How to Research an Auto Transport Company

Published Oct 2, 20262 min read

Research is a sequence. If you start with advertisements, you will finish confused. If you start with the federal record, the ads get easier to ignore.

Step by step

Search the company name and USDOT number on the FMCSA SAFER site. Confirm the authority is broker, carrier, or both, and that it is not inactive. Bigfella’s broker record is USDOT 4133743, MC-1583439. A link to that snapshot is in the site footer.

Read the contract or booking terms for when money is charged, what cancellation costs, and who the carrier will be. On Bigfella bookings, $0 is charged today, you approve the carrier before the charge, cancellation is free before a carrier is assigned, and a customer-controlled cancellation after assignment is $250. Confirm the current wording on pricing rather than relying on a summary.

Ask whose cargo policy applies. It should be the carrier assigned to your car. The site’s published line is $150,000+ as shown on that carrier’s certificate. Ask to see the certificate for your shipment. More detail is on carrier insurance.

Then read reviews if you want. Treat unnamed horror stories and unnamed five-star bursts as weak evidence. A pattern of “they took a deposit and no truck came” is a process question you can test against the contract.

Sources worth using

The short list of official and practical references is where to verify a shipment. How this brokerage checks carriers before dispatch is carrier vetting.

A company that fails the sequence

If you cannot find an authority record, if the quote requires payment before any carrier conversation, or if the paperwork says you waive the right to note damage, stop. Compare that with how to choose and, if you want a quote from this site, Get A Quote.

Questions people ask

Is the BBB a substitute for SAFER?

No. A complaint board can be useful color. Operating authority is federal. Check SAFER first.

Can I research the carrier before I book the broker?

You can research the broker immediately. The carrier is often assigned after booking, which is why approval before the charge matters. When the carrier is named, look that company up too.

What if two sites use a similar name?

Match the USDOT number, not the logo. Similar names are a known confusion. The number is the record.