3. Low-quality customer services

You will get a fair idea about the interest a company takes in their clients when talking to them over the phone. Do they try to sell their services with any price, rather than inform you? Do they take the time of the day to really talk to you? Do they sound like they would rather do something else than answering your questions? Are they always available? All these are good hints for how you'll be treated later.

4. Large deposit required up front

While some perfectly respectable companies may require you to pay a deposit before they pick up your car, this may also be a sign of lack of confidence in their abilities to resolve your car shipping requests or, in the worst case, their smart way of letting you down and make a financially favorable way out.

Be curious about the necessity of this deposit, and stay away from deposits that go well beyond two or three hundreds of dollars. If you pay a deposit, use a credit card, just in case of a future dispute.

5. Fairy-tale promises

Closely related to #4, promises that sound too good (and usually are) may be the reason why the auto transport company requires the initial deposit. Beware of companies that offer extremely cheap, next-day, guaranteed delivery time services. Whoever has been in this business long enough knows that shipping a car is largely a game of circumstances, and that every order is unique, as is every attempt to respond to it.

That DOES NOT mean these promises have no chance to be kept - only that you should remember to run some extensive checks on the company and see if they are in the good habit of respecting what they promise. If you choose to trust them, obtain these promises in writing.

More signs...