How to Vet a Vehicle Transport Company
The questions that reveal whether you are talking to a carrier or a broker, and the red flags worth walking away from.
Most complaints about vehicle transport in Australia trace back to the same thing: the company that took the booking was never going to move the vehicle. Here is how to tell before you pay anyone.
The question that settles it
“Do you own the truck my car will travel on, and can you give me a departure date today?”
A carrier answers both immediately. A broker will explain that they work with a network of vetted carriers, that dates depend on availability, and that they will confirm once allocated. That is not a lie. It is a description of the broker model. But you now know which one you are dealing with, and you can price the risk accordingly.
Questions worth asking
- Do you own the trucks? The single most informative question.
- Are your drivers employed or subcontracted?
- What is the sum insured, and can I see a certificate of currency?
- Is the quote fixed or an estimate? Ask directly, and ask what happens if it changes.
- Do you provide a photographed condition report at both ends?
- What deposit do you require?
- What is your ABN? Then check it on ABN Lookup: free, thirty seconds, and it tells you how long they have been trading under that entity.
Red flags
| Sign | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Large upfront deposit | Cash flow is doing work it should not have to. Be cautious. |
| Quote well below every other quote | Frequently an estimate that gets revisited once your vehicle is committed. |
| No condition report offered | Nobody is establishing what condition the vehicle left in. This will be your problem, not theirs. |
| Cannot name a departure date | The job is going on a load board. |
| No physical address anywhere on the site | No depot, and possibly no trucks. |
| Reviews mentioning long depot delays | The single most predictive review pattern in this industry. Read the one and two-star reviews first. |
Reading reviews properly
Sort by lowest first and look for patterns rather than incidents. Every transport company has an unhappy customer. What matters is whether the same complaint recurs: “sat in a depot for weeks”, “price went up after collection”, “could not get anyone on the phone”. Three of the same story is a business model, not bad luck.
Also be suspicious of a wall of five-star reviews with no substance. A company trading for years with nothing but perfection is curating.
Find out what your move actually costs.
Send us the route and the vehicle. We come back with a fixed price and a real departure date, held for 30 days.
Straight through to us
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+61 489 989 099 Mon–Fri, 7:00am–6:00pm AEST
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WhatsApp Same number, quickest reply
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bookings@intercityvehicletransport.com Replied to same business day
