Price Integrity Promise™
Your quote is locked at booking — no bait-and-switch, no last-minute fees, no renegotiation calls
We'll text your quote. Reply STOP anytime to opt out.
Why car shipping prices change — and why most companies don't warn you
Market forces move prices every day. The problem isn't volatility — it's who gets stuck holding it.
Auto transport pricing genuinely moves: diesel costs swing, carrier supply tightens in peak months, and popular lanes fill while reverse and rural routes go begging. Those are normal market forces. What's not normal is a price that changes after you've booked. Most repricing problems trace back to one trick: the quote you were given was never a price at all — it was an estimate engineered to win your booking.
An "estimated quote" means the number isn't locked, the broker can legally adjust it at dispatch, and the market risk has been quietly transferred to you. It hides in fine-print phrases like "market-based pricing," "carrier availability dependent," and "subject to change at dispatch." To a customer it sounds like a price. Contractually, it isn't one.
How bait-and-switch happens after booking
The most common scenario customers report, step by step. If you've shipped before, you may recognize it.
The Low Quote
You're given a number meaningfully below what carriers actually accept on your lane.
The Deposit
A booking deposit is collected, anchoring your commitment.
The Call
Days later: "We can't find a carrier at that price." The market gets the blame.
The Increase
You're asked for $150–$500 more to "get it moving."
The Squeeze
Time pressure plus sunk cost — most customers pay because alternatives are days away.
This isn't a shipping problem — it's a pricing-model problem. In our experience, ultra-low long-distance quotes well under realistic per-mile rates are the most likely to be repriced after booking, because they were never built to be honored.
Guaranteed vs estimated pricing, side by side
One word — "estimate" — decides who carries the market risk. Here's the comparison brokers rarely show you.
| Pricing Type | Who Bears the Risk? | Can the Price Change? | How Common |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated Quote | Customer | Yes — at dispatch | Very common |
| Guaranteed Price | Company | No — unless you change the order | Rare |
| "Guaranteed*" (fine print) | Customer | Yes | Misleading |
With a true guaranteed price, the company absorbs market fluctuation — even when carrier rates rise after booking. That single difference determines whether your phone rings with a renegotiation call. Few companies offer it, because honoring it requires pricing discipline, strong carrier relationships, and a willingness to absorb short-term losses.
Navi's Price Integrity Promise™
Not a marketing phrase — a pricing system. Your quoted price is locked from the moment you book.
When you book with Navi, the price you see is the price you pay: no post-booking increases, no "carrier unavailable" renegotiation calls, no surprise dispatch or coordination fees, no pressure to approve a higher rate — even if market rates rise after you book. The risk of market movement stays with us, where it belongs.
✅ Included in Your Locked Price
- Carrier transportation cost — the haul itself
- Dispatch coordination and monitoring
- Standard cargo insurance (the carrier's policy)
- Pickup and delivery scheduling
- Real-time tracking via Navi Track 360™
🔁 The Only Things That Change a Price
- The vehicle becomes inoperable after booking
- Pickup or delivery address changes
- Transport type is upgraded — open to enclosed
- Vehicle size or weight was misstated at booking
Every exception is disclosed before you book — never discovered after. If your details don't change, your price doesn't change.
How we prevent price increases before they happen
Most companies react to pricing problems after booking. The promise only works because the system prevents them upfront.
🎯 Realistic pricing, validated before booking
Every quote runs through route demand analysis, historical carrier acceptance data, seasonal modeling, and vehicle checks before you see it. We quote the number carriers will actually accept — not the lowest number that wins a click. Underpriced loads are exactly the ones that get repriced at dispatch.
📡 Early carrier matching via Navi Track 360™
Once your order is confirmed, Navi Track 360™ continuously scans for nearby, qualified carriers. Identifying trucks early means fewer failed dispatch attempts and no last-minute bidding wars — the exact mechanism that drives prices up elsewhere.
🌐 A deep carrier network
With a large nationwide network of fully vetted carriers, we're never forced to overpay one truck at the last second or push that cost back to you. Price integrity depends on options, not hope.
🤝 No urgency-based sales pressure
Because the price is validated before booking, there are no "approve this now" calls, no urgency upsells, and no mid-process renegotiation. That matters most for first-time shippers who don't yet know what's normal in this industry.
Where price integrity matters most
Three situations where estimated pricing burns customers — and how a locked price plays out instead.
🌞 Peak-season cross-country moves
Summer coast-to-coast lanes are where carrier rates climb fastest — and where estimate-based brokers re-quote after booking. With a validated price and early carrier confirmation, market increases after your booking are absorbed by Navi, not billed to you.
🛒 Online & auction purchases
Online car buyers often ship vehicles they haven't seen. We validate vehicle type and transport needs upfront and keep the price locked even when pickup timing shifts slightly — fewer surprises between seller, yard, and carrier.
🎖️ Student & military timelines
Students and military families ship on strict dates with little flexibility — the customers most vulnerable to last-minute increases. A locked quote and immediate dispatch removes the pricing pressure from an already stressful move.
📈 Volatile fuel & demand swings
Diesel spikes and demand surges move carrier rates week to week. Under estimated pricing, that volatility becomes your renegotiation call; under the Price Integrity Promise™, it's our cost of doing business.
Get a price that won't change after booking
Validated before you see it · Locked when you book · No hidden fees waiting later
Price integrity — common questions
Straight answers about locked pricing, estimates, and how to spot bait-and-switch before it happens.