how to inspect your car before shipping

If you are asking the question, “How do I get my car ready for car shipping” you’re one step ahead of the many who haven’t discovered the convenience of auto transport. Kudos to you – you’re one savvy car owner! Next up navigating the prep for the pre-transport inspection details. Good news, it’s extremely easy to get your car ready for its transport. Direct Connect Auto Transport, the leader in auto transport since 2001, has all the answers to your frequently asked questions.

How To Inspect Your Vehicle Before It Ships

  1. Clear out the clutter. Before your car, truck, motorcycle or SUV heads off to its final destination, be sure to clear out the clutter. More than just the candy bar wrappers under the seat, check for needed personal belongings hiding in the glove box or fragile items lingering in your trunk. While it is possible to ship up to 100 pounds of personal effects with your vehicle, you’ll want to make sure they are not high-value items or fragile. It’s also important to ensure that your driver’s view is not impaired in any way as he or she loads and unloads the vehicle onto its carrier.
  2. Pay attention to the exterior. Now that you’ve cleared out the interior of your car, it’s time to move to the exterior. A quick car wash is not required but not a bad idea as it will show the pristine condition of your car off better. Also, if you have an exterior extras on your vehicle that can be removed or retracted to prevent damage, be sure to do so before your car shipping service kicks off. These types of exterior extras might include large antennae, roof racks or bike racks.
  3. Check your fuel levels. Best practices for your auto shipment preparation are to reduce your fuel levels to 1/4 of a tank.
  4. Document your beautiful car. Grab your iPhone (or Android as the case may be) and snap a few pics of your vehicle to log its current condition. This is simply a precaution in case a new scratch or dent presents itself after the car shipment is over, you’ll be able to show that it didn’t exist before.

Prepping your car for auto transport services is an easy and straightforward task. Be sure to note a few other details are you get ready to ship your car such as:

  1. Let your driver know if your car is inoperable, oversized or has any special requirements.
  2. If you need to have door-to-door service or if your driver needs to have special instructions before the car can be delivered be sure to contact your auto transport service partner.
  3. If your location has any special directions that the driver should know about, be sure to communicate that in advance to the car shipper.

Ship Your Car Anywhere With Direct Connect

That’s it, you’re ready to ship your car to its new destination. And, the best part is, you can relax and let Direct Connect Auto Transport do all the work! We offer the nation’s largest and most thoroughly-vetted network of drivers along with world-class insurance standard with all car shipments for added peace of mind. Our quotes are free, instant and easy-to-understand.

Get started with a car shipping quote today!