Door-to-Door Transport Versus Dropping Your Mercedes Car Off at the Port or Shipping Hub
Giancarlo Perlas July 16, 2019
Should you personally drive your Mercedes-Benz car to a shipping hub or opt for door-to-door transport? Both provide an ensuring way for you to move your auto from point A to B but obviously, door-to-door auto transport offers more benefits than the other.
Door-to-door auto transport
One of the most convenient things about shipping your Mercedes in 2019 is the overall availability for car haulers to provide door-to-door auto transport. This allows your driver to pick-up your Benz at your house or at an extremely close by location, then drop the car off at your destination home or somewhere close-by. This is much easier than driving your car to the port or shipping hub. It will save you a ton of time and effort. You will likely also save money in the process too. You won’t need to find a way back from the shipping hub which is often over a hundred miles away. This way you can save money on the train or plane ticket back home. The time you save with door-to-door shipping is likely the biggest thing you should consider. You will likely lose most of, if not a full day due to this. That is a day you could have been working, spending with family, etc. With door-to-door shipping, all you will need to worry about is getting your car ready to be picked up and making sure that you have the proper documentation ready.
Dropping your car off at the port or shipping hub
Dropping your car off at the shipping hub or port will help you save money on the direct cost of shipping a car. However, you do need to consider that you will likely lose that money and possibly even more than that amount on the cost of the trip back home. Whether it is a flight or long-distance train ride, you will come close to breaking even. That’s after you spent hours driving your car to the port or hub. In most cases, it doesn’t really make much sense to drive your car to the hub or port unless you are located very close by.
Either way, you will need to get your car ready to ship
- Get the outside of your car cleaned – It is important to have the exterior of your car cleaned because whether you are getting your car picked up or you are driving it to the shipping hub or port, your car will be inspected for existing damage. The inspection, which you need to be present for, will take some time to finish.
- Make sure that you have all your documentation prepared – It is important that you have your license, registration, insurance and title ready and with you when your driver arrives to pick up your vehicle. Depending on the company and whether or not you own your car, you MIGHT not need all of these. However, it’s best to have all of them just in case.
- Be sure that you have no more than a ¼ full gas tank – It is a fire hazard to have any more gas than necessary. That’s why you cannot have a full tank of gas when your car ships. You do need SOME gas so that the driver can drive the car on and off the carrier. That’s where the quarter tank amount was determined, a minimum amount that is still enough to operate the car.
- Take your personal stuff out of the vehicle – Your personal items, unfortunately, won’t be covered by the shipping insurance. If they are damaged or lost during transport, you will be completely responsible for the cost.
Conclusion
If you have the choice to choose door-to-door shipping, we recommend that you do. It will help save you time and frustration. You also won’t end up saving that much, if anything, by driving to a shipping hub yourself.
