Preparing Your Car For Transport

The first and most important part in car shipping is choosing the best, most reliable and affordable car shipping company. But once you have taken care of that, it is now time to physically prepare your car.

Since car transportation companies will charge you primarily based on the weight of your car, you can cut costs by making your car lighter. You can practically remove extra detachable seats, extenders, add-on vehicle fittings, accessories, and detachable bicycle or ski racks. Also, keep the amount of fuel to a fourth of the tank. That’s just enough fuel for your car to be driven on and off the carrier truck or vessel. Some cars can carry up to thirty gallons and there’s no reason to have that much fuel during the shipment.

Here are a few more things you should do.

Remove your toolboxes and other equipments. Disable the car alarm. If for some reasons your alarm goes off during the shipment, the truck driver won’t be able to disable it until your car reaches its final destination. This will drain of the battery to a considerable amount.

Remove the antennae to avoid theft and unnecessary damage. Make sure to fold your side mirrors just to be sure they won’t get in the wide, especially if they are wide. If you own a convertible, double check to make sure that your top is properly secured.
Also, secure or remove your spoilers, fog lights, hood ornaments, decals, hubcaps and other loose parts.

Remove all objects inside your car to avoid anything from moving around and potentially damaging your car interior during the transport. Damages of this kind will not be covered by your car shipping insurance.

Before the shipment, check for any leaking brake fluids or oils as courtesy to the other vehicles that may be placed beneath your car if you’re transporting via a double-deck carrier truck. Some car shipping companies offer to inspect your car for free before the shipment to guarantee the safety of both your car and the other vehicles with it.

Have your car washed so that you could do a thorough check of your car’s exterior. Take photos of any dents, dints, scratches, or other damages that is already on your car. This will greatly help you after the shipment to see whether it got damaged or scratched along the way. Your car shipping company cannot argue with the photographs. In most cases, cars end up looking aged and rusted after an open deck shipment, especially from an overseas car transport.

After the shipment, check your car inside and out. You can even tag along a mechanic to check your car’s undercarriage and for mechanical damages. Make sure that you are satisfied with the shipment before signing off the Bill of Lading as proof that your car shipping company had done a great job. It would be difficult to report a damage a few days after the shipment and with your signature on the Bill of Lading and receipt.