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Car Transporters – What You Need to Know

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Home  |  Car Transport   |   Car Transporters – What You Need to Know

Shipping a vehicle across the country is not something most people do regularly. Many of our customers are first time shippers who have no previous experience hiring car transporters. That can make a person hesitant – if not downright nervous – about the process. But not to worry, we want you to be confident in your car transporter and we are always happy to answer all of the questions that you may have.

One common question that all auto shippers ask is “Will the car transporter damage my vehicle?”

Not to be glib, but if shipping a vehicle by open carrier always damaged cars, then no one would do it - this industry simply would not exist.

Most cars are transported through door-to-door carrier service over long distances and arrive at their destination in perfect condition.

However, from time to time accidents do happen (such is life.) In the unlikely event when an accident does happen, the car transporter’s insurance will cover the damage.

Safe Direct Car Shipping also offers an Insurance Guarantee – we are the only broker to do so. (No, we can’t prevent accidents with this guarantee, but we insure that you are covered.)

Another common question that many shippers ask is “Can I leave personal items in my vehicle?”

We’d love to affirm that, but the truth is that we don’t recommend it. Car transporters are just that – a car transporter, not a furniture mover. Your car transporter is only licensed and insured for the transportation of vehicles, not personal items.

In the event that one of your possessions goes missing or gets damaged in transit, we have no way to protect you. Also, your car transporter has weight restrictions and your shipping contract is priced for the weight of your vehicle only.

Your transport driver may overlook a small item or bag of items, but may not be able to accommodate valuable and/or heavy cargo included in your vehicle. Frankly, the final call is up to your driver but not something we can include in your contract so anything left in your vehicle during transit is left at your own risk.

Do you have a question you would like to see covered in a blog post? Please let us know! Or better yet, give us a call at 866-221-1664. We are always happy to answer all of your questions about car transporter services.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Honest Answers to Your Car Shipping Questions

Yes, we always ask for your specific pickup and delivery addresses, if the carrier can get right to the addresses you provide, they will. If the addresses that you give us are not safely accessible for a Multi-car carrier, however, you will need to make arrangements with the driver to meet at a nearby location where the carrier can safely get in and out.

People do it all the time (rarely for free) but the official answer is no.

Not what you wanted to hear, we know, but that is the honest answer.

We are not licensed to broker the shipment of household goods and, likewise, no car carrier that operates in the USA is licensed to transport them from state to state either. Despite what you might be being told by other car shipping companies you may speak with.

Remember, at the end of the day we're all salespeople, and the true answer to this question is not a great selling point.

You will hear a lot of companies tell you that you can put up to 100 pounds of items in the trunk, but that is not entirely true. That fact is that items of that amount are fairly common and the department of transportation is probably not going to split hairs and fine the trucker over items of that amount, provided they are not over their weight limit. They could fine them, however, if they see a vehicle stuffed full of personal items so the car carrier will most likely try to negotiate something with you to cover themselves against any costs they could incur. It's not something we can build into your contract though.

We have a short and helpful video on this topic in our user videos.

Only in rare cases and car carriers will usually charge a premium to make it happen.

All dates given by car carriers are typically estimates and projections.

For this reason (and to keep your cost down) we ask that you build in some flexibility and give us the earliest possible date you would be WILLING to release the vehicle, even though it may not be your preferred date.

We'll put you in direct contact with your car carrier and the driver will also typically call you the afternoon or evening before your pick up and delivery (they won't just show up unannounced, and if they do we want to hear about it). However, car carriers are out on the road battling traffic, weather and any number of other factors that can and do throw them off of their pickup and delivery projections from time to time.

If the projected dates we give you come and you are unable to make contact with your carrier, please call our office immediately so that we may help resolve the situation.

The average transit time from pick up to delivery on any vehicle going coast to coast will average 7 to 10 days. From there you can figure your transit time based on how far your vehicle is traveling, i.e. from either coast to the Midwest might average 3-7 days.

Yes!

Even better, we do not even ask for payment until we have you confirmed for pickup by a safe, reliable, fully insured, direct car carrier. If for any reason you do not ship your car with the carrier that we arrange for you, there is no fee.

The fees paid directly to the carrier however, (in most cases, their fees are not paid until your vehicle is delivered) are not directly controlled by us, so any requests for a refund of the carrier's portion would need to be addressed with the carrier directly.

Of course! And you are always backed by our Damage Free Guarantee policy.

Part of what you pay us for is to verify that the car carrier that we put you on is covered by the proper amount of insurance and that everything is up to date.

There is never any additional cost to you for this coverage, and their insurance is always primary.

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