All About Shipping Your Car After An Accident
If you just got into an accident, chances are you want to ship your car. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about car shipping after an accident.
How Much Does It Cost For Car Shipping?
If you are shipping a four-door sedan you can expect to spend between $600 and $1,000 for car shipping. Please note the smaller number reflects winter months and the higher number is a reflection of summer months when it is more expensive to ship a car.
If you wish to transport a small truck, SUV or van cross country i.e. from New York to California, then you are looking at $800 to $1,070. Sedans from New York to Florida range from about $650 to $850 and about $800 to $1,100 for vehicles larger than a sedan.
If you’re looking to ship a classic or luxury vehicle, be warned those might be more expensive, since these vehicles need to be placed in either a truck or closed container to be shipped. Because of this, you can expect these vehicles to cost an additional $800 to $3,000 to be shipped.
Safely and Securely Shipping Your Luxury Automobile
When you’re shipping a luxury car you want to make sure your vehicle’s fuel tank has enough in it to get the car off and on the transporter. You also want to be sure that you record a video of your vehicle, making sure you don’t miss the rocker panels, exhaust, and the underside. Basically, make sure you capture anything that could get damaged.
You’ll also want to document your mileage on your odometer. This is key because you don’t want your brand new Mercedes, Lexus or BMW to be delivered with a few extra miles on it. Then you know the shipping company took your whip out for a joy ride.
You’ll also want to get a video of the truck with your car getting on the car carrier, the license plate of the truck as well as video of the trucker, or the luxury auto transportation specialist who is taking your car. This is in case there is a dispute, also sometimes the car shipper will give you a discount for this recording. If you just purchased the vehicle, you may have to provide a copy of the bill of sale to the auto transportation company.
Car Shipping After an Accident: What You Need to Know
When you’re looking for an auto transport company that can handle your car after an accident, you might realize it’s a similar process to finding someone to ship your working car. In both situations, you’re looking for a transport company that is reliable, with great reviews, that is also affordable.
You also want to make sure that just since your situation is unique that booking your car shipping service will be a little more complicated. Unlike shipping a working car, you won’t be able to ship your car after an accident with a fast quote and online reservation.
You always want to make sure that you call the shipping company and talk to a representative. That way you can tell them about the condition of your car, and make sure that they ship salvage (or damaged) vehicles.
Special equipment Is Needed To Transport Salvage Vehicles
A lot of car shipping, like when shipping a luxury vehicle, only needs a car carrier and an extra set of keys. As working vehicles can be loaded and unloaded simply by driving the car on and off the truck.
When you’re shipping damaged, totaled or salvaged cars, these vehicles can’t be driven. Sometimes these cars won’t even roll, so it’s more challenging to load them on and off a truck or trailer. Usually, a forklift is the only way that you can safely load and unload these types of cars onto a rollback tow or flatbed truck.
Of course, every situation that involves a salvage vehicle is different. You’ll want to choose an auto transport company that has experience with and routinely deals with salvaged cars. They might have the necessary equipment on hand to deal with inoperable vehicles.
Do note that most of these companies will need you to pay an additional fee that is above the transport cost for the use of this special additional equipment that is needed. It might also take longer for you to get a ship date since there aren’t a ton of flatbed shippers.
Keep in mind this special equipment needed to transport your salvage vehicle is needed for your car transportation and required when your car is picked up.
Prepping Your Car For Shipping After An Accident
You want to make sure that you give that representative as many details as possible about your car. Tell them what’s wrong with it and if it can break, roll, steer. You also want to let the representative know if the fluids have been drained and if there is still gas in the tank.
There are some companies that have the equipment needed to handle a non-rolling, non-working, non-breaking vehicle on their own, or they can connect with a towing company that can load and unloads totaled vehicles.
There are also other auto transport companies that will not work with vehicles that can’t be operated at all, because they don’t have the necessary specialized equipment and or they don’t want to deal with all the extra steps needed to transport a totaled car.
After you get your date of shipping, you will still need to do some sort of prep. Now is the time to remove all of your personal items that are in your car. You’ll also want to drain any remaining fluids if you can safely. You also want to make sure that you are squared away with your insurance company before you transport your car.
Ship Your Car After An Accident
Now that you know everything you need to know about car shipping after your vehicle has been in an accident, and how to ship a working luxury vehicle, find the car transportation company to help you out today. Make sure you get quotes from more than one company and give as much detail about your car condition as possible. For more information on car transportation and towing, contact us today!
