What to Do if Your Car is Damaged During Transportation

When moving across the country, you’ve got several options when it comes to transporting your vehicle to the new city or town.

Which option you’ll end up picking will depend on a number of variables such as the condition of your car, the distance to the destination place, the cost of using the services of a professional car shipper, and your overall willingness to drive many, many hours across unknown territories.

In most cases, your specific house-moving circumstances should help you come up with the right solution – the one that makes the most sense in your case.  

• Option 1. You can sell your vehicle and buy a new one after the move is complete. This is not a bad idea if you own two cars (you can still drive the other car to reach the new home) or when you have only one car but you’re flying to your destination area. Also, selling your car prior to the move is the logical choice when its transportation cost will be more or closer to what the vehicle is worth.
• Option 2. You can transport your only car by driving it until you reach your destination. This is a common relocation scenario that will eliminate the anxiety associated with trusting your beloved car to complete strangers – the car shipping company.
• Option 3. You can hire a car moving company to transport your vehicle to the new state. This is the preferred option when you’re either flying to the new city, or when you own two cars and you can’t drive them both for obvious reasons.

And if you do go with Option number 3, you should know that there’s always a small chance that your car arrives damaged after the shipment. Luckily, car transportation damage is very rare and most car shipments are completed without any problems whatsoever.

Nevertheless, some things will always stay outside the immediate control of even the best car transportation companies in the country, so transportation-related vehicle damage can never be completely ruled out.

Unfortunately, with an overwhelming dose of bad luck, your vehicle could arrive damaged after shipment.

Here’s what you should do if your car suffers damage during transportation.

How to prevent car transportation damage

When you’re about to work with a car shipping company, the best approach is to be proactive from the very start.

You may not realize the notion that even though your vehicle may get damaged while it’s in the hands of the car transportation company, there are a bunch of things you can do in order to minimize the chance of car damage upon delivery.

Follow these 3 steps to save yourself the drama of discovering some sort of transportation damage when the car shipper delivers your car.

Step 1. Research auto transport companies

One of the most crucial steps to prevent car damage during shipment is to pick the right auto shipper for the job.

Now, there are many car shipping companies out there that will try to assure you that they are the best ones in the business. If you check their respective websites, you’re likely to find even more promises of outstanding car shipping services.

Instead of trusting a random auto shipper with your precious vehicle and then praying constantly that your car will arrive in the same condition it was when you handed it to the pros, you must do your own thorough research in order to choose a really good car shipper that will actually take good care of your car.

What should you do? Trust the words of the people who have used their vehicle shipping services.

Here you will find customer testimonials that should give you a pretty good idea about how professional and how dependable those car transportation companies really are. That’s right – research carefully each auto shipping company by reading car moving reviews before you decide to work with them.

Step 2. Make sure your car is adequately insured

You must make sure that your car is properly insured before you decide to ship it across the country with the help of a professional car transportation company.

The idea is to work with an auto shipper that has excellent insurance coverage for each automobile they are transporting. Speak with the auto shipping service providers directly about the type of coverage they offer or check their websites for a copy of their insurance policy.

Most auto carriers in the country are required by law to hold a minimum of $100,000 of insurance per vehicle. However, you need to be sure that that’s the case with the car shipper you intend to hire for the job.

Next, call the insurance company of your vehicle and check whether the current insurance policy covers any damage during car transportation to another state. If it does but it’s not sufficient enough, consider adding more coverage to the current car insurance policy to stay on the safe side of things.

Step 3. Take plenty of photos of your car before shipment

The third step you should take before agreeing to have your vehicle shipped across the country is to take plenty of pictures of your car. In fact, this is one of the most critical steps simply because it will be undeniable proof of your car’s condition before the shipment.

Take hi-res photos of both the interior and exterior of your vehicle. Of course, the main focus should be the exterior part of the automobile since that’s where any potential vehicle transportation damage is most likely to occur.

Take photos of various angles and if possible, turn on the date-stamp feature of the digital camera or smartphone to easily prove the date when the pictures were taken.

Keep the photos in a safe place, make copies of them onto a flash drive, and upload them to an online cloud storage service just to make sure they will be available and easily accessible if you ever need them.

How to Ship a Car to Another State

What to do if your car is damaged after shipment

OK, the auto shipper just delivered your car to the address of the home or you just went to pick up your own vehicle from the agreed drop-off location. Either way, you and your car are reunited once again, and that’s great.

However, the next few steps are critical and you have to be extremely careful not to make a mistake or a judgment error that may cost you dearly.

Step 1. Inspect your car carefully after delivery

This step is very, very important so pay close attention.

Perform a thorough inspection of your car after it’s been delivered to you. Do this immediately and don’t sign anything until you’ve checked your car for any signs of transportation damage.

These are the car areas you must check right away:

• roof,
• fenders,
• windshield and the rest of the windows,
• all car lights,
• entire exterior,
• interior, and
• underside of the car.

And these are the types of car transportation damage that you should be looking for:

• dents,
• chips,
• scratches,
• window cracks,
• missing car components or items.

If unsure, check for inconsistencies with the photos you took of the car before shipping it.

Ideally, you won’t find any signs of damage on your car simply because there won’t be any transportation damage to find. The driver of the car carrier will ask you to sign the Bill of Lading stating that your car has been delivered without any damage whatsoever. And that’s it.

But if you do find out that your car has suffered any damage during the shipment, then follow the next steps.

Step 2. Document any damage on the Bill of Lading

If you do find any signs of transportation damage on your car, show it to the car transport company’s driver and provide the pre-transportation photos as proof.

You need to document all the identified damage on the Bill of Lading and have the driver sign the Inspection Bill of Lading before you or they drive away. Their acknowledgment of the damaged car during shipment will provide you with legal documentation that there has indeed been a problem during transit that has resulted in some kind of car damage.

The condition report and the driver’s signature will enable you to file a claim with the car carrier.

Step 3. Take photos of the damage to your car

When you’ve found damage on your car as a result of improper transportation by the auto shipping company, the next step is to photograph any instances of dents, dings, chips, scratches, window cracks, and so on.

Try to take close-up, high-resolution photos from angles that are similar to the ones of the original pre-transportation photos. Again, if possible, use the date-stamp function of the digital camera as proof of the time when the photos are taken.

Together with the damage report, you will use these photographs as evidence of the vehicle transportation damage when you’re filing a damage claim with the auto shipping company responsible for the physical harm on your vehicle.

Step 4. Inform the auto transportation company of the problem

The next step is to contact the car shipping company and inform them of the damage to your car.

Don’t postpone this step because most auto shipping companies require customers to get in touch with them within 15 days after discovering any damage to their automobiles.

So, contact the main office of your car shipper to inform them of the problem, and present them with the evidence you’ve gathered – the Inspection Bill of Lading (signed by their driver) and the photos you have prior to entrusting them with your car (the before photos) and the ones showing the damaged areas after delivery (the after photos).

Step 5. Get an estimate for repairing the car damage

The next step you should take when your car is damaged during transport is to get an estimate from a qualified mechanic or a car repair shop in your area.

In fact, the calculation of the car repair costs on the estimate you get from the auto repair shop will be the sum you should get as compensation for the transportation-related car damage.

Send a copy of the auto repair estimate to your car shipping company. Also, attach the before and after photographs of your car as clear evidence of the resulting damage.

Step 6. File a damage claim with the auto transportation company

It’s time to file a damage claim with the car shipper.

Your auto transport company will need the car repair estimate in order to submit it to their insurance company. Depending on the level of damage to your car, the car moving company may decide to pay for it themselves. However, in most cases, they will file a claim with the insurance company they work with.

Step 7. File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau

When working with a reputable car transportation company, the entire process of claiming a damage claim should go smoothly and a representative of theirs will help you along the way until the successful resolution of the issue is in your favor.

However, not all damage claims go smoothly and some not-so-great car shipping companies can choose to dispute such damage claims and refuse to pay for the damage to your car. Or they can decide to give too little money (unfair compensation) that cannot possibly cover the car repair costs.

Hopefully, that won’t happen to you but if it does, then you should file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The Bureau should help mediate a solution that will be satisfactory for both parties.  

It’s always good to know that you’re dealing with top-rated car transportation companies that will show a great deal of professionalism in case of a problem during the car transportation process.

How Much Does It Cost to Ship a Car?