Car shipping can be a stressful time if you have never done it before since it can involve more steps than you might think. However, there are ways to make the process go smoothly so that you’re able to get your car where it needs to go without incident.

Five Essential Points to Ready Your Car for Shipping

1: Free Your Car Completely

There are several reasons that you require to free your car before shipping. The main one is that many car shipping companies don’t offer insurance for spoiling the interior of the car and will not cover any of the repair costs if something breaks. This means that having loose items that could crash around and harm the interior could put a price on you.

Secondly, you really don’t want to leave anything in the car that could be stolen. While many car shipping companies are trustworthy, you don’t want to tempt anyone by leaving something of value in your car. Furthermore, a highly visible valuable item may attract thieves that could break into your car when it is unattended. Be smart and make sure that all valuables are removed from your car before shipping.

2: Get All of Your Paperwork Together

Car shipping can involve a lot of paperwork, but as long as you know what you need, it’s not that complicated. This includes insurance documentation, an invoice of lading that proves the shipping company received the car, and documentation outlining the whole price of the shipment. Remember, always get everything in writing with no exceptions. Your car is likely one of your most valuable assets, so don’t leave anything to chance.

Aside from this, there are other types of paperwork you will need. Here is a short list:

Vehicle Certification  information

Invoice of sale or ownership proof

Personal identification

Real vehicle title

The paperwork you need can also vary by state or province. For instance, Georgia car shipping can need different documentation than in other states. Make sure you read up on any location-specific paperwork you will need.

3: Car Washing and Cleaning

Washing and cleaning is the best idea for your car inside and outside so that the shipping company doesn’t have to work again with such a step with a dirty car, there is another practical reason for doing this. Any scratches, dings, and other minor damages can easily be missed if your car is not properly cleaned and washed. A neat and clean car can make it simple to identify if it was damaged throughout shipping so that you can take necessary action. Excluding that, it is also a better idea to clean the interior so that when your car reaches your destination, you’ll be greeted with a different and clean vehicle.

4: Maintain Your Car

You may think that this is an unnecessary step since your car will be shipped by a shipping company, but yet it has to be driven on and off of the carrier unless it is inoperable. This means that you truly don’t want your car to have any unexpected problems, such as not starting or leaking the oil while shipping. A few simple things you should look into:

Battery

Fluids

Mileage

Tires

Try to Use Up Most of The Car Gas

Gas is heavy, and anything that adds extra weight to your car can increase your shipping budget, depending on how you’re being charged. Either way, it will certainly add to the amount of fuel the carrier has to use if you’re handing over your car with a full tank. Instead, make sure that you use up most of your fuel until you have around a quarter of a tank left or less before you hand it over. Just make sure that it has enough gas to be driven on and off of the carrier.

Preparing Your Car for Shipping is Easy

As long as you take this seriously and don’t wait until the last minute to get your car in order, making ready your car to be shipped is really very simple. Ensure that you are in touch with the shipping company so that you know exactly what is expected and research what paperwork you will need, and you’ll find your ca shipped before you know it.

Author Bio – Sylvia James is a copywriter and content strategist. She helps businesses stop playing around with content marketing and start seeing the tangible ROI. She loves writing as much as she loves the cake.