to your brokerage for their services in helping you get your vehicle shipped. The deposit is a common part of your payment and there are few car shipping companies, if any, that don’t take a deposit.
Of course, when they take it and how much they take for a deposit will depend on the company, their policies and their business practices. Not all brokers are the same, but they all offer the same services. They also tend to have the same basic policies, like their deposits.
So what is a vehicle shipping deposit?
Well, like we said, it’s the price you pay to your broker for their help shipping your vehicle. But more than that, it’s a fraction of your overall payment and is usually a standard fee. This fee can and will change from one company to the next, but it’s usually around $200.
The rest of the payment will go to the carrier that actually ships your vehicle. The deposit, though, will go toward keeping your broker’s doors open and keeping their employees paid and their computers hooked up to the internet. It’s an important expense and something that a broker can’t really afford to not have.
This is why so many of them take their deposit via a credit or debit card. We want to say right now that if a broker doesn’t or cannot take credit cards it may be best to book with someone else.
Brokers need to have good business sense and acumen and those that can’t even process credit cards should not be relied on. If you can’t pay by a credit card because you don’t have one, that’s one thing. And many brokers will have a variety of different methods you can use to pay them. But a credit card should always be an option, and you should be seeing red flags if they don’t offer it.
So everyone takes a vehicle shipping deposit?
Every auto shipping broker will take a deposit, though as we said how big that deposit is depends on the company. You can contact us if you have questions about our deposit. If you are interested in getting a quote to ship your vehicle, fill out our free quote form. It’s fast and easy and will get you a free, accurate, no-hassle quote right away. We are top-rated and only work with top-rated carriers who are fully licensed and insured. You can also contact us any time at 800-930-7417 to speak to a representative. They can answer questions, give you a quote, help you place a reservation, and more.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.
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