Photo by jae park: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-luxury-car-in-showroom-4141962/
If you have never needed to ship a car before, you’ve probably never given much thought to the costs involved in this process. In most instances, you can simply drive the vehicle where it needs to go. However, that is not always practical. For a variety of reasons, cars cannot always be driven to their destination. There are several factors that contribute to the cost of car shipping, and size is one of them.
When Would You Need To Ship A Car?
First of all, there are no roads over the ocean. Thus, when shipping a car overseas, there is really no other option. However, we are going to focus most of our discussion on land transport, since that is far more common.
Automobile dealerships will often have a need to ship vehicles, as it would be too time-consuming and inconvenient to drive every vehicle to the lot. By the time you pay for all that gasoline and add the cost of labor (since someone will have to drive each one), bulk shipping is actually a lot cheaper.
Finally, a lot of people choose to ship antique cars, luxury cars, and other high-end vehicles. In many cases, people want to minimize the mileage and wear on cars like these. In other cases, they might simply be unwilling to trust anyone to drive those vehicles over a long distance. Besides, people who can afford those sorts of cars can probably afford the car shipping cost as well.
How Size Contributes To The Cost Of Shipping A Car
When you ship a bigger vehicle, it is always going to cost more. Estimates vary as to the exact cost difference, mainly because the price will vary from one transport company to another. The vast majority of vehicles can be placed in one of three size categories: Car, SUV, and truck. Obviously, there is no need to explain the difference between these things.
The price of shipping a car will go up by about $150 for each increase in size. However, we need a more direct source than that. So, instead, let’s look at some numbers from a reputable shipping company. This source is a little more optimistic, giving a difference of $90-$120 between the three standard sizes.
Why Size Contributes To The Cost Of Shipping A Car
The first reason is very simple: Space. A larger vehicle takes up more space, whether it is hauled with a truck, shipped on a boat, or anything else. From a shipping company’s perspective, this means they cannot ship as many vehicles per shipment. Thus, they have to charge a little more to make up the difference.
The next reason is also very simple: Fuel. A vehicle will always consume more fuel when it is carrying more weight, and larger vehicles weigh more. According to these numbers from the US government, gas mileage is decreased by about 1% for every 100 pounds that the vehicle is carrying. That may not sound like much, but it can add up quickly.
At that rate, the weight of the driver alone will decrease mileage by about 2%. So, let’s think about the added weight of a car or truck. The average weight of a car is roughly 4,156 pounds. 4,156 divided by 100 equals 41.56. That means the weight of a car will decrease the vehicle’s gas mileage by about 41.5%.
Other Factors
There are other factors that can also contribute to the cost of shipping a car. We aren’t really focusing on those, but they should at least be mentioned. Other factors that can influence vehicle shipping include:
- Distance to be shipped (longer distances cost more)
- The destination (rural destinations cost more)
- The Proportions of the vehicle (non-standard proportions cost more)
- Ground clearance (cars with less ground clearance cost more)
- Weather and seasonal factors (bad conditions increase cost)
- Type of delivery vehicle used (closed-off vehicles cost more)
- Condition of the vehicle (non-functioning vehicles cost more)
- Shipping insurance (some plans cost more than others)
Conclusion
As you can see, there are quite a few things that can influence the cost of shipping a car. However, size is definitely one of the bigger factors, so it should always be taken into account. We hope this article has been helpful and that it has answered all your questions.