How to Protect Your Car during Auto Shipping

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To keep secure of your car during transportation, you are not going on the ride with the transporter so you may not think you have control over what happens to your car, but you do. There are a few simple actions you can take to make sure your car arrives the way you sent it.

  1. Confirm the Company! First thing to do is make sure the company you are researching has a physical address. This is the most essential because if you have an issue you know where to find them. If they do not list an address you have very little information to be able to contact them in the event of a dispute. Find out how many years they have been in business. This is a very good indicator of their reputation. Another thing to check is if they are in the Chamber of commerce in their region. This will insure that they are a valued business in their community. If you verify all this information you will greatly reduce your chance of fraud.
  2. The second most important thing to do is make sure your auto carrier is Licensed, Bonded, and Insured. You may think that all transporters are insured, but some aren’t. The best thing to do is ask and make sure they are Insured.
  3. Do not keep any valuable things in the car. Make sure you clean out anything that cannot easily be changed. You also may assume that since they are insured your things are safe, but most insurance does not protect products items other than the car. The auto transporter is highly unlikely to steal anything from your vehicle. They have a reputation to protect so they do not want to damage it. You may not realize this, but transporters do not drive straight to YOUR destination. They do take detours to pickup/drop off other vehicles. Ship a car from Florida to California they may stop off in Texas, Louisiana, and even Nevada. Even in between those stops they do have to stop at gas stations and sometimes hotels during the trip.
  4. If you want to be ultra safe you can ask for an enclosed auto transport type. A closed type carrier will protect the car from thieves, vandals, and the weather. With this protection comes a cost. It may be $100-$500 more for a closed carrier so if you think it is worth it, ask your auto transport broker if they can give you that option.
  5.  When the car carrier comes and picks up the car you may want to get his name, license plate number, his Motor Carrier Number or MC#, and his number. Best to know as much about him as you can, since you are giving him your prized car for a few days. Below is a link to some companies I have used or had friends use in the past. They all use licensed, bonded, and insured carriers. They all can get you closed carriers if you would like.