Preparing to Ship Your Car to Your New Home

When it is time to move, you may want to consider whether you want to drive your car all the way or if it is better to ship it there. Shipping can take out a lot of the stress and will ensure that your car is ready to go when you are. 

 As you prepare to have the car shipped to a new location, it is important to get the car ready to go. Some of the simple steps that you can use to make sure your car is shipped well and can make it safely to your new home includes:

 Wash the Car

One of the first things that you should do is give the car a good wash. When someone comes to get the vehicle, they will take the time to complete a vehicle condition report at this time. This report is necessary because it will document how the car is doing right now along with any damage that was there before it was shipped. 

When the vehicle is nice and clean, both you and the shipping company can figure out if there is any current damage or not. This can be noted on the documents so that nothing is confused when you pick the car up on the other end.

Take Lots of Pictures

There are several pictures that you need to take of the car before you try to ship it. This can keep you and the shipping company safe when you decide to send the car on its way. After the car has been cleaned, you need to take some pictures. Take ones that are dated and of high quality to ensure that you know exactly how the car looks. 

Take general pictures of the car, going at different angles, including the areas that are damaged and the good areas. You can never end up with too many pictures. Keep these for your records in case there is some damage during the transport. You can then take a look at these and use them as evidence if something does go wrong. 

You should also take a picture of the odometer. This is going to be more for your own peace of mind to make sure that you are sure that no one took the car for a ride. You can check the odometer to see whether the car is being driven too much or not after you hand the keys over. 

Clean the Inside of the Car

It is now time to take the time to clean the inside of the car. The car trailer that will move your vehicle can bounce up and down quite a bit and may cause all of the loose items in the car to move around. Remove any of the items that are not secured to the inside of the car and pack them up in another location. 

If there is the potential at all for something inside the vehicle to move around or bounce, which could cause some damage to the inside of the car or even damage to the items themselves, then it is time to remove them. This also reduces the likelihood that theft of the items will happen when the car Is removed. 

Anything that is left in the car during transport needs to be secured or removed. Even the antenna that is on the car should be removed if this is a part that will come off your car before shipping. 

Check the Car

You should do a quick maintenance check of the car before you decide to ship it. First, check that there is enough antifreeze in the radiator and that you have a fully charged and secure battery ahead of time. 

You can then move to the tires. Check that they are inflated properly. If the tires are under-inflated or over-inflated, there is the chance that the tires will get damaged while they are being shipped. Check them out ahead of time to ensure that they work the way that you want. 

You can also check for some of the common fluid leaks. If there is a bad leak, it is possible that the shipper will not take the vehicle at all. Check all of the fluids and have a mechanic look at the engine or any mechanical problems to make sure that the car is safe and sound to use while being shipped. 

Pay Attention to the Gas Tank

You do not want the gas to be too full on the car. The car will not be driven much on this trip and any extra gas adds to the overall weight of the vehicle. It is best to keep the gas to a minimum to save money on transport. 

For the most part, keeping the gas tank somewhere between 1/8 to ¼ full is going to be perfect. That is enough to move the car on and off the transport without adding too much weight along the way either. Any more than that and you will just pay extra for the gas to sit there until you get the car back. 

Disable the Alarms

You do not want to anger your driver by having them deal with an alarm system on your car. This can be a hassle and will drive them crazy while they help to move your vehicle. And it is going to be hard for them to get it turned off when you are nowhere in sight. 

Before you hand over the keys, make sure that you disable all the alarms. This will avoid the problem and will allow for smoother transport along the way. You can turn the alarms back on later. 

Shipping Your Car Safely

There are many benefits to shipping your car, but you want to make sure that you do it properly. With some of the tips above, you can make sure that your car gets to the new location without any issues along the way.