Anyone who’s ever moved long distances before knows how difficult it can be to accomplish. Whether you’re moving across the whole ocean or just a few states over, it’s not always fun to have to hop in the car and drive all that way. In fact, it can be quite draining depending on how long it will take you.
Really, it’s enough to make a person wonder if there’s some sort of alternative. If you’re here reading this, then you’ve probably already got a decent idea of what that alternative looks like. For anyone who guessed vehicle sipping, you’re right – that’s one way to avoid the tiresome process of driving yourself to your destination.
Now, if you weren’t already aware of this, you might want to check out this page: https://www.move.org/frequently-asked-questions-about-car-shipping/. There’s a lot to learn about when it comes to Vehicle Shipping, so don’t worry if you don’t have a handle on all of it just yet. Buckle up and get ready to learn more, though!
How to Get Started
The process of having a car shipped isn’t a difficult one, but there are some things that you should know about before you take the plunge. Most notably, have some information and documentation prepped before you head into the depot or start your consultation. When you’re getting your quote, they’ll need a few things from you first.
Thankfully, it’s really nothing too crazy. Any registration documents that you’ve got, and your driver’s license are a given, but it’ll help to know your car’s make, model, and approximate weight. While this might seem incredibly obvious, we think it’s worth mentioning. Not everyone has all of that memorized off of the top of their head, after all.
Additionally, make sure that you’ve got some sort of approximation of when you’d be shipping the car. There’s a decent chance that you’ve already got that figured out, but just in case, get that sorted out before you go to get a quote. As you can see in this article, this can really speed things up for you.
Pricing – What Can Change it?
One of the biggest questions that we see in regard to vehicle shipping is how the pricing works. For the most part, the main thing that will impact how expensive it will be for you is the weight of the vehicle involved. That said, there are a few other factors at play as well.
An example of that is how far you’ll be shipping the car. A short journey, ranging from three-hundred miles or less, usually will be under a grand. However, any further than that, and the price tag does start to go up. Of course, it will likely still be less expensive than driving yourself.
After all, when you factor in the costs of gas, rest stops, food, drinks, and hotel rooms, the price tag goes up pretty quickly. Given that we can lower the expenses for vehicle shipping, it’s not hard to see why so many people find this worth it. So – how else can we mitigate those expenses, then?
Plan Ahead
Perhaps the best thing that you can do to prepare for this process is to plan ahead. Sounds pretty obvious, right? Well, there are good reasons that we’re highlighting this anyhow.
Make sure that you don’t end up in a situation where you need to have your car shipped in less than a day. Those sorts of situations are what make it much more expensive, so avoiding that is really doing yourself a favor. Beyond that, though, there are some other things involved in the prep.
Cleaning your car is one of them. Ideally, you’ll want to clear out the inside and wash the outside. This way, you’re reducing the weight of your vehicle. Although it might sound silly, even the smallest thing could end up costing you more.
You’ll also want to think about what sort of storage container you want your car shipped in. There are covered and uncovered ones, and the latter is a bit riskier. So, if you’d like the secure option, the covered ones are typically going to be the better bet. Either way, though, you should probably catalogue any damage that your car has before transport.
Thankfully, you probably won’t need to worry about any damage. Just in case, though, having some documentation to show a before and after can be helpful in an insurance claim. Generally, though, that’s not something you’ll need to stress about.
As you can see, there’s a lot to keep track of when you’re deciding to transport your car. With that said, though, it can really take a weight off your mind during a big move or something like that. It takes one more variable out of the equation since you know you’ll have your car when you arrive.
