A Comparison Between Open Car Shipping and Enclosed Car Shipping

Which option is ideal for your needs when making a reservation with a car shipping company? You will probably have the opportunity to choose between enclosed or covered and open car shipment.

Any top car transportation companies like Ship A Car, Inc. may employ both enclosed and open carriers. However, unless you are shipping a highly expensive vehicle or a vehicle with little ground clearance, enclosed transport is typically not necessary.

Your car will be safer in an enclosed carrier than in an open one because it won’t be exposed to the weather while being transported, but at a cost that is around 40% more expensive.

Only 10% of passengers travel in covered vehicles. If you are shipping a car with low ground clearance or any one of following type of vehicles, the added expense can be justified:

  • Antique vehicles
  • Classic vehicles
  • Custom vehicles
  • Exotic vehicles
  • Luxury vehicles

So let us look at the pros and cons of both open and enclosed car shipping options in this post.

Open car shipping

Pros:

  1. Faster and more affordable

This option is always more affordable comparatively and you can expect faster delivery of your vehicles.

  1. More open options available

Most car shipping company will offer this as a default option and therefore, you will find no difficulty in sending your car with this option.

  1. You can choose your preferred shipping date

Since, more availability is present in open car shipping option and hence you have more flexibility to choose the preferred date of shipping your car.

Cons:

  1. No protection against bad weather

Your expensive car will remain exposed to open weather (dust, debris, snow or rainwater) while it is on the move.

  1. Less security for expensive cars

The security of your car will surely be less as compared to enclosed shipping option.

Enclosed car shipping

Pros:

  1. Better protection

In this option, your vehicle will remain well-covered throughout the shipping and hence will remain well-protected against bad weather or theft.

  1. Better security

This option will offer much better security against theft to your expensive car and you will receive it almost same condition as you delivered.

  1. Suitable for high-end cars

If you have any expensive car then this is the best option available for you.

Cons:

  1. More expensive

As you will get an additional protection and security hence you also have to pay a little higher cost to ship your car. If you are shipping multiple number of cars then this option will be pretty expensive for you.

  1. Limited availability

Only very few clients opt for this option, hence a few reputed car shipping companies offer this option.

  1. Longer delivery time

As mentioned above, only few people demand this option and therefore the shipping company will wait for more customers till the trailer is full. Therefore, you may have to wait for a much longer time to receive your car at the destination.

Having read the pros and cons of both the options, you can now take an informed decision while shipping your car.