Shipping one car and shipping a company's cars are two different jobs. A snowbird needs one vehicle moved in the fall and again in the spring. A dealership needs trade-ins, auction buys and sold units moving every month. A rental company needs its fleet put back in balance before the season turns. The truck is the same. The planning, the pricing and the relationship are not.
This is how Lopes Express Shipping works with businesses that move more than one car, and what we think any business should ask before handing its inventory to a transport company.
Who we work with
- Dealerships. Trade-ins, auction buys and sold units, picked up at the auction gate or the dealer lot and delivered to your receiving lot.
- Auction buyers. Units moved from the gate to the buyer, with the condition documented and signed at both ends.
- Rental companies. Units pile up in Florida in the spring and in New England in the fall. We move them back on timing we plan with you in advance.
- Vehicle resellers. You bought it out of state, or sold it to someone two states away. We pick up at the seller and deliver to the buyer.
- Small and mid-sized fleets. Tell us the count, the two ends and your timing, and we tell you what fits on the truck and what it costs.
Why full loads lower the cost per unit
A car carrier run has costs that barely change with the number of cars on the deck: one truck, one driver, one trip, and the fuel and tolls between the two ends. When a single car rides on that run, it carries its share of all of it. When the deck is full of your units, that same trip is split across every one of them.
That is the plain reason volume changes the price. A full load also means less handling, because the cars are loaded together and unloaded together, and better routing, because the pickups and drop-offs are planned as one run instead of fitted around other customers. You bring the volume. We build the run around it.
Carrier or broker: the first question to ask
For a business, the difference between a carrier and a broker shows up every month. A broker posts your units on a load board and waits for a truck to accept the price. Next month it may be a different truck and a different driver, and nobody on the phone has met either one. When a window moves, you are calling someone who is calling someone else.
Lopes Express Shipping Inc. is a licensed and insured motor carrier, USDOT 3013626, MC-30467. We own the trucks that run Florida to New England and employ the drivers, so the company you talk to is the company that moves your vehicles. You get one phone number and the same people every time, people who learn your lots, your contacts and your timing.
Whoever you work with, these are the questions worth asking before the first load:
- Whose truck will pick up my units, and who employs the driver?
- Who do I call when a pickup or delivery window moves, and will they call me first?
- How is the condition of each unit documented at pickup and at delivery, and who signs it?
- When do I pay, and is there a deposit to book?
- What will you not haul, so nothing surprises us at the gate?
How a business run works with us
- Tell us the volume. How many vehicles, the two ends and roughly when. A dealer lot, an auction gate, a rental branch or a driveway. Start on our business page or call the office and talk it through.
- We price the run. Our team prices it on your actual route, vehicles and timing, and comes back with a number built for your volume. That number is what goes on the Bill of Lading.
- Pickup and inspection. Each unit gets a digital Bill of Lading, with its condition documented and signed by our driver and your contact.
- Delivery and payment. Each unit is inspected again at delivery and the Bill of Lading is signed a second time. There is no deposit to book, for one unit or for ten. You pay as each unit is delivered.
- The next run. If the work is recurring, we plan the next batch before the first one is delivered, so your inventory keeps moving without you chasing anybody.
Where we run
Our trucks run the I-95 corridor between Florida and New England in both directions, all season. That is our main lane and the one we know best. We also handle other routes in the continental U.S. when our trucks and schedule allow, and those full-load runs are scheduled with you in advance.
What we haul
We carry operable cars, pickups and SUVs on open car carriers. Every unit has to start, steer and brake, because it is driven onto the deck under its own power. That matters most with auction buys. If a unit in the batch does not run, it is not a fit for our trucks, and it is better for both of us to know that when we price the run than at the gate.
Pickup and delivery are door to door wherever a full-size car hauler can legally and safely get in. For most dealer lots and rental branches that is simple. Where it is not, we agree on a nearby spot ahead of time.
Plan around our busy seasons
Our road has two peaks. Southbound runs heavy in October and November and northbound in April and May, when snowbirds move their cars between New England and Florida. In those weeks the decks run full. Business runs are easiest to build with lead time, and the earlier we know your volume and your dates, the better the run fits your operation.
For rental companies, the fleet imbalance follows the same calendar, which means repositioning can be planned well before it is needed.
Ready to talk about your next load? Visit our business page, or call the office at (941) 205-0012, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM ET. A person from our team comes back with a plan and a price.