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Tips to Prepare a Car for Cross Country Shipping

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Home  |  Car Transport   |   Tips to Prepare a Car for Cross Country Shipping

There are certain rules that apply to all car shipments. From documents needed to car prep in place, this guide will ensure you have a stress-free delivery! 

The Basics of Cross-Country Car Shipping:

You’ll need to touch on all these basics before prepping your car:

  • Get a few quotes before settling on one. It’s worth spending a few hours to get a couple of quotes. What you pay for is what you get, so choose wisely. Make sure to ask them about any hidden fees, and if a deposit is required (if it is, run!) 
  • Give your car a good wash. Wash the exterior and interior before dropping it off for shipment. Take plenty of pictures during the inspection process. 

Does Your Vehicle Have Any Loose Parts?  

It’s important to do whatever you can to minimize your car’s risk of injury before it makes its journey—no matter how short or long its drive may be! Fold your side mirrors in, place your antennae in the trunk, and secure any loose parts before shipping it off. 

Take It In For a Quick (and Professional) Check  

A maintenance check is a great idea before transporting your car. Your service professional can clue you in to anything it may need (replacing fluids, knowing your mileage, a battery check). 

Whether you’re have an everyday or vintage vehicle, we’ve got the perfect transport option and carrier for your unique needs! Contact us today and ready our testimonials and learn about our damage-free guarantee that sets us apart from the rest! 

How Accurate is My Cross-Country Delivery Date?

The length of time you’ll be without your vehicle depends on how far it’s traveling (common sense we know, but that’s the basics of it!) If your vehicle is traveling from the west coast to the mid-west), you can expect a 5-7 delivery time.  If your vehicle is traveling from the west coast to the east coast, you can expect a 7-10-day delivery time. In some situations, a vehicle can be dropped off and picked up within the same day, depending on the length of travel. 

No Matter the Distance, We’ve Got You Covered! 

No matter how near or far your vehicle is being shipped to, it all comes down to quality, care and service. Ship A Car Direct offers many advantages that makes us the most trusted car shipper around, including door to door service, no upfront deposit required, and a damage-free guarantee! Contact us today for a free quote!   

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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