Shipping your car can be a task all of its own. In order to do this as effectively as possible, you will need to follow a few steps. Below is a list to help you through the shipping process.

Find the Right Car Shipping Company

Selecting which company you want to transport your vehicle is the first step in the process. There are plenty of transportation services out there, and you might not know where to start. Check the reviews. If they state reliability and customer satisfaction as their top priority and they have the reviews to match, they might be the right one. Luckily for us here at Car Transport Depot, we have achieved a superior level of customer satisfaction than most other car shipping companies.

Shipping Your Car: The Prep Work

For your car to ship as accurately and as effectively as possible, there are a few “prep steps” that you need to take.

Wash Your Vehicle

This is a no brainer. A dirty car can hide plenty of scratched, dents, and minor dings. Before having your car shipped, give it a wash and inspect it to make note of any imperfections. You want to be sure that your car arrives in the condition that you shipped it out as.

Clean the Inside

During the shipping process, your car will move around. It is better to have all loose belongings either out of the car or fastened down. Spare change is a key culprit, here. Imagine getting your car to your door only to find all those pennies in the ash trey are scattered everywhere. Another key factor is your wires and cables for electronic devices as well as the devices. I’m not sure how many people still have an iPod classic (I know I do), but those things are HOT right now. You don’t want anyone stealing your belongings.

Alarm Disabling

How is a truck driver supposed to shut the alarm off? This is a common issue many truck drivers ave when transporting cars. Imagine a truck bouncing down the freeway with a rack full of cars with their alarms going off. It’s not a pretty sight for anyone to witness.

Don’t Fill Your Gas Tank

Wight distribution is a factor in shipping your car. Imagine a small car has a gas tank of 20 gallons. At 20 gallons (minimum) you’re looking at an extra 160 pounds. Now Imagine a full truckload with AT LEAST that much-added weight for every car. It can hamper the safety of your driver and the rest of the road. You won’t be driving your car anyways. What’s the point of having a full tank?

Shipping Your Car Without Leaks

This goes along with checking for any dings and dents. Make sure your brake lines, fuel lines, transmission lines, and any hydraulic lines are in good shape. Look for oil spots under your car. If you can spot anything, get it fixed beforehand. This is to ensure that not only your car is safe and secure, but other vehicles on the trailer are as well. Leaking oil on someone else’s car can be devastating.

Inspect Your Tires

Both under and over-inflated tires can cause severe issues when transporting your vehicle. If your tires aren’t inflated properly, then you run the risk of further damage to your car while in the shipping process.

An easy way to find out if your tires are properly inflated is to check the inside of your car door, or the users manual. There, you will find the exact psi for your tires. Simply use a handy psi checker, and if any are too low or over-inflated, simply correct it.

Remove Accessories

If you have a “tricked out” auto, then don’t let the risk of shipping damage the work you put into it. Due to irregular modifications, this could affect how the car sits in the trailer. The best thing to do is safely remove any accessories that would hinder transportation, and reduce the risk of damage to your vehicle and other vehicles that may be shipping on the same truck.

Make Sure to Lock Your Vehicle

There won’t be (or shouldn’t if you disabled your alarm) any reason to keep your doors unlocked during the shipping process. This is a simple and standard safety precaution that you should use at all times. This is more important seeing as your car will not be alongside you for the journey and you will not have access to it during the process.

If you follow the above steps, you shouldn’t have any problems with your car being shipped from one area to your new location.