Question Index

1.)

Who actually transports my vehicle?

When you use Midwest Exotic Transport, the particular carrier that ships your vehicle will be a licensed and insured company, with valid cargo insurance ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 , liability insurance of no less than 1 million, and a valid MC and DOT number registered with the FMCSA. These requirements ensure that only professional trucking outfits will be selected to haul your auto. If upon receiving the dispatch info on who has been dispatched to ship your auto, you feel that the outfit is not up to your standards, you can elect to decline the transport and wait for a different carrier to submit an offer to transport your auto. You can find more information on carriers at FMCSA.gov. We also encourage you to check out the multiplicity of review sites on the web as well as the BBB.

2.)

Does it cost more to ship a larger vehicle?

In Short, the answer is yes. However a typical crossover SUV, or even midsize SUV really does not have much upward effect on pricing. Examples of vehicles that will require a higher premium would be:

Ford F-150's
Chevrolet Silverado 1500's
Dodge Ram 1500's
Mercedes Sprinter Vans
Ford Transit Vans
Chevrolet Tahoe's
Dually Pickup Trucks
Utility Trucks
Lifted Jeeps

On average you can expect to pay up to 25% more to ship a vehicle of this size. The reason of course is that larger vehicles often take up the space of 2 smaller vehicles on a trailer, or are too tall or too long to fit on a traditional 9 or 10 car hauler. They also add significantly more weight, which reduces the capacity of the truck. They also require more care and attention when loading due to their larger size.

3.)

Is my car insured while in transport?

All Carriers that are selected for use on the MWE platform have been verified to have valid and active insurance policies in place, and registered with the FMCSA. Most carriers that haul autos for commercial use are required to have a minimum of 1 million in liability coverage. All carriers on our particular platform must have a minimum of 100 thousand in cargo coverage as well. We are happy to provide those specific documents to you after dispatching a vehicle for shipment, as they will be critical if there were to be any incident during transport. We encourage all users of our platform to due their due diligence on each carrier that is dispatched to pick up their auto. You can also visit FMCSA.gov to view safety records and current insurance documents on any particular carrier.

4.)

I have had my car listed with another broker, but it hasn't been picked up, what's the problem?

The reason the broker cannot get your order dispatched is usually due to a few common reasons:

1.) They have quoted you a price that is simply too low, and no carriers are willing to transport the auto for said price. Furthermore, these low quotes are often a way for a cash-strapped broker to generate cash flow without performing any service. Although they themselves know that the low price they have quoted you will not move your auto, they do so anyway to con you into going with their company, and paying up front with your credit card. Once payment is made, the broker has locked you into doing business with them, regardless as to how poor the service might turn out to be. The cash generated on your charge, is then used to pay old debts owed to trucking companies that they otherwise did not have the funds to pay.

2.) Sometimes the broker will quote you a price of say $1000, but then list the car on a carrier load board for $600. The purpose of course is to make maximum profit on your load. Even though your willing to pay $1000, the broker is only interested in generating cash flow for their own firm, they have no real motivation in actually shipping your auto quickly or efficiently. If they had posted the load for $1000, as you had offered to pay, the load would undoubtedly get picked up much, much quicker by carriers. Furthermore higher prices attract better outfits to haul your load, while lower prices attract carriers with less experience and inferior equipment.

3.) The broker has a poor reputation on Central Dispatch or other major carrier load boards. A poor reputation with carriers will most definitley slow down your order. Carriers want vehicles to be as-described, and want to be payed promptly. Brokers with poor reputations are often posting loads that they don't have contracts on, or posting loads incorrectly, or finally may have a reputation of simply not paying drivers. All of those factors will play a part in slowing down a transport request.

4.) COD. Many if not all brokers online love their cash flow. They love to float on your money, and the trucking companies efforts. In fact studies have shown that as many as 10% of all loads go unpaid to trucks. Trucker's are well aware of this fact, and more experienced outfits simply won't haul a load unless the company has a stellar reputation or the load is listed as COD. What is COD? COD simply means cash or certified funds on delivery. In this way the trucking company knows they will be paid by the owner of the vehicle on delivery, and don't have to jump through multiple hoops with brokers to be paid on work they have already accomplished. Listing a load as COD significantly increases the speed and time frame that a load is picked up, which is why ALL MWE loads are COD orders.

5.)

What is the purpose of an auto broker?

Brokers are used to facilitate the transport of goods across the United States and beyond. Although they do occasionally serve a purpose in business to business transactions, we find their purpose to be totally unnecessary in the retail space. The only thing a consumer wants or needs whether they realize it or not, is a platform to deal with carriers as directly as possible.

6.)

Where can I find more information about a particular trucking or carrier company?

Simply go to http://FMCSA.dot.gov and search the company by name. You can view their safety record, print out insurance documents, and verify that their DOT and MC numbers are valid. You can also check the length of time the company has been in business, and how many DOT violations they have incurred in the last 12 months. We can also do this for you if you contact us.

7.)

What happens if my vehicle is damaged while in transport?

In the unfortunate event that a vehicle is damaged while in transport, we encourage consumers to work directly with the trucking company to have the matter resolved quickly. Many Trucking companies would prefer to keep the incident off of their insurance record, and are usually more than willing to make it right. However if the incident is too large or extensive to be dealt with in such a way, a claim would need to be filed against the carriers cargo insurance policy. You can contact us to help retrieve those documents for you, or you can also visit http://FMCSA.gov to print and view current insurance documents for that carrier.

Don't be fooled by brokers who claim they will insure your vehicle, that is not the case whatsoever. The Broker has zero cargo coverage liability as it relates to your auto, and has little concern as to if it is actually damaged, stolen, or even vandalized. The trucking company is taking on 100% of the risk, and is the policy holder of all cargo policies that would come into action in the event of an accident.

8.)

How long does it take for my vehicle to be transported?

The length of time to receive your vehicle can be influenced by a few different variables. Some of the most common ones include:

Multiple drops and pick ups along a carriers route.
You live in a rural area that is far off the major highways.
ELD government mandated logbook hours that restrict drivers driving hours.
Weather delays
Traffic delay's or road closures. Believe it or not it is not uncommon for the highway patrol to shut entire stretches of interstate down for several hours.
Truck or trailer repairs
Distance that the vehicle is being transported.
Other unforeseen circumstances in a driver's life, such as an illness or a death in a family.
Trucker's are human too, they may have taken a day or two off during a lengthy cross country transport! Such is the norm. If you are needing a vehicle on an exact time or date, you need to make that crystal clear when first speaking with the trucking company or driver.

9.)

Why is it taking so long to get my vehicle picked up for transport?

While there are several possible explanations, usually it simply boils down to price. If you set a price too far below our guidance price, the vehicle may take significantly longer to ship. If this is not the case, please contact us by email and we will recommend an adjustment if needed.

10.)

What are the realistic expectations for shipping my car?

Setting realistic expectations is essential for walking away a happy camper. You can't expect to pay a very low price, and have a trucking company be very interested in your transport request, especially if you are requesting several demands; such as time constraints, location difficulties, severe weather in you area, shipments around holidays, and so forth. You have to understand that drivers are driving all over the country and have a difficult time nailing down exact days and times. The easier you make it on them and the more accommodating you are, chances are that your auto will be shipped faster and at a lower rate.