Why Ship Your Classic Car?
You might love to drive your classic car around town, showing it off to everyone in your path. While this may be true, it is not a good idea to drive it a long distance. There could be many things that could happen to your car if you did that.
If you own a classic vehicle, you might have many reasons to ship it across the country. There are many reasons that shipping it is a better idea than driving it to its destination. The biggest reason is to avoid damage to the vehicle.
There are many people that can move vintage cars for you. You can search to transport a classic car and you will find many carriers that can do this for you. You need to be careful because not all carriers will be able to transport your car safely.
This article will help you to learn a little more about transporting vintage vehicles. It will tell you a few things that you should know. You can also do more research to find the information that you are looking for.
Which is Cheaper – Driving or Shipping Your Auto?
You might think that driving your auto would be cost effective for you. There are things that you might not be thinking about if you drive. This would include gas prices, wear and tear on your auto, time spent on the road, and accommodations that you might need while you are on the road. With all these costs, you might find that shipping it might be less expensive for you.
The cost of shipping a vintage car could be around a thousand dollars: https://www.consumeraffairs.com/auto/cost-to-ship-a-car.html. This price depends on many things, however. It could change because of the condition of your vehicle, the distance that you want it shipped, and the mode of transportation for it.
Preparing for Shipment
To prepare for shipment, you need to do several things to get it ready. You need to remove all personal items from your car. There are a couple of reasons for this – you don’t want to lose any of your personal items during transport and it will add to the weight of your transport.
You also need to clean your vehicle both inside and outside before you transport. This allows you to see if there is any damage to your vehicle. It also allows you to document with pictures anything that might be there including dents, dings, and rips in the upholstery.
This leads to taking video and photos of your vehicle. You want to take pictures from all sides and inside, as well. You want to get closeups of any damage that might be there, or of no damage at all. You will want to video for the same reasons.
Turn your vehicle on for a little why before you ship. This is done for a few reasons. It will help confirm that there are no mechanical or electrical issues. It might take a while to ship your auto and running it will help to keep it working. It will also help you to keep the battery charged and help to avoid mechanical failures.
You also need to run a maintenance check. You might even want to take it to a professional mechanic so that you can see if there is anything wrong with your vehicle. See here to find out why this is a good idea. This is especially important if you are hearing any unusual noises as you drive it.
You don’t want to fill the tank before you have it shipped. You only want to fill it to a quarter of a tank. This will be enough to get it on and off the ramps, but not too much to add much weight to the transport.
Open or Closed Carrier
You could choose either an open or an enclosed carrier. An enclosed carrier would probably be better for a classic vehicle because it is protected from the weather and road debris. It is also protected from the threat of theft. It is more expensive than open carriers.
An open carrier will leave your vehicle open to the weather and road debris. It could be damaged by this. This might be the only option that you might have due to the cost of enclosed carriers.
Tips for Transporting
You want to choose an experienced company – one that has experience with classic cars. You can find one by talking to friends and family and even classic car enthusiasts. Make sure that you read online reviews to see what others are saying about the companies.
Make sure that the company has insurance that will cover your car in case there is any damage or theft. You also want to have personal insurance coverage to ensure that you are covered in case something happens. If the company doesn’t have enough insurance to cover your car, find another company.
Conclusion
There are many things that you need to do to make sure that shipping your car is a good experience. You don’t want to drive your car for long distances because of the wear and tear that can cause. You want to choose a carrier that you can trust to do the job without damaging your vehicle.
