Car Transport
15 June 2010- Shipping my car for me was just like any other goods transport when I first moved from my old city to my new home in another city. As I did not bother to detach some parts like car stereo and other electronic devices, I lost many of them. My car seat also got damaged as I did not cover the small openings that led water and dust to enter into the car while transport during rainy season. I got the lesson of my life when I had to spend a fair amount of money for repairing all my damages to the car. However, now I am pretty aware of the safer ways for shipping a car and ready to share these tips so that you may also know the proper way of shipping your car.
Tips to Prepare for Car Shipping
As you prepare your other household goods by packing them safely, you have to prepare your car too for safe transport. Although car transport companies provide with the guidelines for preparing your car for shipping, many a times we do not pay attention to them. However, this is very crucial. Just take these steps to prepare your car for transport.
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Check whether there are leaking fluids- oil, coolant, or battery fluid leaks? It is quite risky while car transport shipping. In case of some mis happening, you could be held liable for it.
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Check for car fuel- it should not be more than 1/4 gallon. Extra fuel in your car's engine can leak out during car transport.
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Also check fluid in the expansion tank, if necessary, take help of some auto specialist. Reducing fluid levels in the expansion tank lets the air and antifreeze in the system to expand with rising temperatures and pressure.
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Check whether your car battery is charged or not. If not then you may end up paying extra to the car shipper as they would often need to roll-off the car.
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Ensure to disable anti-theft devices and alarms. You are giving rights to the car shipping company to take charge of your car while transport and these devices can prevent access into your car causing problem midway while they ship your car.
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Make sure that you do not leave any personal items into your car like jewelry, documents, or electronic devices.
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Seal openings or tears, if any. This won't allow dust and moisture to get inside your car.
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If there is any loose part, you must remove or protect it by some other means. Detachable parts like antenna, stereo should be removed.
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Some parts like spoilers, fog lights, and side mirrors can not be detached from the car so wrap them with protective covering.
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Wash off your car (do it yourself without taking help of labor) and clean off your car's inside. Thorough cleaning will let you know whether there are some openings, damage etc. so that you can take measures to rectify these problems.
This is all you can do to prepare your car for shipping. Rest is in hands of your hired car shipping company as to how carefully they handle your car transport activity. If, in spite of preparing your car so well for shipping, it gets damaged then you must be prepared for claiming any damage and for this you must ask your auto mover about insurance coverage for your vehicle.
If you are moving your car to India, you must know about
Import of Used Cars in India
