How to prepare your vehicle to be shipped?

Follow some simple steps to ensure your car has been well prepared for shipping.

Wash your car thoroughly so that the existing damages are clearly visible and even the scratches are visible. Take digital pictures of your car from every angle and if there are scratches then take a close up shot of the locations of the scratches. Keep all these pictures on file for references.

Clean the inside of your car so that you do not leave any items which are not secured inside the car. Keep it with bare minimum like spare tire and spare tools.

Disable all alarms and lower the antennas and keep it folded in. Fold in any mirrors which are extending outwards in the car and also keep the wipers down after having the car washed. Do not leave anything on the car that is jutting out of range.

Provide extra padding for head lights and fog lights and other additional lights so that they don’t break due to the lack of lower clearance while shipping.

Do not top up the gas in your car before shipping because the vehicle inspector from the shipping company will ask you to empty it out as it is hazardous and dangerous to keep it full. The approved level is about a quarter tanks only and you can top it up once you take delivery of the car.

If you are shipping a convertible make sure the car is completely covered and you have pulled the top to close. Do not leave your car open and exposed. The insides of the car will get easily damaged and also there is a danger of ripping the car top. Seal all openings into the car to avoid air moisture which can damage the interiors of the car.

Keep the tire pressure at factory settings and see that they are not inflated to the maximum. If you do not know what the factory settings then ask someone about it.

Keep all other oils like break oils and transmission fluids at bare minimum or factory settings. If need be ask the shipping company about it.