How To Pay For Your Auto Transport?

Posted by Mae on March 16th, 2021

How To Pay For Your Auto Transport?

One thing that often confuses many people is how to pay car transport companies without any problems. These problems can be payment delays or not knowing how much to pay before and after the delivery. If you also want to know the best way to make payments without getting scammed, read this guide till the end.

Discounted Cash Payment:

This is the most popular and convenient type of payment method because it protects both the buyer (you) and the trucker. Here, you make partial payment upfront, and the remaining is made once the delivery is done. You can make the first half of the payment via credit card or bank transfer, and the remaining can be paid in physical cash.

Truckers are happy with this kind of payment because they’re paid upfront. Depending on the total length of the route, the fuel, accommodation, and dining costs go from truckers' pockets. Having half payment in hand can help them bear these expenses, and the remaining half can be their profit minus the fee of the broker.

However, it’s not necessary that you pay 50% in advance; some auto transport companies work with as low as 10% upfront payment too. But if you come across a company that asks for 50% and you know they’re good at what they do, paying that amount should not be an issue.

Payment After Delivery:

This is another method that’s rarely used and mostly by companies that are new in the industry. This was not really the case in the past, only discounted cash payment used to be the case, but with the increasing competition in the auto shipping industry, many service providers, mostly the new ones, are offering it.

With this type of payment scenario, you’ll sign a contract with the company stating the nature of payment and that you’ll have to make full payment after the delivery.

Types of Payment to Avoid:

The above two payment methods are the only ones you should work with. If a company asks you to do something else, it’s better to avoid them unless they’re very credible. For instance, Ship Car Across Country do not go for full upfront payment. If you do this; you’ll have no leverage over the auto transport company. They can delay the transport or, worse, forget about you after getting the money, something which scammers mostly do.

Another scenario to avoid is paying more than 50% upfront cash. The more you pay over 50%, the less leverage you’ll have over them. Companies asking for full or more than 50% upfront payment usually try to scam the customers somehow.

Top Payment Methods:

There is a myriad of payment methods you can choose from when paying the auto shipping company. Some of the most typical ones include:

• Credit or Debit card

• PayPal

• Check

• Physical cash

• Bank transfer

Keep in mind that making payment via a check can delay because it might take time to clear, and a majority of auto transport companies don’t move until the payment is cleared. Bank transfer can also cause a similar delay. Paying physically by going over to the nearby company office or via debit/credit card can solve this issue.

Parting Words:

You need to very careful about who and how much you pay. Scammers are in every industry that use shady tactics to lure people into their traps, get money out of their pockets, and disappear into thin air.

To avoid this issue altogether, only work with companies with excellent reviews over the internet and good BBB rating.