Auto Transport Tips: What You Need to Ship a Vehicle
The humble auto transportation industry is fraught with misinformation, particularly in today’s world of high-speed internet delivering the information of the entire world right to your computer or mobile device. Twenty years ago, the internet was in its infancy; auto transporters still booked their shipments and processed orders by phone or fax, and technology was years behind what it is now. Fast forward those twenty years, though, and you now have a thriving industry with low start-up costs that allows almost anyone to enter into the now over-saturated market to try and make a living. It’s a tough industry today, and only the best make it to the top – and in the U.S., maybe its the way it should be. But just because these companies make a lot of money doesn’t mean that they necessarily tell you everything.
One of the biggest misconceptions floating around today is exactly what you need to ship a vehicle. Some people think the list is extensive – they’re under the impression they have to prove ownership and a bill of sale and all that, or that they need to keep all the documentation of the vehicle in the car during transport, and this is far from the case. When shipping a vehicle, you don’t need anything regarding proof of ownership. You don’t need the title, or the registration, and you certainly don’t need any insurance on it (any damages incurred during transport will be repaired by the carrier’s insurance, and any personal insurance on a vehicle being shipped will be considered “secondary” or “tertiary” insurance). In fact, having the documentation pertaining to ownership of the vehicle, particularly the title, in the vehicle during transport is a bad idea. That’s an important piece of information that could get lost between pickup and delivery (though it’s rare, it does happen).
You really only need to be there at pickup and delivery – that’s really it. And it doesn’t even have to be you. It just has to be someone who can do an inspection with the driver at pickup, prior to loading, and someone at delivery to do the same thing. Some paperwork will need to be signed, but you don’t even need to sign it – you can designate an agent to do it for you, and it’s cool so long as your auto transport representative and the driver who will be picking your vehicle up know who it will be. For delivery you’ll need to have someone there with cash-on-hand if you are unable to be there, as payment to the carrier has to be done via cash, cashier’s check or money order, but that’s really it. If you need a quote to ship a vehicle, fill out our free online quote request form to the left or give us a call and find out what we can do for you here at American Auto Shipping.
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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