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Will you ship my car if it is full of stuff?

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Home  |  Car Shipping   |   Will you ship my car if it is full of stuff?

The most common request in the car shipping industry is the request to pack the car during transport. Many people shipping a car are doing so to start a new life in a new city, and it seems easier to just load the car with household belongings before hauling it. Unfortunately, that is not really the best way to save money on your move. Car haulers can’t always accommodate additional weight, and certainly not for the same price as quoted for shipping an empty car.

The truth is that the more weight you are hauling, the more gas it takes to move it. The more gas a hauler requires to get the job done, the more it costs. Here is a great article that explains fuel economy and how even 100 additional pounds in your personal vehicle can cost you. Now, if you imagine a multi-vehicle hauler carrying 6 to 8 vehicles, you can see how even a few additional belongings left in each of the vehicles add up and increase the weight (and therefore the cost) of the entire load.

Car shipping quotes are recommended for standard, empty vehicles. If your hauler accommodates any additional weight in your vehicle, you will be charged an additional weight fee to make up for the additional gas required for the load. And honestly, the additional fees are equivalent to shipping your belongings through the mail or other delivery service. Even if what you want to pack in your car doesn’t seem like a lot to you, it adds up. Ultimately, leaving additional items in your vehicle during transport is up to the discretion of the driver.

Of course we completely understand why you want to leave some stuff in your car. Sometimes, it's not a problem. But it's best if you are aware of the limitations and/or additional fees so that you don't make assumptions that cost you later. If you have any questions about car shipping or what you can leave in your vehicle during transport, please give us a call! One of our friendly sales representatives will be happy to help: 866-221-1664.

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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