Shipping Your Classic Car Safely

By Tom Kearns

You've bought a Blower Bentley and lovingly customized it a la California Kid: it is a customized vintage sports car and you are weaving in and out of traffic like a comet between common stars. Or you have already acquired the unique recent Marussia. The point is, nobody has a car like yours and now you have to ship it and you are not sure how to. You are reluctant to drive that mint-new beauty all those miles and it seems that for a magical car like yours only magic would do to teleport it to the destination.

Fortunately for you there are plenty of auto shipping companies ready and waiting to pick up you gem and ship it off to wherever it needs to go. Your car that you love so much will be guaranteed to show up at its new home in one piece and as beautiful as the day it left your driveway.

Locate an experienced carrier. The average person does not require shipping services that often and it is unlikely that you are familiar with a reliable company by word of mouth. The best way to find what you need is either through a professional broker or through the internet. Numerous companies have websites nowadays, but that includes the old and established shippers who keep up with the world and who would be just right for you.

Compare a number of companies to make sure their terms make sense and that the companies have experience shipping your type of car. Contact them to carefully review their insurance policies and make sure that you precious property is fully covered.

Choosing an open trailer, insist and make sure that the vehicle is loaded onto the upper deck, where it is more difficult to reach and is thus safer from theft and vandalism. However, on the upper deck of the open carrier your car will still be exposed, especially so to inclement weather, birds, bugs, and any detritus that may be carried by gusty winds along stretches of interstate roads.

It is far better to book your car for a closed carrier and have it shipped immediately to the destination. In some cases this may only be possibly if you pay for the truck to leave at once without waiting for its standard minimal load. Otherwise, the company will take the car to a storage facility for an indefinite amount of time, which additional manipulation and waiting time at a general garage increases the risk of theft or damage.

You will of course not add to the shipment any of your personal belongs for transport. It is a good idea to remove all customizations that can be taken off the vehicle and those that cannot, should be thoroughly documented.

The fuel tank should only be holding the minimum to get it to the carrier and then off the carrier to its journey's end. You don't want any excess weight. That will up the price.

Before handing the car over to the company, inspect it and document the smallest prior damage, if such exists. I am sure the owner of a Bentley or a Marussia need not be reminded, but just in case, make sure you wash the car before you take dated digital pictures of it in clear daylight light from all sides and angles, so that no significant nuance or scratch remain undocumented. - 30243

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