When looking into car shipping services, it can seem daunting at first – there’s a lot to know and a lot of things to consider. Here at Carnections, we take care of all your car shipping needs. Below we cover our most frequently asked questions about car shipping. We’ve created several guides and checklists that make shipping with us easy, check out our other auto transport resources including Auto Transport Guide, and our exlusive Car Shipping Checklist.
The price to ship your vehicle will depend on several factors including but not limited to: the origin; the destination; the vehicle make, model, year, size, condition & modifications; the time of year; diesel fuel prices; the demand (number of vehicles in the area needing to be moved) and supply (the number of carriers available in the area); and your time frame for pickup and delivery. Get a Free Car Shipping Estimate online or call us at 800-909-2330.
To book your vehicle transport, we only require a deposit of $300. For this deposit, we accept payment by MasterCard, Visa, AmEx, Discover, or CASH.
The remaining balance is due at pick-up or delivery or both; It’s your choice! You must pay the driver the balance directly via CASH, certified check, or money order. We also accept business checks from established companies. We do not accept credit card, personal checks, or any other form of payment for the balance. If you plan on paying the balance with a cashier’s check, make it out to the company of the specific carrier transporting your vehicle. We will let you know who that is as soon as it’s determined, which is usually a few days prior to pick-up.
To make a long story short, Carnections can usually get a vehicle picked up within any 3-7 day window. Factors such as major holidays and rural origins or destinations will affect this. Once your vehicle is picked up, the carrier travels on average 400-500 miles/day. Sometimes carriers travel much faster than this, traveling up to 800 miles in a day, but sometimes they travel less than this due to factors like weather, road construction, unexpected mechanical problems, and delays due to other pick-ups and deliveries. A Carnections’ dispatcher or the actual truck driver will keep in touch with you regarding pick-up and delivery, so you know what to expect.
If you need your vehicle picked up and shipped faster than what’s described above, check out our Hot Shot Auto Transport service. It’s an expedited service for when you need your vehicle to arrive yesterday 🙂
YES! The keys are needed to start your vehicle so it can be driven onto the auto transport carrier.
Yes. Check out our Auto Transport Checklist. The first few items in the list detail the preparations you should perform prior to having your vehicle shipped.
An “inoperable” or “non-functioning” vehicle is one that doesn’t start or drive with its own power. If your vehicle is inoperable it can still be transported. It only needs to be able to roll, steer, and have working brakes. There is an “INOP” fee (usually $150-$200) for loading and unloading since non-functioning vehicles require a winch to load and unload them on and off the car hauler. For more information requiring inoperable vehicles, see our services page.
Almost all cars have some minor damage, e.g. scuffs, dents, scratches, dings, etc. Minor damage to your vehicle is perfectly okay. It will be recorded on the BOL (see “What should I do if my vehicle is damaged?” section below) when your vehicle is being picked up. Your vehicle will be covered by the carrier’s insurance during transport for damage and loss.
Major damage is another story. If your vehicle is wrecked, salvaged, or otherwise majorly damaged, it will only be covered for loss. If you’re not sure if your vehicle’s condition permits it to be covered for damage, give us a call. We’ll probably need to see the car ourselves, so be prepared to email or text us some pictures of it.
Your vehicle is made available to our network of licensed carriers. Once we have a carrier available to transport your vehicle on a specific timeline, we will let you know. If you give us the okay to assign it to the carrier, your deposit will no longer be refundable. Assignation to a particular carrier is usually done 1-2 days prior to the pickup date. At this time we will supply you with the carrier’s name and phone number if you request it.
We instruct our drivers to call you (or the point of contact at the pick-up location) approximately 1-24 hours before pick-up to let you know the approximate time he/she will arrive. He/she can usually give you a window of a few hours for pickup. Even though the carrier will call you, it is your responsibility to keep in contact with him/her and to make yourself available during the window the two of you work out.
The carrier will also usually give you a call about an hour to 30 minutes before he/she arrives. At this time you can work out with him/her the exact meeting location. The carrier will try to get as close to your desired address as possible, but auto transport carriers are big and can’t fit into small streets and most residential areas. Once the carrier arrives you and he/she will inspect the exterior of the vehicle and sign the Bill of Lading (BOL). This same basic scenario applies for delivery. The balance is usually paid at delivery, but can also be paid at pickup.
Carnections exclusively offers door-to-door service. We pick up your vehicle and drop it off as close to the addresses you specify as is physically possible. Our auto transport rigs are large, so they won’t fit into residential zones or onto other small streets, but we can usually get within 1-5 miles of wherever you specify. Common meeting locations are shopping malls, grocery stores, vacant lots, and large streets. For more information on door-to-door car shipping, see our services page.
The pick-up/delivery will be rescheduled, and you may be subject to a $200 rescheduling fee. It’s easier on everyone involved if we don’t need to reschedule, so try to have somebody available at both pick-up and delivery during the time estimates given to you by your Carnections’ dispatcher or driver. If you can’t be available yourself, have a family member, friend, or somebody else whom you trust, be available. The person(s) whom you designate to consign or receive your vehicle needs to be an adult and should be somebody who you trust. They will be responsible for doing the vehicle inspection, signing the BOL, and paying the driver.
Also, don’t take off work or sit at home waiting for the driver until you get a firm time estimate from him/her. Sometimes drivers get delayed and we don’t want you to have to miss work or waste your time for nothing.
Contact us at 800-909-2330 if no one is available at pick-up or delivery! WE CAN SEE IF SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS CAN BE MADE!
As is standard in the industry, the Carnections’ carriers use a document called a Bill of Lading(BOL) to keep a record of your vehicle’s condition. For each transport there are two BOLs, one for pick-up and one for delivery.
On these documents there will be an outline of a vehicle shown at various angles. This is used to record your vehicle’s condition both at pick-up and at delivery.
It is important that you thoroughly inspect the exterior of your vehicle along with the driver and record its condition on the BOLs. Most often the driver will also take pictures pick-up and delivery (feel free to take pictures too).
There are also sections on the BOLs specifically for exceptions. If you notice damage to your vehicle at delivery that was not marked at pick-up, be sure to indicate this in the “exceptions” area of the delivery BOL.
You or an adult you designate must sign the BOLs at pick-up and delivery.
Also be sure to get copies of both BOLs from the driver. In the unlikely case of damage to your vehicle, these documents serve as proof.
CALL us 800-909-2330 at delivery if you notice your vehicle has been damaged during transport. A transport specialist can walk you through the process.
Both are semi trucks that transport vehicles. An open carrier is the most common and the most economical. They vary in size; some can only fit 3 cars while some can fit up to 10 cars. The vehicles on the truck are exposed to the elements because they are not covered or enclosed. It’s nothing to worry about, though, because damage is rare.
Enclosed carriers are rarer and more expensive, but they are a good choice for classic, restored, and high-performance vehicles. Enclosed carriers completely enclose the vehicles they transport. They vary in size, from 1 to 4 cars.
For more information on both types of carriers, see our services page.
This is a situation in which the law says “no”, but since it’s such a common request and there’s no harm to it, we are mostly okay with it. The license given to carriers by the FMSCA does not permit the transportation of items inside the vehicles besides the items commonly found in vehicles, e.g., a car seat, radio, spare tire, registration papers, etc. For this reason, neither Carnections nor the carrier we assign to ship your vehicle can nor will be held responsible for loss, theft or damage of anything inside your vehicle. So you put items inside your vehicle at your own risk. The vehicle itself is covered for loss and damage, but goods inside it are not.
Because carriers aren’t legally allowed to carry items inside your vehicle during the transport, they risk a hefty fine for doing so. Carriers also try to keep the total cargo weight to a minimum to save on gas. For these two reasons, we leave it to the individual driver’s discretion as to whether they will allow items inside your vehicle and any fee for doing so. In our experience, drivers are usually okay with less than 150 lbs kept to the rear or trunk of your vehicle and they will usually not charge you any additional fee. If they do charge anything it will be around $100-$200. However, if you pack your vehicle full of goods and if it weighs much more than 150lbs, the fee can go higher. We’ve seen charges as high as $250-$400. The carrier is also more likely to refuse to transport your vehicle.
If items are inside your vehicle, please inform the driver and work out the exact fee (if any) before he loads it onto his truck. Also keep in mind that the fees are usually negotiable. If you fail to inform the driver of goods inside your vehicle, you may be faced with a large unexpected charge at delivery.