9. Unreliable instant quote

Some companies offer instant online estimates. If you ask for one, do these:

• Do not take it literally. The estimate might not take into consideration extra fees like door to door services, insurance coverage, or terminal fees.
• Read the fine print.
• Always ask for a customized quote, that considers only your particular situation. Every auto transport company should have an easy system that allows you to request such a quote.
• Spend some minutes playing with the instant quote system. If you ask what it costs to move a car 10 miles down the road and you get an estimate of some hundreds, you know the system is unreliable.

Just because the quotes that you are given seem to listen to no rule does not mean that the services of that particular company are not high-quality. The point is, you should spend some extra time asking questions, rather than relying exclusively on what the online system tells you.

10. Low-quality website

Someone who doesn't put any effort in his own image is highly unlikely to put any effort in anything else. Keep in mind that creating a high-quality website today is not a significant challenge anymore.

Does the website offer only generic information, without a clear explanation of the process? Do they care to objectively inform the customer about the car shipping process without trying to sell themselves? Are you introduced to the people behind the curtains? Does their website look like it was created by the neighbor's nephew, who happens to build websites in his spare time?

The fact that a company pops up among your first results when you are searching for options on the internet is not a guarantee for the quality of their services. Getting a website to rank high and shipping a car are two completely different things. Run a BBB check on some top websites and see if their ranking corresponds to the quality of their services, or if their top ranking site may be only the carefully polished image of some questionable car transport services.

If the way that a company projects itself is definitely not the most accurate way of measuring their performance, it is still a good enough one to predict what they understand by "quality", and how much of that you'll get.

Read more on how to choose a car transport company...