5 Reasons It’s Better to Drive Your Car Than to Ship It
If you’re planning to move your vehicle or fleet across the country, then you have likely weighed up some shipping options. Most people either choose a car carrier option, or direct driving using a professional driver or driving team.
Here are five reasons why it could be better to get your cars driven than to ship them.
1. The Cost of Transporting Your Vehicle
Moving anything costs money – and large objects like vehicles can be pricey to move long distances, or even within the same city! If you have looked into quotes from vehicle shipping companies, then chances are you’ve seen some prices that get your heart racing, and not in a fun way!
Driving your car, or employing a company to drive it for you, can work out much cheaper – especially if you develop a longstanding relationship with professional car movers.
The cost of shipping your vehicle across country, and especially across borders, is based largely on the weight and size of your car. A company that moves vehicles in bulk will probably have a scale of costs. Larger, heavier vehicles are just not going to be as cost-effective to move on a large vehicle hauler.
Driving your car or fleet can incur other costs, like fuel or wear-and-tear – but generally speaking, it’s cheaper and easier to move vehicles by directly driving them from point A to point B.
2. Vehicle Safety – Shipping vs Driving
If you’re new to vehicle moving, you might assume that loading your car or fleet onto a large transport truck must surely be safer than getting it driven directly to your door, or depot of choice.
However, huge articulated transport trucks loaded with a number of heavy vehicles can meet with big risks on many routes throughout South Africa. Our roads vary greatly in quality, condition, traffic patterns, and roadside amenities for drivers.
Some areas of the country are affected by well-organised criminal gangs who are experienced in hijacking and vehicle theft – and a large relatively slow-moving truck with millions of rands of assets loaded onto it can be a very attractive proposition.
Companies who employ professional, experienced drivers to move vehicles around the country are aware of the risks of the road. The drivers know the routes intimately, and will be able to minimize risks related to poor road conditions and dangerous areas.
3. Time Factor of Shipping vs Driving Your Vehicle
Timing is everything in these days of “instant gratification”. If you ship your car or fleet on a transport vehicle, you have less control over pickup and delivery times. You’re at the mercy of the company’s own timeframe. Large trucking companies will want to maximise their profits and minimise their risks and inconvenience – so they may well choose a timeframe that just doesn’t suit the customer at the other end of the journey.
If you choose a company that will drive your car instead, then you can control pickup and delivery times to a much larger degree.
So, to make a long story short (pun intended): if you need vehicles delivered to you in a hurry, you probably want to skip the car hauler option.
4. Vehicle Delivery Area When Shipping vs Driving
If you intend to move vehicles to a specific destination, accessibility could be a factor in the transport options available. Suburban areas with heavy vehicle restrictions, rural areas with poor roads, and remote areas unknown to most drivers.
It goes without saying that big trucks are going to have a harder time with vehicle deliveries in these areas. Professional drivers who can deliver vehicles personally will know most of the routes and destinations will have far fewer hiccups in the delivery process.
5. Personal Services Tailored to Your Vehicle Moving Needs
Moving vehicles cross-country (or even within a metropolitan area) can a complex and challenging process that requires efficiency and insightful decisions. Finding the right vehicle moving company, getting quotes without too much fine print, and dealing with all the required paperwork are just a few of the things you need to keep in mind.
Consider your options carefully and make decisions based on all the available information. Your decisions should take many factors into consideration – your personal priorities as well as the needs of your business. Find a company with a reputation for providing transparent information upfront, constant updates during the delivery process, and reliable customer service with YOUR priorities in mind.
Keep Your Cars Safe with Reddot Group!
We provide top-notch personal attention as well as superlative professional vehicle transport services all over South Africa and the BLNS (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland) countries. Our highly trained and experienced drivers know all the roads, know their paperwork, and deliver on time. Be reassured – your vehicles are alright with Reddot Group!
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