As soon as you decide to transport your vehicle instead of driving it to your desired destination, you’ll need to hire a reliable auto transportation company. Once you’ve chosen a trustworthy and reputable company to work with, then the next step is to get your car ready for shipment. While your car transport company will handle much of the preparations, there are some things you will need to do before you can ship your car safely.

How Do I Prepare My Vehicle for Transportation?

Here are our step-by-step instructions to help you get your vehicle completely ready for transportation.

1. The first and foremost action you need to take is to wash your car. Take into consideration that the car needs to be washed as soon as you find out the date of shipping. Washing your car before transportation will make it easier to determine scratches and damage.
2. After you wash your vehicle, do a thorough inspection for scratches, dents, and paint chips. You will need to take photos of those and get them ready for the inspection report you will need to sign.
3. Make sure your vehicle doesn’t have any visible fluid leaks. If it does, you’ll need to fix them so they don’t leak onto the carrier or the road.
4. Watch out for your battery. Before shipping, you will need to charge it fully and secure it in its supporting bracket.
5. Don’t put additional gas in the tank. Your gas tank should be about a quarter full.
6. Do not leave any of your personal belongings in the car. The auto shipping company’s insurance does not cover the loss of personal items.
7. Make sure you also disarm your alarm system.
8. Prepare a copy of your car’s key for the driver and secure your original one.
9. Make sure your car doesn’t have mechanical issues, or if it does, let the driver know about it to avoid further delays.

These steps for shipping a vehicle are necessary for your vehicle. If you follow these instructions, you will have successful shipping with no damage or problems.

It’s possible to have cheap car transport yet maintain high quality!