March 1, 2015

Should You Wash Your Car Before You Ship It?

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If you’ve never shipped your car before, you’re bound to have questions. Loading your vehicle up with a stranger and sending it on its way might feel slightly akin to sending your kid off for his or her first day of school. It’s nerve-racking experience. However, if you’ve done your homework, you’ve chosen a trustworthy and reliable auto transport company that is able to ship your vehicle safely and effectively to the new location. Once you have the schedule in place and have verified your paperwork, you have nothing to do but sit back and wait for the pickup date. Before you load up your car, however, you may wonder if you should give it a nice bubble bath to leave it gleaming for the trip.

Washing your car is actually a great idea.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but washing your car before you load it up on an auto transport is actually a terrific idea. While it may get dusty and dirty during the trip, especially if it is traveling via an open-transport, the wash will help with logistics prior to the trip. Here’s why: when an auto transporter comes to pick up your vehicle, he or she will do a thorough examination of the car, noting any scratches, dings, dents, or other blemishes that may be present. This is a visual inspection and hardly a scientific process.

If your car is clean, an auto shipper can better note its condition.

 

Occasionally an auto transporter will make a mistake when examining the vehicle. For instance, he or she might mistake a muddy fender for a scraped or blemished one. If your vehicle were to somehow get damaged during the trip, it would be more difficult for you to argue that the damage was not there before. By cleaning your vehicle thoroughly before the trip, the shipper can better take inventory of its condition and provide a detailed report known as the Bill of Landing or the Inspection Report.

Once your vehicle arrives in its new location, you can examine it for damage.

Auto transporters are known for the exceptional care that they take with their vehicles. Chances are very good that your car will arrive safe and sound. However, if you do notice new scratches or dings, you’ll be able to utilize your Inspection Report to point out this damage. Make sure to fully examine your vehicle before you sign off on the drop-off. If you find any discrepancies, you can file a report with the company and point to the shipper’s inspection as evidence for your claims. If this happens, you’ll be really glad you took the time to wash your car before it shipped.

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