There are many reasons as to why someone would opt for car shipping services to get their vehicle down in the Golden State of California. They could be preparing to move to a new place, start a new life in a new neighborhood but want to keep the same set of wheels for practical or sentimental reasons. It could also be that they’re just there for a season, visiting family and friends for the holidays but want the convenience of having their own car at their disposal. Whatever the reason may be, having your own car in a big state of California will definitely give you a sense of ease and familiarity.
But shipping a vehicle to another state is not really common knowledge. Unless you’ve had your fair share of travels wherein you had to haul your wheels with you, you likely don’t know the first thing about car shipping. In this article, allow us to walk you through the things you need to prepare before you even arrange your car for shipment.
4 Things You Need To Do Before Shipping Out Your Car To California
1. Clear Out Your Belongings
It’s very important that when you hand your vehicle to the car shipping company, all your stuff – especially your valuables, sensitive documents, and other paraphernalia – are cleared out. This is less of a trust issue than it is a “being self-responsible for your own belongings” issue. Knowing that you are about to hand your vehicle to strangers, albeit workers of the shipping company you contracted, you should secure everything you need for your own personal protection and peace of mind. Most companies make you sign a waiver for liabilities that are not within the scope of the service and usually this includes not being liable for lost property as they do advise owners to clear out their vehicles prior to shipment.
2. Make Sure Your Car Permits & Insurances Are Updated
When transporting vehicles, car shipping companies would need to show updated registrations and paperwork for all vehicles they are bringing into another state or country. They usually require you to submit such documents upon arranging your schedule for car shipping to California to make sure that there would be no issues when crossing borders. So, when you make your travel or moving plans, make sure that you include the checking and updating of your registrations and insurances. This would help you avoid legal issues during shipment as well as add more protection (i.e. car insurance) for your vehicle.
3. Don’t Top Up On Fuel
Right before shipment, you may want to put a hold on filling up your gas tank. This may actually be the only case where you can say that not having enough gas is a good thing. We’re not saying you should empty the tank but probably just go for a quarter fill. This will make sure that you have enough gas to get your vehicle home (in the case of “terminal to terminal” delivery) or get around town to pick up groceries once you’ve just moved into your new place.
Not having a full tank would make your vehicle lighter and therefore help you reduce shipping costs as car shipping companies tend to give you a quote based on the weight of the car on top of the model or make of the car.
4. Snap Lots Of Pics!
You need to get ‘em receipts! And one surefire way to make sure that you have proof of your car’s condition prior to shipment is to take lots of pictures of it. Before handing your vehicle off to the experts, take photos of your car’s interior and exterior. Note any existing damages or peculiarities that your car already has. Make sure to take clear photos of scratches and dents, as well as areas where there are NO scratches and dents. It is also important that these images are time stamped to give the photos more credibility should the need to present them arise.
Of course, there’s a very slim chance that your car will get into any sort of trouble, especially when you work with a trustworthy company, but in the off chance that there is trouble, these pictures will surely come handy. After all, there have been cases of damage and even loss as you can check out here: https://medium.com/@a1autotransport-ca/what-happens-if-your-car-gets-lost-during-shipping-c78342e52e0d, so you would want to document the condition of your vehicle as a form of insurance. It’s always better to be prepared than sorry.
These are just a few tips on how you can make your vehicle shipping process easier and hassle-free. Before you even start doing any of these, however, the very first thing that should be on your priority list is looking for a shipping company that will help move you through this process smoothly. There are companies that offer terminal to terminal shipments and door to door delivery, which is much more convenient so make sure that you plan everything with your specific needs in mind.
