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Does Someone Have to be Present for Pick Up and Delivery When You Ship a Vehicle?

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Home  |  Car Transport   |   Does Someone Have to be Present for Pick Up and Delivery When You Ship a Vehicle?

It is nearly impossible for auto transport companies to provide exact pickup and delivery times. Unforeseen circumstances such as weather, traffic, or mechanical problems can cause delays. For this reason, you may be wondering whether or not you have to be present when your vehicle is picked up or delivered. The short answer is that you do not have to personally be there, but someone who can act on your behalf does need to be present. 

What to Expect When Your Vehicle is Picked Up

Prior to having your vehicle shipped, you and your transporter should have discussed the terms of your contract including payment information, insurance terms, and mutual contact information. If you have any last-minute questions about the process, you can ask your driver at pick-up. This is also a good time to confirm everything and discuss any other issues pertaining to your vehicle. 

Your transporter will also conduct an inspection of your vehicle, and together you will make note of any scratches, dings, or dents. You will have to confirm this inspection by signing the driver’s Bill of Lading, which includes details of the inspection. This document serves as proof  of your vehicle’s condition in the event that it gets damaged during transit. 

What to Expect When Your Vehicle is Delivered

It is very important that you, or someone who can act on your behalf, is present upon delivery to meet with the transporter. That’s because another inspection will be performed when your vehicle arrives at its destination and you will need to compare it to the original inspection report documented on the Bill of Lading. You, or the person you designate pick up the vehicle, will be required to sign the Bill of Lading again upon delivery. At this point, you will complete payment and the transaction will be final. 

What if You Are Not Available?

If you are unable to be present at either pick up or delivery, you should  have a representative that can act on your behalf. This person must be at least 18 years of age and you must provide their contact information to the transport driver prior to shipment. This person will be responsible for conducting the inspection and signing the Bill of Lading at both pickup and delivery. 

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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