Ship a Car Direct Review

Updated: 07/17/2022

Author: Steve Palmer

Suggestions and questions: support@transportli.com

Getting a vehicle from one location to another can be time-consuming, costly, and put extensive wear-and-tear on the vehicle depending on the distance it’s being taken. With the price of gas rising and the logistics involved with traveling long distances to relocate, shipping a vehicle can be an easy, stress-free option if car owners do their research and use a reputable auto shipping company. Ship a Car Direct is a highly rated option with a damage-free guarantee and competitive pricing.

Founded: 2013
Headquarters: 11830 N 75th St, #492, Hygiene, CO 80533
Service Area: U.S., including Hawaii and Alaska
USDOT: 2241272
MC: 632461
Phone: 855-962-2424
Email: info@shipacardirect.com

Business description: The most trusted car shipping company, offering a 100% damage free guarantee. Every carrier is reviewed to ensure the best auto transport service available.

Ship a Car Direct Score Basics

• Industry standing among other companies score 99.7% on CentralDispatch – 9.7 total
• Legal standing score – 10 total
• Customer reviews score (Google – 4.6 stars, Transportreviews – 5 stars, BBB – A+, Yelp – 4 stars) – 9.7 total
• Online presence score (website, phone, chat, instant quotes) – 10 total
• Our internal take score – 10 total

Ship A Car Direct is a perfect example of the saying “You get what you pay for”. While their prices are slightly higher than the industry averages, the customer service and overall shipping experience is superb among the customer we were able to talk with.

We definitely recommend using Ship A Car Direct services even if you have to pay $50 or $100 more for your shipping.

Car shipping is a service provided by carriers that pick a vehicle up from one location and get it delivered to another. This seems easy enough, but the amount of carriers out there and finding who is reputable and trustworthy can take a lot of time and difficulty. Ship a Car Direct does this heavy lifting for you. They research and background check every carrier interested in transporting their customers’ vehicles, and they have a high standard of expectation for how carriers treat customers and their vehicles.

Ship a Car Direct will ensure that the same carrier is used throughout the process. This matters because it ensures that your vehicle isn’t getting passed from one carrier to another, limiting the possibility for damage or miscommunication from the time your vehicle is picked up to when it is delivered. Ship a Car Direct will also pick up and deliver straight to your door, company parking lot, or wherever you request it to go. Other providers may have specific drop-off and pick-up locations, potentially adding an inconvenience.

Once a car owner contacts Ship a Car Direct, a quote is given based on the vehicle’s credentials including year, make, model, and size. Car owners also have the option to choose whether the car is transported on an open trailer or in an enclosed trailer. The closed option is a bit more costly but comes with the added assurance that highway debris doesn’t damage the vehicle.

Once Ship a Car Direct is able to confirm a carrier, the car owner pays a deposit directly to them for doing the work to find a quality, reputable carrier. From there, the details on how to communicate with the carrier and confirm pick-up and delivery details is provided. Once the vehicle is delivered, the car owner pays the remainder of the agreed upon amount directly to the carrier.

According to reviews on TransportReviews.com, Ship a Car Direct has an almost perfect 5 stars with over 5400 reviews. Negative reviews can be counted on two hands, which supports the company’s claims of high standards and excellent service. The vast majority of reviews sing praise of Ship a Car Direct’s prompt and professional customer service, knowledgeable and accessible support, organizational talents and overall happy customers.

The small amount of negative reviews mention confusion over the process and lack of communication. It should be noted, however, that most of these reviews have positive responses from Ship a Car Direct, either addressing their concerns, taking responsibility for the issues, or confirming that the reviewer didn’t have an order with the company. It’s not often that any business has crystal clear transparency and openly admits their faults, making this company stand out.

Why are the prices I am getting all over the map?

The hardest thing for people researching car moving companies to understand is that the prices they are getting are not hard and fast guarantees, but rather ESTIMATES of what one company thinks it will take to get a vehicle moved promptly versus another company’s opinion of what it will take. Don’t be fooled, there are not carriers committed to take your vehicle at these quoted prices, the company you choose will still have to get to work getting a carrier to commit to move it at the price they quote you.

What goes into the prices I am getting quoted?

Your total price breaks down into two parts, the broker’s fee (or ‘deposit’ as everyone calls it) and the carriers fee (your COD amount) Make no mistake about this, EVERYONE YOU ARE GETTING SALES CALLS FROM IS GOING TO BROKER YOUR MOVE. In this industry, there are brokers who try to fool you into thinking that they are the actual carriers and there are an equal amount of carriers who sell themselves on the fact that they have a truck or two but are not being honest about the fact that they broker out 90% of the orders they book. Here is a quick easy way to tell, if a company takes an up front fee, whether they call it a deposit or any other name, they are a broker. Carriers do not take any payment until the vehicle is delivered.

How does this industry work then?

Every company, and we mean EVERY company, brokers and carriers alike, use a site called Central Dispatch to post and find vehicles to transport, the main thing you are paying any company for is ACCESS to this site. ALL companies use it, their fees to post your order on it may vary, but the site is the same. ask your salesperson for further explanation.

Should I pay a deposit before being given a carriers name and contact info?

In our opinion, you are crazy to do so. Have you ever been paid up front for the work that you perform for your employer? Why would you pay a fee up front when there are reliable and trustworthy companies like ours that won’t ask for it until we provide you with your carriers details?

Are my dates guaranteed?

No, all dates given are estimates and projections. For this reason we ask that you give us the earliest possible date you would be willing to release the vehicle, even though it may not be your preferred date.

We put you in direct contact with your carrier and the carrier will also typically call you the afternoon or evening before your pick up and delivery (they won’t just show up unannounced, and if they do we want to hear about it). However, carriers are out on the road battling traffic, weather and any number of other factors that can and do throw it off their pickup and delivery projections from time to time.

If the projected dates we give you come and you are unable to make contact with your carrier, please call our office immediately so that we may help resolve the situation.

Ship a Car Direct is only one of many options for car shipping, but given the reviews of existing customers, the transparency on their site for anyone to view their licenses, and the damage-free guarantee they provide, this company should be at the top of the list for anyone looking to ship their vehicle.