Using a car transport service to move your vehicle can be a good decision; it can save you a lot of time compared to if you were to drive your car yourself, and it can save you money too.
The most common options for car transport are terminal to terminal (i.e. storage facility to storage facility) and door to door service.
Terminal to terminal shipping may be cheaper than door to door shipping, but there could be hidden charges because of a terminal not being close to you. For example, you may have to travel a distance to pick your vehicle up, or pay to have it towed from the terminal to your home.
If you use a door to door car transport service instead, it means that your vehicle will be delivered directly to you, or as close to your location as possible. Sometimes it is not possible to deliver your vehicle to your home address because the trucks will have a hard time manoeuvring around in residential areas and other places. If this happens, you will be notified to meet the driver in a parking lot or open area.
Preparing Your Vehicle For Transit
Before using a car transport service, you should first check your car over and get it ready to be shipped. This includes making sure your car is in good working condition and safe to drive, so ensure you test the brakes and the steering of your vehicle.
If your car is not in good operating condition, then this must be told to the shipper ahead of time so they can take the proper measures to move the car into the trailer. This may incur you extra costs.
Check the fluids in the car too, and make sure that they are not leaking anywhere under the car. Sometimes cars are stacked onto two levels to transport, and if your car leaks fluids on someone else’s vehicle, this could cause damage that you would be responsible for.
Also, any accessories in your car can wiggle and become loose during the transportation process, so if possible, remove them (and any personal items or valuables) from your car before shipping it. Make sure you clean your car out inside and remove anything of value.
Lastly, before departing, make sure your car battery is charged and disable your alarm so that it does not go off and run your battery down.
Remember too that – depending on the state or area that you are shipping your vehicle to – the climate in your destination may be very different to that of your starting location. In particular, the weather can be a lot warmer or colder, so be sure to use antifreeze, engine coolant, or other fluids as necessary. For example, if you are based in Alaska but will be shipping car to Hawaii, then you will need to prepare your vehicle beforehand for the rise in temperature.
If you have any other questions or concerns about shipping your vehicle, your chosen car transport company should have a guide for you to look at that outlines all the important steps you will need to take before having your vehicle shipped.
Carefully go over each of these steps in turn and you can ensure that your car transporting experience will be a good one!