Auto Transport Tips: Avoid Putting Valuables in Your Vehicle
One of the most common questions that customers ask is whether or not they can put items in their vehicle when they ship it. We’ve covered it once or twice or three times before, but it’s such a common question that we’re going to discuss it a bit more – but with a bit of a twist as well.
While it’s true that most auto transporters will allow you anywhere from 50-100 pounds of items in the trunk of your vehicle (out of sight, out of mind is pretty much the rule there), and while it’s also true that too much weight can seriously impact your shipment and cause problems down the line, something we really haven’t discussed much is putting valuable items in the vehicle.
Putting valuable items in a vehicle slated to be shipped by an auto transport company is a really bad idea. It’s not so much because of theft – when your vehicle is loaded onto a truck it stays on the truck (unless the driver has to move it to load or unload another vehicle, but that’s rare), so people trying to break into cars on transport trucks get run off pretty quick. It’s more because of the fact that they can get moved around and broken during the shipment, be it during loading, transit or unloading.
Items shouldn’t be put in the vehicle period, but if you have to put some stuff in the trunk keep it limited to clothes, linens and other things that really can’t break. If you have to put breakable items in you can, though you should definitely take care to pack it properly. When it comes to really valuable items, though, that’s a precaution that you really don’t want to take – anything put in the vehicle won’t be insured, because it’s not technically allowed to be there. Your carrier will take absolutely zero responsibility for anything that gets damaged during shipment that isn’t a part of the vehicle they’re shipping, so while their insurance will cover a windshield that was cracked during transport, it won’t cover that 17th-century clay pot that has been passed down from generation to generation.
If you’re interested in shipping a vehicle, even if you’re looking to put some stuff in it, you can fill out our free online auto transport quote request form and get a quote right away. We work with only top-rated carriers we make sure all fully licensed and insured. If you have questions about our services, or if you would prefer a quote over the phone, give us a call any time at 800-930-7417 to speak to one of our own live agents.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.
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