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Update: I let a broker pick my carrier two moves ago, now I call shops myself and it saves me about $180 every time
Two moves ago I booked through one of those comparison sites and just went with the cheapest quote, which was $1,150 from Phoenix to Denver. The car showed up 5 days late with a cracked mirror and nobody would answer my calls, since the broker had already handed me off to some random carrier I never vetted. Now I call 6 or 7 carriers directly, ask if the truck is enclosed, and get actual names and DOT numbers before I pay a dime. My move in March came in at $970 with a guy who texted me photos at pickup and drop off. Has anyone else had luck skipping the middleman, or is there a real reason to still use a broker?
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charlies371d ago
Yes! I went through the exact same mess with a broker back in 2022, car came in 4 days late and the guy wanted cash on the spot before he would even unload it (total nightmare, never again). What finally worked for me was pulling DOT numbers off the FMCSA site and calling the carriers myself, same as you, and asking two questions right away: is this your own truck or are you brokering it out, and do you take a card at delivery. Turns out a lot of the "carriers" on those quote sites are just brokers themselves wearing a different hat, which is why the price jumps once you book. Calling direct on my last move saved me around $150 and the driver actually texted me the morning of pickup instead of ghosting. Brokers can make sense if you have zero time to make calls, but for most normal moves you are just paying a middleman to do five minutes of googling.
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