How to prepare your car for transport: a checklist
Fifteen minutes of preparation protects you if anything goes wrong and makes pickup quick. Here is what to do before the driver arrives.
A little preparation before pickup makes the handover faster and protects you if there is ever a question about damage.
A week before
- Confirm the pickup window and the address with the company, and save the driver's or dispatcher's phone number.
- Ask about personal items. Many carriers don't allow them, and those that do usually limit the weight. See can you pack things in your car.
- Check your own insurance so you know what your policy covers while the car is with someone else.
The day before
- Wash the car. You can't see scratches and dents through dirt, and you want both you and the driver to see the car's real condition.
- Photograph every side, the roof, the wheels and the odometer, in good light. Date-stamped photos are your best evidence.
- Remove valuables and loose items, including chargers, sunglasses and garage remotes.
- Take off or fold in anything that sticks out: bike racks, roof boxes, custom spoilers, antennas that don't retract.
- Remove or disable toll tags so you aren't charged for tolls on the truck's route.
- Leave about a quarter tank of fuel. Enough to drive on and off the trailer, without the extra weight of a full tank.
- Check for leaks and tell the company about any. A carrier can refuse a car that leaks onto vehicles below it.
- Turn off the alarm, or tell the driver how to.
At pickup
- Walk around the car with the driver and make sure every existing mark is noted on the bill of lading (the inspection report).
- Don't sign a blank or incomplete inspection.
- Keep your copy. You'll compare against it at delivery. Here's why the bill of lading matters.
- Hand over one key. Keep the spare.
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