Resource
Auto Transport Glossary
The vocabulary a dispatcher uses, translated. If a company uses one of these words at you instead of explaining it, ask them to define it.
Call 239-273-4649- Bill of Lading (BOL)
- The inspection report and contract of carriage in one document. Signed at pickup and again at delivery. Damage not noted on it at delivery is very hard to claim afterward.
- Broker
- A federally licensed intermediary who arranges transport with motor carriers. A broker does not own trucks. Ours is USDOT #2273104, MC #774106, with a $75,000 surety bond.
- Carrier
- The motor carrier that physically hauls the vehicle, owns the truck and holds the cargo insurance policy that claims are filed against.
- Cargo liability
- The carrier's insurance covering the vehicles on the trailer. Typically $250,000 on open equipment and $1,000,000 on enclosed.
- COI (Certificate of Insurance)
- Proof of the carrier's active cargo and liability coverage. Request it before dispatch; a refusal to provide one is a red flag.
- Deposit / broker fee
- The upfront amount that pays the broker for sourcing and negotiating. It is not the carrier's pay, which is due at delivery.
- Dispatch
- The moment a specific carrier accepts your load at an agreed rate and date range. Before dispatch you have a quote; after dispatch you have a truck.
- Door-to-door
- Pickup and delivery at your address, or the closest legal and safe point a 75–80 foot truck can reach. In Naples that frequently means a nearby plaza or clubhouse lot.
- Enclosed transport
- A hard-sided trailer, usually with soft-tie wheel straps and a lift gate. Standard for collector, exotic and low-clearance vehicles.
- Expedited / Rush Dispatch
- A rate premium that buys the top of the carrier board — pickup within 48 hours of booking for $500, where available.
- FMCSA
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The federal regulator whose SAFER system lets you verify any MC or USDOT number in about thirty seconds.
- Inoperable
- A vehicle that does not start. Priced by whether it still rolls, brakes and steers; requires winch, wheel-lift or rollback equipment.
- Lift gate
- A hydraulic platform that raises a car onto an enclosed trailer at nearly zero approach angle. The reason low cars can load at all.
- Load board
- The national marketplace where brokers post loads and carriers accept them. Your price is set by what a truck already heading that way will accept.
- MC number
- Motor Carrier operating authority number issued by the FMCSA. Ours is MC #774106.
- Open transport
- The standard multi-car steel trailer. Cheapest, fastest to dispatch, exposed to weather the same way driving is.
- Pickup window
- The date range within which the carrier will collect the vehicle. Standard ASAP booking uses a minimum 4-day window.
- Soft tie
- A nylon strap over the tire tread securing the wheel to the deck, so nothing touches suspension or bodywork. Standard on enclosed equipment.
- SUNBIZ
- The Florida Division of Corporations registry. A Florida transport company that is not registered there is not a Florida company.
- Terminal-to-terminal
- Drop-off and collection at a facility rather than an address. In Southwest Florida we offer RSW ONLY, no other terminals.
- Transit time
- Driving days from pickup to delivery, separate from the pickup window. Roughly 400–500 miles per day on a loaded car carrier.
- USDOT number
- Federal identifier for a regulated motor carrier or broker. Ours is USDOT #2273104. Verify it on SAFER.
We arrange transport with licensed carriers on a seasonal spot market. We do not publish route prices, guarantee exact pickup or delivery dates, or claim offices in cities where we have none. Availability and pricing change with direction, season and equipment.
Request a Naples auto transport quote
Tell us the direction, your dates and your Naples community. You'll get a seasonal range and a realistic window — not a fixed price or a promised date.
Get a quote
Price this move
Naples to anywhere in the USA, and anywhere in the USA back to Naples. Up to four vehicles per request.
Or call 239-273-4649