First-Time Car Shipper's Checklist: Exactly How to Prep Your Vehicle for Pickup

If this is your first time shipping a car, take a breath -- it's a lot more routine than it feels right now. We've been doing this since 1999 and helped move over 235,000 vehicles, and the truth is that the shipments that go smoothly almost always share one thing in common: the owner spent ten minutes prepping the car before the carrier showed up. The ones that turn into headaches usually skipped that step. So here's the exact checklist we'd give a friend shipping their car for the first time.

Start with fuel. You want the tank about a quarter full -- no more. That's enough for the driver to load your car onto the trailer, reposition it, and roll it off at delivery, but not so much that you're paying to haul a heavy tank of gasoline across the country. A full tank adds real weight, and carriers work under strict federal weight limits; a trailer loaded with nine full tanks adds up fast. A quarter tank is the sweet spot every experienced hauler will tell you to aim for.

Next, empty the car. This one surprises first-timers constantly. Auto transport carriers are licensed and insured to move your vehicle -- not the contents inside it. Cargo insurance covers the car; it does not cover the box of belongings you left in the trunk or the sunglasses in the console. Beyond the coverage issue, loose items become projectiles on a moving trailer -- they slide around, they can crack interior trim, and heavy boxes can shift the vehicle's balance. Take everything out. And pull your toll transponder off the windshield, or you may find tolls quietly charged to your account as the carrier passes through them.

“The five minutes you spend photographing your car before pickup is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.”

Now the step that protects you more than any other: document the car's condition. Before pickup, walk around your vehicle and take clear, well-lit photos of all four sides, the roof, the hood, the trunk, the wheels, the interior, and the odometer. Make sure the timestamps are on. This is not about expecting damage -- the overwhelming majority of shipments arrive perfectly fine -- it's about having ironclad proof of the before state if a question ever comes up at delivery. Photos beat memory every single time, and they turn a potential dispute into a five-minute comparison.

Handle the mechanical basics. Disable your car alarm -- an alarm that goes off every time the trailer hits a bump is a genuine problem for the driver and can delay your delivery. Make sure you're providing a key that actually works to start and steer the car; the driver has to load it, roll it into position, and secure it. If your car has any quirks -- a finicky ignition, a battery that likes to die, a parking brake that sticks -- write them down and tell the driver. Two minutes of heads-up saves an hour of frustration on the ramp.

Give the car a quick once-over for anything that sticks out or hangs low. Fold in the side mirrors, retract the antenna if it's the manual type, and remove aftermarket accessories like bike racks, spoilers, or roof boxes that could catch during a tight multi-car load. If your car is exceptionally low -- a lowered sport car or a classic with minimal ground clearance -- flag that when you book, because it may need a specific spot on the trailer or a carrier with the right ramps. The more the carrier knows in advance, the smoother pickup goes.

When the driver arrives, do the walkaround together and pay attention to the Bill of Lading. This document is the official record of your car's condition at pickup and delivery, and it's your legal protection. Go around the car with the driver, make sure any existing scratches, dents, or chips are noted, and confirm the odometer reading. At delivery, you'll do the exact same inspection and compare. If everything matches, you sign and you're done. If there's new damage, you note it on the Bill of Lading before signing -- once you sign a clean delivery, filing a claim gets much harder.

That's the whole checklist, and none of it takes long. Quarter tank of fuel, empty the car, pull the toll tag, photograph everything, disable the alarm, provide a working key, fold in the mirrors, and do the walkaround. Do those things and first-time shipping is genuinely easy. When you're ready, get a free quote on our marketplace and let vetted carriers compete for your shipment -- or call us at (800) 930-7417 and we'll walk you through it. We've made this process our entire business since 1999, and we built the platform specifically to make your first shipment feel like your tenth.