Mistakes to Avoid When Shipping Your Car

Shipping your vehicle can be stressful but it doesn’t have to be! Whether you’re a first timer or a seasoned mover, we have some tips and recommendations on how to avoid a car shipping nightmare.

If you’re not sure what auto shipping red flags to look out for or the details to watch, it is so easy to end up paying more than necessary or worse… not paying enough! There’s a special balance in determining the who, what, where, and when of auto transport. 

Our goal is to provide the top mistakes to avoid when shipping your vehicle.

Whether being too busy or simply forgetting, many people don’t bring their car to the shop for a last-minute mechanic check prior to shipment. I know it sounds silly but having your vehicle checked out is important.

 “Why do we need a mechanic check if we’re not driving it? That is the whole point of shipping!”

I’m so glad you asked. Having a final check before transport is crucial because it confirms the condition of your vehicle prior to shipping. This is important for a number of reasons. First being that in the event your vehicle incurs any damage during transport, you have the tangible proof that your car was in different condition prior to the transport. By having this documented evidence, there is an easier process and higher chance of success with receiving compensation from the claim for damages. 

Another reason this is important is because the manner of transport, the type of transporter the shipper uses, and the amount of work and effort in loading/unloading your vehicle all comes down to if it is operable or not. The majority of transporters used by shippers require the vehicle to run and drive. It doesn’t need to be able to make it several miles but it does need to be able to drive itself, more or less, onto the trailer. If your vehicle does not turn on or drive, a specialized truck with a winch is required to lift your vehicle onto the trailer. If this type of carrier was not confirmed prior to confirmation and pick up, they will likely NOT be able to move your vehicle and you can end up in a last minute transport search on the day you were supposed to be shipping. Talk about a headache!

If you’re not able to get your car to the shop prior to shipping there are a few key points to pay attention to when you conduct your own inspection:

The same check should be done upon receiving your vehicle at delivery as well and should be well documented. The last thing you want is to have insurance refuse to pay for any damage because you’re not able to prove it occurred during transport. Completing a brief overview of your vehicle and taking photos upon receipt of your vehicle after transport will eliminate this risk.  Make sure to do this when the person who delivered the vehicle to your location is still present!

If a move is the reason for your auto transport, then I’m sure you’ve considered all the unused space available inside your vehicle while it’s being transported! It is absolutely okay to have belongings in the vehicle during transport – with a few specific caveats!

Regardless of the reason, fault, or incident, your personal belongings within the vehicle are NOT covered by transport insurance in the event of damage or loss. Because of this, it is highly encouraged to avoid high value or important personal items during transport. Things like money, televisions, jewelry, important documents, etc. are all encouraged to be excluded. 

If you are going to leave some personal items in your vehicle during transport, it is recommended to keep the weight of the additional items under one hundred pounds and below the window line.

Shipping your vehicle is stressful and you have a lot going on. It is so easy to forget or miss information when discussing transporting your vehicle simply because of the overwhelming amount of stress of the process. One thing that CAN NOT be overlooked are the specifications of your vehicle. Having the specific details pertaining to your physical car is paramount in securing the appropriate carrier for transport. Certain modifications or adjustments mean that not every transport trailer available will be appropriate for your situation. A few things that impact the carrier type include:

Having these modifications does not mean your vehicle can’t be transported, it just means they require specific transport trailers or carriers with specialized expertise to ship them safely and securely. By not discussing these modifications at the time of receiving your personalized quote, you run the risk of assigning a carrier for transport that will not be able to move your vehicle. When this happens, the carrier will be unable to pick up your vehicle for shipment at that time and you will be required to begin the search again to find an appropriate carrier but this time with a much tighter time constraint. Also, it is not uncommon for a carrier to require a partial payment for their time even if they have not picked up your vehicle. In effort to avoid this kind of interruption to your transport, please inform your auto transport company of any and all things adjusted on your vehicle. It is always preferred to have more information than not enough.

Auto transport is a unique and highly fluid industry when it comes to transporting a vehicle. There are a number of factors that are taken into account when providing a personalized auto transport quote. If you don’t understand how the industry works, you may end up paying too much or worse, too little, to move your vehicle. 

Everyone in the auto transport industry is a broker who works as a liaison to connect the car owner to the car shippers in the country. The broker will look at the current route for the transport and see what other similar vehicles on this route have been shipping for cost wise. Then, they take the time frame needed for transport into account. If the vehicles on the route are being accepted for transport by the shippers for a certain average cost but you need your vehicle to move ASAP, then it would make the most sense to price the transport aggressively to encourage shippers to accept your vehicle first over others waiting for transport. 

If the vehicle is priced too low, that means there are other vehicles waiting for transport that are offering to pay more to the shippers. At the end of the day, if a shipper is looking at two similar vehicles on the same route but only has room for one vehicle on their trailer they are likely going to pick the higher priced vehicle every time. 

Alternatively, pricing a vehicle too high creates its own set of challenges. An absurdly priced vehicle can sometimes look fraudulent to drivers on the central dispatch boards. They can also create difficulty in managing timeframes for transport if the vehicle is not ready to move until a certain time. A highly priced vehicle that has been sitting on the board unassigned for too long looks extremely concerning to drivers.

As a broker, the only money they are making on your transport is the predetermined broker fee. The additional payment to the driver at the time of pick up or delivery is the money the transport driver makes. This means we, as the broker, make the same amount of money whether we move your vehicle for $500 or $5,000 and we’re not benefited financially in any way if we over-priced your transport. 

Any auto transport company you are speaking with should be able to provide a specialized transport quote to you without any commitments or deposits at the time of discussion. In general, a deposit is usually taken at the time of assigning the carrier. 

To us at Graham Family Auto Transport, candor about how pricing a transport works is paramount to our foundation and beliefs. At the end of the day, complete understanding of where your money is going and why it’s priced the way it is will help to set the best expectations possible and enable us to foster trust and comfort during your transport. We don’t play the “Politician’s Answer” game here. Ask us, and we’d be more than happy to explain our quoting and pricing process to you in detail. 

All auto transport companies will require certain documents prior to shipping your vehicle. Signed contracts for both the company and shipper, insurance terms and conditions, and a bill of lading are all documents that are required for this process and will be provided by the company you are working with. Some companies may require that you provide the title, registration, proof of personal insurance, and photo ID as well at the company’s discretion so it’s ideal to have these items on hand. If you do not have any of these items available, please inform your transport company early so they can make appropriate adjustments or arrangements. 

It is also important to inquire how the company you are working with intends to store and submit these documents. Having this information will set expectations for both sides of the process and ensure no complications arise during the shipping process because of incomplete or mishandled documentation.

Most auto transport companies and/or the transport shippers themselves provide some form of insurance coverage. It is important that you inquire what, if any, policy is established, what it covers, and where liability begins and ends. You can always request a copy of the car shipping company’s insurance certificate and should consider it a red flag if they are declining to provide this to you. The certificate and its information can be verified with the Department of Transportation or your own personal insurance company.

Typically, the auto transport company’s policy will cover damages that they caused. However, sometimes strange scenarios such as accidents caused by other drivers or damages due to weather may not always be included. It is important to have this information for yourself prior to needing it. Better to be over prepared rather than scrambling for details while trying to process a claim for a damaged vehicle. 

Unfortunately, some companies will do whatever it takes to close transports. One of the most commonly seen practices is lowering the cost of the transport during initial conversation only to require a significant surprise “bump” on the back end when they are unable to secure a carrier at the cost quoted. This is their way of securing clients and forcing them into a situation where it is “too late” to change companies or find another carrier to move your vehicle due to timeframes.

In an effort to avoid these types of companies, it’s important to know what to look for when selecting the company that is right for you. A few things to help narrow down that list are:

At the end of the day, the two most important things you can find in an auto transport company are transparency and quality service. If they’re not providing you with all the details you should ask yourself why they are reluctant to do so. 

There is no magic crystal ball that can tell you how smoothly your transport will run. However, if you take these steps to prepare yourself, your vehicle, and your transport company you shouldn’t need one! Your vehicle is important to you and so your vehicle should be important to your transport company. Take your time, do some research, and follow your instinct. If you are uncomfortable with who you are speaking with or how things are proceeding it is your right to search elsewhere. Your transport company should be your advocate during this process and anything less than full candor and support is unacceptable. 

Happy Shipping!

Graham Family Auto Transport