Your Guide To Car Shipping

Moving is stressful.  It’s not always easy, either.  If there’s anything that we can do to ease the process along the way, then why not do so, right?  Well, one of the most frustrating parts of the whole thing can be dealing with your car.  

On one hand, you can take the route of going for a huge and very long road trip.  Maybe it sounds fun – honestly, it can be in some cases.  The trouble is, though, they can quickly get really expensive.  There’s the matter of how expensive hotels are, for one thing.  We can’t even go to an Air BnB or something like that to reduce the costs since those are pretty pricey now too.

Then, there’s also the whole problem of needing food the whole time too.  To say that this sort of stuff can rack up pretty fast is an understatement.  There are cost estimates like this one, that can show you some of what you might be facing.  The alternatives often don’t feel much better.  That said, it’s not like there are zero options that can make your life easier.  Car shipping is one of them that can be pretty nice in the right contexts.

There is Some Prep Involved

No matter what way you’re planning on moving your car during a big move like this, there’s going to be some sort of preparation involved.  At least when it comes to this method, it’s relatively easy.  Just make sure that you have these steps in mind before you go through with it, that way you’ll know what to expect.

First off, you’ll want to double check that all of your documentation is up to date.  As you can see on this page, this can be a somewhat complicated process.  However, if you’ve got your registry info, your current driver’s license and/or passport, and your insurance info, then you’re probably set to go!

From there, you’ll want to take some time to do things like clean out the car (both inside and out, really), as well as removing any of your important items.  Chargers and the likes are something to prioritize, as well as any cash or stuff like that.  Basically, the emptier the car when you get ready to drop it off, the better.

Surprisingly enough that does include the gas tank, too.  You’ll probably want to keep about a quarter of a tank in there as you get ready for the transport, but you don’t need anything more than that.  All that a full tank will do is drive up your final bill, unfortunately.

Other Things to Note

Beyond what we’ve already discussed here, you might be wondering if there’s anything else to keep in mind if you do decide to use car shipping over some of the other options out there.  As you can probably guess, there’s plenty else to be aware of.  The main thing is that depending on the company you decide to work with, things could get a bit stressful.

That’s why it’s such a big deal to find one that you trust.  If you’re ever not sure which one to go with, it might be worth scouring the internet to find some reviews for them.  That way, you can see what other customers have to say.  

Another option is to contact them directly.  See how their customer service is – if they’re willing to work with you and help you out with things, then there’s a good chance that you’ll enjoy the business relationship there.  It also demonstrates that they’re trustworthy to an extent.

As far as some of the particulars involved with the actual shipping process, one debate that a lot of customers find themselves facing is whether or not they want to go for enclosed shipping.  While it does cost more, it definitely keeps the vehicle in question much safer.  So, it’ll be up to you on whether or not you’re willing to spend a bit more cash to help keep your car safer than it might be otherwise.

That goes for most of this, really – it’s going to be your own personal preferences that determine whether or not you want to go through this process at all.  Some people genuinely do prefer the other options that are out there.  In terms of convenience, though, it’s hard to argue against shipping. 

It can certainly take a load off of your own shoulders during a big move, which is invaluable considering how difficult it can be.  If you weren’t really sure what to do before and have been looking for ways to ease things along, hopefully this article has been of some help to you.  This is certainly a method that just isn’t talked about nearly enough, especially in this particular context.