Living in the U.S. where each state can either be separated by a few dozen miles to over one hundred miles, the term car shipping may already be familiar to you. It could be that you’ve considered using the service before if the opportunity presented itself, or you know a few people who’ve had their cars shipped from out of state. Either way, you’re probably in a situation where you do need to transport your vehicle and you’re wondering whether you should do it yourself or have someone else do it for you.
We suggest that you do the latter – for the best of reasons.
Driving across several states, depending on how far your destination is, can be both physically and mentally taxing (read more). Not only are you required to stay physically awake during the long drive, but you also have to be mentally present as well. In fact, being fully alert when driving down interstate highways isn’t just a suggestion – it’s a necessity. For your safety and the safety of those around you, you need to be in tip top shape when you drive long distances.
If you are not sure that you are physically or mentally up for the task, then best leave the job to the experts. If you account for your time, energy, gas, and pocket money for food and drink stops, it will likely cost you the same amount (if not more) of what you’ll pay a professional car mover. The only difference is, you can put your time to better use if you hire someone for the job.
If you want to know how to ship a car to another state, we’re here to tell you all about it. In this article, we want to simplify the process for you so we’ll give you a quick rundown of what you need to prepare or do before you get your vehicle delivered.
Find A Reliable Car Shipping Company
First things first, if you want to move your car to another state, you would need a company to accomplish that task for you. There are many car shipping companies in the U.S. but not all of them would have the same quality of service. Look for a company that is reliable, trustworthy, and fair when it comes to fees and charges. After all, you are entrusting your vehicle to them so it’s important that you are working with a shipping partner that you can 100% depend on.
Choose The Right Service Type
Once you’ve found the right company to contract with, you should finalize the type of shipping service you want to get as well as other additional requests that you may have to facilitate the safe transport of your vehicle. For one, you can choose the type of carrier that will be hauling your car – an open or closed carrier. If you are planning to ship a more valuable car (in a sentimental or monetary sense), a closed carrier might be more ideal as it offers your car more protection. Of course, you should expect to pay a little more for availing a more premium service type.
You would also need to decide what other service arrangements you would need, such as where you want your car to be dropped off (terminal or door-to-door delivery) or how soon you need the car to be shipped to its destination. Most companies would accommodate special requests as well for the right price.
Prepare All The Paperwork
Once you’ve sorted the transport arrangements, it’s time to get the paperwork done. You would need to sign a contract with the company, giving them authorization to transport your vehicle. But before that, you also need to present them with all the necessary requirements relevant to the transfer such as your driver’s license, your car registration, tax receipts, etc. The requirements may vary depending on the prevailing laws in the destination state so make sure that you do your research in advance. Read more here: https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/export-docs/motor-vehicle.
Get Your Vehicle Ready for Shipping
At this point, most of the tedious work is done and what you need to do next is prepare the vehicle for shipping. This means that you have to clear out anything unnecessary from your car, as well as things that you would hate to lose like important documents and such. Working with a reliable car shipping company may minimize your risks of experiencing theft or damages, but it’s always better to take extra measures whenever you have the option to do it.
Also, you may want to hold off on topping up gas to save on shipping costs as shipping fees are mostly calculated by distance traveled and the weight/size of the vehicle, so making your car as light as possible would be to your advantage.