Auto Transport Broker Vs Auto Transport Carrier: What You Need to Know

If you are considering car shipping in Canada, you have probably come across the terms “Auto transport broker” and “Auto transport carrier.” Both are options available at your disposal whenever you need to ship your car, and the choice of either will depend on a number of factors. The fundamental thing is to understand the different between the two and know how they operate so that you will be better placed to make an informed decision when making your choice.

The Difference

Irrespective of whether you use an auto transport broker or an auto transport carrier, the basics will remain the same, in the sense that your vehicle will be shipped from destination A to B and you will have to pay for the car transport Canada services. But that’s generally where all the similarities end.

In the Canada car shipping service industry, an auto transport broker is a company that resells the services you outsource to them. For instance, the brokers will charge you a fee for shipping your car even though they are not the people who will do the actual shipping. They will in turn call several car shipping companies to sell your car shipping job to and when they find the right company, they will be out of the picture.

An auto transport carrier, on the other hand, will be tasked with the actual moving of your car from destination A to destination B. It is like going straight to a wholesaler and bypassing all the retailers when you need to buy your jewelry or furniture. You thus don’t have to deal with the middlemen in between.

Merits and demerits of using either brokers or carriers to take care of your auto shipping needs

Below is a brief look into the merits and demerits of using either carriers or brokers for your car shipping needs-:

Selection – brokers present the widest selection for car shipping. In most cases, they have a preapproved list of carriers they can give your job to or they will post your job online for a carrier to select. When working with a carrier directly, you will be responsible for all the arrangements and communications and this might take some time.

Fees and cancellation – Brokers search for carries at rates below what they charged you so that the markup becomes their profit. With brokers, you will pay a non-refundable deposit. Carriers on the other hand will collect their balance upon delivery of the vehicle and they will allow you to cancel the agreement anytime before pick up. Brokers don’t entertain cancellation and once you pay the deposit, you are bounded to them, unless you decide to forfeit the payment and work with another auto shipping company.

Guaranteed pick up – brokers don’t guarantee any pick up because they are not in direct control of the actual shipping. Auto transport carriers on the other hand can offer guaranteed pickups.

Door to door deliveries – carriers can arrange for door to door deliveries or you can arrange to meet the driver in a nearby landmark or shopping center for delivery. Brokers may not be able to arrange for door to door delivery because once they pass over your vehicle to the carrier, they get out of the picture and you hope that the vehicle arrives safely to the collection point.