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Should I Do an Inspection of My Car Before and After It Has Been Shipped?

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Home  |  Car Transport   |   Should I Do an Inspection of My Car Before and After It Has Been Shipped?

If you are preparing your car for shipment, there are a few things you should do to ensure everything goes well with your transport. Although it is not expected, accidents and issues occur, and you want to be sure you and your vehicle are protected in the case of an emergency. Here are some simple steps you can take to properly prepare your vehicle for shipment. 

Inspecting Your Car Before Shipping

  1. Declutter Your Car- This is the first thing you should do to prepare your car for inspection. Be sure to clean out the inside of your car and remove all personal belongings. It is important to clean and declutter the interior of your vehicle so you can take note of the condition of your vehicle prior to shipment.
  2. Wash Your Car- The next thing you should do is wash the exterior of your vehicle. A quick wash is important so you can remove dirt to see if there are any scratches or dings. 
  3. Take Pictures- This is an important step, so you definitely don’t want to skip it. You should take pictures of your car from every angle as well as the interior and even the engine. Make a note of any scratches, dents, dings, or other damage before turning your car over to the transport company. Make sure your pictures include a time-stamped date or even take them with the driver in the background in case you need proof that the pictures are current. 

In addition to your inspection, the auto shipping company is required to perform their own inspection to protect themselves against fraudulent claims. They are going to thoroughly inspect your vehicle, so it is recommended that you be present during this inspection.

 Inspecting Your Car After Shipment

  1. Compare with Your Photos- Examine the interior and exterior of your vehicle as carefully as possible and compare any scratches or dings with your photos to make sure they weren’t already present. 
  2. Check for Damages- Inspect for damage on exterior mirrors, door handles, cracks on the glass or windshield, and check all tires. Open and close all doors, roll your windows up and down, and check all locks to make sure they are working properly.
  3. Test Drive- Give your car a quick test drive to make sure it is running properly and listen for any unusual noises. 

Upon delivery of your vehicle, you should thoroughly inspect your vehicle for damage that may have occurred during transport. You can use the Ship A Car Direct Damage App to document your car's condition both before and after shipment. Our free app is available for download on iOS and Android.

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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