When most of us think about selling a car, we probably consider it to be limited to local customers.  After all, no one really wants to get hop into a car that they’re selling for a long road trip just to have to trek back in a rental or on a plane, right?  Thankfully, there are other options for those of us who are in the San Francisco area (or if we’re selling to someone who lives there).

Today, we’d like to cover that other option: car transport to San Francisco, and all of the intricacies involved in the process.  Thankfully, even if it seems intimidating or difficult at first, once you’ve got the hang of things it’s a lot simpler.  In fact, there are folks who make a living refurbishing and reselling vehicles, and they utilize shipping companies to give them access to a much larger customer base.

Why Use it for Selling Cars?

Now, at first it might seem strange to focus on a somewhat niche use for these services.  After all, the main reason that folks decide to ship their car is that they’re moving across several states and don’t want to drive themselves.  The cost of road trips just makes it not worth it, especially these days.

For some more information on that, you can check out this page: https://traveloutlandish.com/blog/national-park-road-trip-costs/.  Moving on, though, we circle back to the first point we made today – we usually think of car selling as something to do locally.

Obviously, this limits who can buy our vehicles.  Eventually, if we are trying to make a business out of this sort of thing, we’ll need to expand selling in more parts of the country.  Sure, San Francisco is a huge place, but the number of people is still relatively finite.  Therefore, expansion is the natural progression.

How it Works

With the “why” covered, we can turn our attention to the “how.”  Something to think about before you get started is the percentage of shipping costs that you’ll charge your customers versus what percentage you plan to cover.  Estimates of those expenses are usually found on the websites of shipping companies, so you can search around to find the most affordable option before you make that decision.

Keep in mind that the weight of the car and how far it’ll be transported will both have an impact on the price, so factor that into your decision as well.  You can certainly opt to charge on a case-by-case basis if that’s preferable for you.

Next, pick the shipping company you plan to work with.  If you’re planning on a long-term arrangement rather than a one-off deal, it may be worth mentioning this when you’re making the initial plans with them.  Blogs such as this might offer some further pointers on how to go about that if you’re curious.

From there, it should be fairly simple to initiate the process.  Give the shipping company the details of where you need the car transported to, relay that a different person will be picking it up and follow any instructions or requests that follow.  For instance, they could ask for some documentation about you or the customer such as photo IDs, or they might want paperwork for the car itself.

Work with both the company and the buyer for the car to see if a closed container or an open container will be more convenient.  Since the closed ones cost more, that’s probably something to leave up to whomever is receiving the vehicle at the end of the transaction.  Either way, though, those are the sorts of details you’ll want to think about.

Should We Use Car Shipping?  Is it Worth it?

One final thing to consider is whether or not it’s worth it to use a shipping company for a venture like this.  Now, if you’re taking on the bulk of the costs, it may start to add up after a while.  However, since it opens your potential buyer pool significantly, there’s also a good chance that it’s worth it based on that alone.

At the end of the day, it’s something we each have to think about individually to decide whether or not we want to use these services.  For some, it will be a no-brainer.  For others, it may be less costly to find a buyer locally.

Remember, too, that there are plenty of other reasons you could transport an automobile.  Moving is a big one, as we mentioned earlier.  However, it can also be used for long business trips or anything of the like.  If you don’t want to rent a car and you’re travelling to or from San Francisco, or if you’re trying to sell cars, this might be a solid option for you.