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5 Tips to Get Your Car Ready for Shipping

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Home  |  Auto Shipping • Car Shipping   |   5 Tips to Get Your Car Ready for Shipping

When you are moving across state lines, it’s often easier to ship your vehicle instead of driving it across the country yourself.  Once you’ve found the right car shipping company, you’ll need to prepare your car ready for transportation. Follow these five steps to make sure your vehicle reaches its intended destination without any hiccups along the way!

Wash Your Car

Once you have the shipping date of your vehicle, make sure to clean the exterior of your car thoroughly. Washing the surface gives you an opportunity to do a detailed investigation and know the condition of your automobile. Look out for any dents, scratches and chipped paint that may be present and take photos of any defects that may be present on the car. Having this comprehensive information will help you notice if your car has incurred any damage during transportation.

Remove or Secure Loose Parts

Remove any loose or removable items on the exterior of your vehicle. Fold the side mirrors and retract or remove the car antenna and place it in the trunk. Dismount any non-permanent racks such as bike, ski, and luggage racks. If you have custom spoilers and other detachable parts, then remove them from the car to avoid damage.

Check Car Interior

Check the interior of your vehicle and remove any accessories that are custom made. Remove other detachable that can make your car venerable to theft such as GPS and DVD players. Most auto transporters do not check the car's interior and are not liable for any damage or loss of property.

Don’t Forget About Car Maintenance

While some vehicle maintenance tasks are easy to fix, others require the expertise of a mechanic. Inform your mechanic days in advance so that they can fix any issues in time.

Check the antifreeze, motor oil and battery life to determine if they need to be refilled or changed. The battery should be fully charged while the fluids including engine oil should be at the recommended levels. When your car is in good condition during shipping it will save you both time and money.

Empty the Gas Tank and Check the Odometer

A full gas tank will add unnecessary weight to the carrier and your car. Check that the gas tank is not more than ¼ full. Additional gas is not needed as your car will not be driven during long distance except when it's getting offloaded from the transport hauler.

Remember to check the odometer of your vehicle and record the displayed values.

When shipping your car to a new location, do extensive research to ensure the measures your taking will help your car reach its final destination in good shape. By following the above steps, your vehicle will be delivered to you in the same state it was before shipping.

If you need a car shipping company that has dozens of testimonials and years of experience under their belt, contact Ship A Car Direct today. Receive a free quote, and helpful advice room the best in the industry. Call them today at (866) 221-1664.

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to Your Car Moving Questions

The hardest thing for people researching car moving companies to understand is that the prices they are getting are not hard and fast gaurantees, but rather ESTIMATES of what one company thinks it will take to get a vehicle moved promptly versus another company's opinion of what it will take. Don't be fooled, there are not carriers committed to take your vehicle at these quoted prices, the company you choose will still have to get to work getting a carrier to commit to move it at the price they quote you.

Your total price breaks down into two parts, the broker's fee (or 'deposit' as everyone calls it) and the carriers fee (your COD amount) Make no mistake about this, EVERYONE YOU ARE GETTING SALES CALLS FROM IS GOING TO BROKER YOUR MOVE. In this industry, there are brokers who try to fool you into thinking that they are the actual carriers and there are an equal amount of carriers who sell themselves on the fact that they have a truck or two but are not being honest about the fact that they broker out 90% of the orders they book. Here is a quick easy way to tell, if a company takes an up front fee, whether they call it a deposit or any other name, they are a broker. Carriers do not take any payment until the vehicle is delivered.

In our opinion, you are crazy to do so. Have you ever been paid up front for the work that you perform for your employer? Why would you pay a fee up front when there are reliable and trustworthy companies like ours that won't ask for it until we provide you with your carriers details?

The average transit time from pick up to delivery on any vehicle going coast to coast will be between one and two weeks. 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.

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