logo
  • Home
  • FAQs
  • User Videos
  • Quote Calculator
866-221-1664
Get Your Free Quote
logo
866-221-1664
  • Home
  • FAQs
  • User Videos
  • Quote Calculator
Get Your Free Quote
Get Your Free Quote

What to Do If You Need Your Vehicle Shipped Right Away

50,000+ Reviews
1,000,000+ Customers Helped
Home  |  Car Transport   |   What to Do If You Need Your Vehicle Shipped Right Away

Sometimes life comes at us fast and you may find yourself in a position where you need to have your vehicle shipped right away. Perhaps you just found out that you need to relocate in a few weeks and you’re in a rush to get everything done. Or it might be that you sold a car and need to have it shipped right away. If you need to have your vehicle shipped and you are in a time crunch, you can get it handled with expedited shipping services. Expedited transport allows your vehicle to get on the road and to the desired location in the fastest time possible. Here is everything you need to know if you need to have your vehicle shipped right away.

What is Expedited Shipping?

Think of it like express shipping for a package. You can pay a premium price to have your package shipped in a shorter amount of time. With expedited vehicle shipping, your car is a priority for pickup, meaning that the trucker will reschedule other pick-ups to get yours first.. Standard pickup windows are 1-2 weeks and a 1-2 day window is much harder to accommodate. As a result, you can expect to pay a higher price for this service. That said, if you absolutely need your vehicle to be shipped in the next day or two, expedited shipping is the way to go. Just bear in mind that even though your vehicle can be picked up in a day or two, it will still take a few days to have your car delivered to your new destination. It is physically impossible for a driver to move a vehicle hundreds or even thousands of miles in one or two days. In most cases, you will be looking at two-three days of transit time. 

How to Book Expedited Shipping

When you need to have your car shipped right away, you will need to find an auto transporter that can provide you with expedited service. Not all carriers in your area will be available, so you will need to research and look for a trusted auto shipping company that can accommodate your needs. Be sure to let them know that you need your vehicle shipped as quickly as possible so they can determine whether or not they will have a carrier available in your area. 

How to Have Your Car Ready to Go

There are several things you need to do in order to prepare your vehicle for shipment, so if you are in a hurry it is especially important to have these things completed as soon as possible. 

Gather Your Documents

When you ship your car you will need to provide several important documents to prove the car actually belongs to you. These documents include: original title and registration, proof of insurance, and photo ID. Go ahead and gather these documents so they are ready to go as soon as your driver arrives to pick up your vehicle. 

Wash Your Car

You want to make sure you thoroughly clean the interior and exterior of your vehicle prior to shipment. That’s because it is easier to spot scratches, dings, dents, or other minor damage when your car is clean. 

Take Photos of Your Car

You will need to take plenty of pictures of the exterior of your car and make note of any damage such as scratches, dings, or dents. These pictures will serve as proof of your vehicle’s condition in the unlikely event that new damage occurs during transport. 

Check Tires and Battery

You want to check your vehicle’s tire pressure to make sure that your tires are not over or under inflated. You also want to check to make sure that your battery is fully charged. 

Use Up Your Gas

Your gas tank should be no more than ¼ full at the time of pickup. Additional gas can be a safety hazard and it also adds to the weight of your vehicle. 

Remove Personal Belongings

Finally, you want to remove any and all personal items from inside your vehicle. This includes chargers, electronics, spare change, sunglasses, notebooks, or anything else that might be inside your vehicle. 

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.

View All FAQs
Toyoto Subaru porsche bmw honda ford audi bmw

We’re Loved by Customers

See Reviews by Our Verified Buyers!

shipacardirect.com widget logo
Get Your Free Car Shipping Quote
Get Your Free Quote
  • About Ship a Car Direct
  • Quote Calculator
  • User Videos
  • FAQs
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
MC-632461
logo
© 2023 Ship a Car Direct. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Site Map