Two car transport quotes, two prices: how to compare them properly
· 6 min read
You have two quotes for the same car transport, and the prices differ. The useful question is not “which is cheaper” but “do these two quotes describe the same service”. Here are the points to put side by side, in the order in which they most often change the answer.
First, compare what can be compared
Two quotes can only be compared if they start from the same information: exact collection and delivery addresses, the exact model, whether it runs, collection dates or window. A quote worked out for “a car” and another for a tall SUV do not measure the same thing.
Check the nature of the price too: firm price or estimate, excluding or including VAT. Between businesses, prices are most often quoted excluding VAT; the gap between a net and a gross price has nothing to do with the carrier.
Who carries, and who signs
Ask who will actually perform the transport and who signs the CMR consignment note. A contractual carrier answers for the performance of the transport: the CMR makes it liable for the acts of anyone it uses, including a partner who drives in its place. A broker makes the introduction, then passes the transport to a third party; you then have two parties instead of one, and the transport contract slips away from you.
That is not a judgement on price: a broker can be cheaper on a given day. It is a question of who answers you when something happens. Ask it in writing, and compare the answers: carrier or broker, what it changes.
What the price includes — or does not
Make a simple list and put the same questions to both. Collection and delivery at the address, or at an exchange point? Tolls and fuel included? Insurance: what liability, what cap, and is cover by value possible? Charges for waiting, date changes, cancellation? When and how is it paid?
A low price that leaves out one of these items is not a lower price: it is an incomplete one. Conversely, a higher price may include everything. The simplest way is to ask each to confirm in writing what its price covers.
Why two honest prices can differ
A truck is paid by the trip, return included. The price per vehicle depends on the direction of the route, on how many vehicles share the trip, on their size and on how flexible your dates are: two carriers that do not have the same trip at the same moment will not quote the same price, without either being wrong.
That is also why no per-kilometre price holds for every route. We detail these levers in our article how much does car transport cost? What drives the price.
Two transit times not to confuse
When a quote says “2 days”, does it mean driving time, or the time between collection and delivery? They are not the same duration. With us: on average 3 to 4 days between quote confirmation and loading; then, on the road, 1 to 2 working days on the short northern corridors (Germany, France, Benelux) and 2 to 3 towards Italy, Spain and Portugal.
The end-to-end time, from collection to delivery, includes building the load: it is specific to each corridor, and stated on our corridor pages. All these times are indicative, confirmed on the quote, never guaranteed. If a quote promises a fixed time without saying which one, ask it which.
How we answer
Our planning counts 47 trucks with our certified partners. HTL remains, in every case, the contractual carrier: liable under the CMR for every consignment, including those a partner drives, with one contact from quote to delivery. Five of these trucks are car carriers of our own, which we have run since 2014. Describe your route, your models and your dates in our request form: a reply within 2 working hours, firm price confirmed after checking addresses and date, with no commitment.
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