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Using a Car Shipping Calculator – Should You Ship Your Car or Drive?

October 2, 2018

Whether you bought a car online at eBay motors, Classic Cars, or Hemmings, there are many things to take in consideration when it comes to getting that dream car home to you. A Car Shipping Calculator can be a very useful tool when figuring out the cost of shipping your car versus driving it.  Most people my find our website (www.diytransport.com) online through google or through a quote form on another website. When they get a quote from our Car Shipping Calculator, they sometimes think, “Wow, it has to be cheaper to drive it…” But is it really? Let’s look at…

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Special car? Consider enclosed shipping

May 11, 2018

  We’ve all seen those semi tractor-trailer rigs hauling a trailer full of cars down the highway. When the carrier is loaded with all the same brand of new cars, you can correctly assume they’re being moved from one dealership to another. So what do you think when you’re all driving through a windy area when tree branches are being blown about like leaves, or hail peppers the surface of hoods and roofs on every car on the road? Right: you wonder what condition those cars will be in when they hit the showroom floor.  A little pre-showing body shop…

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What determines the cost of shipping? Mostly, it’s the cost of fuel.

May 9, 2018

  Are you surprised at the amount you’ve been quoted to ship your car?  It’s not, as you might think, that the carrier is holding you up. Blame the fuel pump. Fuel is the largest single fixed cost in the vehicle shipping business, so it stands to reason that when fuel prices go up, so does the cost of shipping.  Most auto transport vehicles get from 5 to 7 miles per gallon of fuel, so figure it out: a look at the Statista.com website shows us that the price of diesel fuel in March 2017 was $2.55 per gallon, so…

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What are Auto Transport Lead Providers, and how do they work?

May 4, 2018

Have you noticed? When you’re browsing the Internet for an auto transport company, it’s not always easy to know which sites actually want to ship your car and which are simply gathering your name to pass on to a whole group of brokers – who, in turn, have the actual connections to get your vehicle shipped! This latter group is known as the auto transport lead providers: they often disguise themselves as real car transport companies, ask for your personal information such as name, phone number, and email address and the details of the auto transport shipment, and then turn…

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Shipping from the South? It’ll take longer this year

May 2, 2018

  It’s been a long winter in the northern states, so wary snowbirds have stayed in the South longer than usual.  When once they would hit the road for home right after Easter, this year many are waiting at least another month in order to avoid the unseasonable cold that’s gripped their home states. As snowbirds in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and other southern and western states start – ever so reluctantly! – their migration north, you can watch auto shipping prices creep upward at the same rate. The reason is simple: more people vying for less space on carriers. Get…

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Dead battery? Jumpstart it!

April 27, 2018

  Of course it’s going to happen in the pre-dawn darkness, on a winter’s day when you’re late for work: you grind the starter button, but all you get in return are a few faint clicks, or not even that.  But never fear, with the aid of a neighbor’s – or your spouse’s – car and a set of jumper cables, you can jumpstart that dead battery and be on your way in minutes. Even if you’ve never done it before, you can jumpstart a battery.  Just be careful to remember that if either vehicle has an electronic ignition system…

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Great idea: clean your car before (or after) you move it!

April 25, 2018

  So, your car is getting ready to go on a transport carrier—or it’s just come off one. Either way, you’re going to want to clean it. Whether day-to-day driving has put it in a state of griminess that you don’t want to see transported, or open-car transport has exposed it to dust and wind, you’ve decided to spiff it up. Here are a few tips on the easiest ways to do that, using mix-it-yourself formulas. If you’re especially interested in living a chemical-free life, there are several nontoxic products you can substitute for the “household cleaner” in our recipes.…

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Maintaining your car: How often should you change the oil?

April 20, 2018

If there’s one thing to remember about changing the oil in your car, it’s this: This is not your father’s Oldsmobile. We’ve all had the 3,000-mile oil change drilled into our heads by dads and mechanics. But cars – and oil – have changed. According to the car site Edmunds.com, oil chemistry and engine technology have improved to the point that most cars can go several thousand more miles than that before changing the oil. In fact, says Edmunds, a better average would be 7,500 miles between changes, and sometimes up to 10,000 miles or more! And the California Integrated…

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Moving more than just your car? Plan ahead!

April 18, 2018

  Got a new job? Retiring? There are a lot of reasons to relocate, and pulling up roots can be exciting. Or it can be traumatizing.  How you approach it can make all the difference.   You’ve already decided to have your autos shipped to your new location; good for you. Now you need to find a place to live. House hunting can be especially stressful if it’s done long-distance.  It will help if you take an organized approach: work with a professional real estate agency that will work for your interests, and work within a pre-established budget.  We can’t…

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They said they’d be here today!

April 13, 2018

You’ve cleared the decks for today – took off work, cleared the driveway to make it easier, tried to keep in regular contact with the driver.  So where’s your vehicle?   Very likely, held up by an unforeseen flood a hundred miles away.  Or stalled in traffic because of a horrendous accident ahead.  That’s why DIY Transport and other auto transport and car shipping companies are rarely able to provide specific pick-up and delivery times.   Unforeseen problems such as traffic or breakdowns can cause potential delays. There’s no one to blame, so patience and preparation are essential and will…

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