Shipping a Luxury Car on an enclosed trailer in the US

This post will discuss shipping your luxury car to your business or home after purchasing it from the dealer.

Luxury cars are a considerable investment that warrants protection when purchased away from your home location and requires shipping. You must transport it from the dealership after purchase, whether a brand new luxury car or a pre-owned luxury motorcar.

Most dealers’ showrooms are situated away from the city, or you are acquiring an exotic car that is rare and not in your local area where you could drive it home. Luxury car owners often prefer their vehicles shipped to their door or location.

In another case, the car owner might be moving from one state to another and not want the specialty car to undergo excessive wear and tear from a road trip.

In either case, shipping the car to the desired destination is often done through a professional luxury car transportation company. It is the most accepted standard process that most owners prefer when they wish to ship a car.

Whether you are hiring a company for transportation of your exotic vehicle or handling the shipping yourself (due to the non-availability of proper luxury car shippers at your destination), you need to know the steps to ship a classic motorcar safely.

For domestic shipping of cars between states within the USA, the most affordable and safe option would be to choose an enclosed trailer method.

Advantages of Shipping Car by Enclosed Trailer:

• Enclosed Trailers offer complete safety from weather and environmental damage to your car.
• Enclosed Trailers meet or exceed the Department of Transportation Regulation standards for motor carriers.
• These trailers generally carry an excellent shipping insurance policy if something happens to your vehicle during transit. You can file a claim through their insurance policy.
• All the car dealerships and private owners/car collectors regularly use enclosed trailers for shipping their luxury motor vehicles. Professional truck drivers with enclosed trailers are equipped with all the necessary experience to handle your vehicle with utmost care.
• A study shows less than 1% of claims against motor vehicle carrier accidents have occurred during the last 16 years. As a luxury car owner, it gives you safety and peace of mind. You can also find reviews from fellow exotic car owners who use a car shipping company online.
• Cargo trailers often have inbuilt ramps for loading and unloading low-ground clearance cars, saving a lot of time finding them from the local automotive store.
• Covered trailers (or) containers have high-pressure withstanding capacities. It handles good load-bearing ability. As cars are one of the most valued goods truckers carry.

It Makes enclosed trailers the safest and most affordable way to transport vehicles between states or counties in the USA and North America.

Apart from enclosed trailers, a road transportation method, one can choose to use private cargo flights or chartered flights to relocate their vehicle quickly.

Just be advised that air transportation will cost thousands of dollars, and it is not feasible every time, making road transportation the preferred method for most luxury car owners.

Finding A Professional Luxury Car Shipping Company:

Searching for a reliable car shipper and getting the car shipped is difficult. However, here are some essential and helpful tips to keep in mind.

• Contact all available providers which offer luxury car shipping services from your location to the destination.
• Ask them what kind of trailers they have and how their shipping works. Any reliable shipping company should easily guide you with honest information upfront.
• Ask them if transit tracking facilities are available or not. These days, most companies have GPS tracking installed in their trucks, providing live tracking of shipments from anywhere in the world.
• Ask them for auto transportation insurance availability, as your car insurance does not cover the transit damages in 99.9% of cases.
• If the shipping company provides car transit insurance, please check its validity, terms, and conditions. Ask them what claims are acceptable if your vehicle undergoes any damage during transit.
• Ask if they would arrange the unloading and loading of the vehicle themselves or if you need to hire a third-party garage or mechanic to do this job.
• View the carrier’s certificate of insurance and visit the FMCSA website to confirm the registration and insurance validation.
• Find out if the carrier offers door-to-door shipping services or location-based shipment.
• Ask for estimated delivery timelines, as the shipping carrier might experience delays during peak seasons, and you need to plan accordingly.
• Get an instant quote from the carrier service provider and ask for any eligible first-time shipping customer discount. Although discounts are your least priority, most carriers offer discounts during the off-season.
• Once you are good with quotes, schedule a meeting and then finalize your schedule of the shipping date and plan to arrange the pickup and delivery.
• Ask them if you have any special instructions to follow before the car gets parked inside the enclosed trailer.

Factors That Affect the Price of Luxury Exotic Car Shipping:

Certain critical factors influence the cost of shipping a luxury car, including the below and more.

• Transportation of the exotic luxury car between top locations or US metropolitan areas saves time, saving your money as transporters find it easy to pick up and deliver their customers’ vehicles.
• The longer the distance between the source and destination, the higher the shipping price.
• The car’s weight influences the shipping cost, a higher weight, the more shipping cost you could incur.
• The size of the vehicle is another factor that determines the shipping cost. Scope includes dimensions like (length, width, and height).
• Vehicle operating conditions may also increase or decrease the shipping cost as inoperable cars need special care and a workforce to load and unload. In contrast, a running vehicle requires a driver to unload and load the car quickly.
• Vehicle type will also influence the shipping quote. Like luxury SUVs cost more to ship compared to sedans.
• Similarly, vintage vehicles, exotics, or limited edition classic motorcars require highly skilled transportation and human resources during loading and unloading – which could see a higher shipping cost.
• Some other factors, like extra front/rear spoilers, and accessories that are not factory fitted, might be prone to damage during transit due to how the car gets parked in the trailer.
• If the extra fittings are removable, it would be better to do so as it helps decrease the shipping cost and potential damage during transit.
• Just like the flying prices, the transportation carrier costs vary. So it would be better for you to plan your shipping during regular days.

Usually, the shipping costs vary depending on the above factors. The average price of shipping would be around $1,500+ between metropolitan cities.

Some carriers ask for a deposit and the remaining balance when your vehicle is delivered. Payment can be a cheque or cash.

Double-check with the shipping company on the payment terms for transporting your vehicle.

Essential Checklist to Refer to Before You Prepare A Car for Shipping:

• Remove all loose, personal items and hanging items from your vehicle, as they may cause internal damage to your interior, windshield, and dashboard.
• Visit your dealer or service center, get all regular service done, and wash your car.
• Make a pre-shipment inspection process, note vehicle condition, pre-existing damages, if any, and other parameters.
• Take a video log of your vehicle before it is loaded and while loading onto the container (or) enclosed trailer.
• Make sure that your vehicle has enough fuel and battery power to load and unload it, assuming that your car is operable.
• Keep your set of keys with you and hand over the other set of keys to the carrier who needs them.
• Check the mileage from your odometer, note the values, and take photos.
• Check the wheels and take photos, as in any case of unusual wear and tear, you can dispute with the carrier.
• If your car has undergone costly paint, perform a car wax to protect it during shipping procedures. Although the vehicle is shipped in an enclosed trailer, it can still get dusty and dirty.
• Review your car insurance and renew it if necessary.
• Keep a set of photocopies of your vehicle ownership documents, car registration, insurance, shipment agreement, and signed papers, if any, which are essential.
• If your shipment needs to be collected by someone else at the destination, then provide the necessary documents of the person to the carrier. The delivery would be made to the person after they verify the individual at the time of delivery.
• If possible, try to reach the destination before the shipment arrives and take the delivery yourself.
• If the delivery needs to be handled by someone else, ask them to inspect the car while unloading and, before signing the delivery slip, if the person notices any issues with the vehicle, physical damage, or wear and tear. Then you can make a video for claiming transit insurance and dispute this with the carrier.
• Confirm all the documents and vehicle shipping copies are correctly completed, then sign them and get the agreement signed by the carrier. Keep these documents safe, photographed/scanned, and photocopied.

Review any other checklist and process the carrier provider gives you, in addition to those above general instructions.

You are now ready to ship the car through your chosen shipper.

Shipping and Delivery Duration:

Although your exotic car might hit 0-100mph within 3-5 seconds, the carrier trucks are not moving at such speeds.

Be mindful that it does take a lot of time for your shipment to reach the destination.

Trucks move slowly and take every care to ensure that your most valuable car comes into your hands with little to no damage.

Potholes on roads, weather conditions, and roadblocks affect delivery timelines. They get transported by humans who also need to rest. So be patient and always prepare to take your shipping 4-5 days after the estimated delivery dates.

The shipping company can hold the delivery of your vehicle if the person taking delivery on your behalf does not possess the necessary documents and proof to collect the shipment.

After your shipment arrives, go through the checklist you made before shipment and check if everything is intact.

If there are any issues, you can always file a dispute or claim from the shipping carrier insurance company, as you have documented everything.

We hope this guide is helpful to you. Please post your comments and questions below.

If you want to purchase or sell an exotic luxury car, don’t hesitate to contact us at Exotic Knights.

We can help with the shipping through our network of familiar luxury car transportation companies.