Plan to book early and ship during a less busy time of year
Skip the extras
Conclusion
Plan to book early and ship during a less busy time of the year
Whether or not you are shipping a vehicle to or from Hawaii, it tends to be one of the pricier vehicle shipments within the United States. This is simply because one of the most important factors in the determination of a price for a particular car shipment is the distance. With vehicle shipments to or from Hawaii starting at a minimum of over two thousand miles due to its distance from the continental United States, you can see why it will cost a bit more.
So, you are likely wondering what you can do to save money when you are shipping a car to or from Hawaii. Thankfully, there are several simple things you can do or select during the booking of your shipment in order to keep the cost of your Hawaiian car shipment as low as possible.
How well you plan your car’s transportation can definitely play a big role in saving you money on the overall price. If you are in a position where you can choose anytime in the next year to schedule your Hawaiian car shipment, you should choose to ship during the fall or winter. Although these seasons do not make much of a difference for Hawaii itself, the time of year will have a big impact on the overall cost of your car shipment.
In the continental United States, auto transporters are much less busy in the fall, before the holiday season, and in the dead of winter. So, to be more exact, the end of January through all of February, along with the end of September through all of October will be the periods during the year that car shippers are doing their least amount of business. When a car shipping company, or any business for that matter, has very low demand for its services they tend to lower prices as much as possible in order to facilitate the biggest influx of new business. Thus, if you ship your car to or from Hawaii during the fall or the middle of the winter, you will likely save some money as opposed to if you shipped during the summer.
Whether or not you have the flexibility to choose which time of year during which to ship a vehicle to or from Hawaii, you should definitely consider booking your shipment with at least a month’s notice. If you can, book your shipment six or eight weeks in advance. This is because when you book a shipment early, there is no rush to find a carrier. It is also partially because when you book a shipment late, space is as limited as it can get without being completely sold out. Thus, price increases because the supplier (your auto transporter) knows someone will definitely be willing to pay almost any price for the last spot or two on the carrier. Hence, you should never wait until the last minute too book your shipment.
Skip the extras
As we mentioned, the specific decisions you make and options you choose regarding your Hawaiian car shipment will make a big difference in the final price of shipping a vehicle to one of the islands. There are several “upgraded” or additional options that you can choose to use when you are booking a shipment. We suggest avoiding any upgrades to your vehicle transportation if your primary concern is saving money.
Several common upgraded or additional car shipping services are:
- Enclosed auto transport – Enclosed car shipping is when your vehicle is shipped on a special car carrier that has walls and a roof which will protect it from outside elements while it ships on the ground. This will typically add at least a couple hundred dollars to the overall price of shipping a car.
- Top-loading – Top-loading is when you choose to have your car placed on the top deck of an auto carrier. This offers a bit of extra protection for your car from vehicles above it leaking any fluids on it which is extremely rare. This will usually add about an additional hundred dollars to the cost of your shipment.
- Shipping additional items within your vehicle – Some auto transport companies will allow their customers to ship additional items or luggage in their car for an additional fee. On top of costing extra, doing this will put you in a position where these other items will not be covered by insurance if they happen to get damaged in transit.
It will definitely keep your overall cost of shipping a car either to or from Hawaii low if you choose to forego all of these additional upgrades.
Conclusion
As far as car shipments that have an origin and destination both in the US, shipping a vehicle to Hawaii or away from Hawaii is about as far as it gets. Thus, you might want to try to save some money on that shipment if at all possible. If you simply ship during a less hectic period for your car shipper, give at least a month’s notice of your shipment, and avoid selecting any upgraded shipping options you will be able to keep your Hawaiian auto transport cost at a minimum.
