These days, a lot of us are moving around much more than we used to. Whether it’s for our jobs or just to seek out more adventure and variety in our lives, it’s something we have to plan out and budget for. Deciding what to do with our car in the meantime can be a real headache.
One option is to utilize car shipping services, which are thankfully quite popular here in Phoenix. If you’d like to learn more about how it works and how you can get ready for the process, then stick around! That’s what we’re covering here today.
What is Car Shipping?
Naturally, our first order of business today is to explain what this is as well as how it works. Essentially, car shipping is the transportation of vehicles from one location to another. Of course, this is somewhat reductive, so allow us to explain further.
Typically, it’s done for transits that happen over long distances. Most of the time you would end up hiring a professional car shipping company or carrier to handle the logistics of moving the vehicle. Otherwise, it would get a lot more complicated, like you can read about here: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/reviews/moving/moving-out-of-state-checklist.
As far as why people opt for it, there are several motivations. Some examples include such asmoving across states, buyingor selling a vehicle remotely, or transporting a classic or luxury car. The process usually involves securing the vehicle onto a carrier, either an open or enclosed trailer, and delivering it to the desired destination, which is agreed upon early into the transaction.
How to Prepare
The next thing to keep in mind is that when you do decide to get a vehicle transported, you’ll have to make some preparations beforehand. Naturally, if it’s part of a big move, you’ll also be planning that out. You can consider this part to be another aspect of that process too.
While it adds a few extra steps, they’re quite easy and not anything to really stress over. In fact, the biggest concern is making sure that you’ve got allthe necessary documentation. That could include your car insurance information, proof of purchase, and photo ID, just to name a few. Most car shipping companies in Phoenix will let you know what they need beforehand.
Something else you’ll probably want to do sooner rather than later is to get your vehicle cleaned. This should be done for the inside and the outside since anything left on it or in it has the potential to be lost. Beyond that, though, they could also cost you money since the overall quote you’ll get is calculated on how heavy the vehicle is.
Cleaning the exterior will also help you if you opt to take some photos of what your car looks like pre-transit. Documenting any current damage like scratches or dents can help if you need to report any further damage that happens after you get your car back. While it’s not likely to happen, preparing is usually better than not doing so.
Is it Worth it to Ship a Vehicle?
For our last point today, let’s determine if this is something you would even want to pursue. Articles like this one might be able to help, but we’ve got a few things to add that may give you a better idea as well. Naturally, there isn’t one “right” answer since there are so many variables at play.
Some of these factors include time constraints and the value of the vehicle. Additionally, if it’s super heavy, then you’ll have to take that into account while budgeting. Of course, the bigger the car, the higher chance that it’s going to be a bit of a “gas guzzler” as well, so if you’re comparing the cost of a road trip versus shipping, gas prices might be a pretty costly figure.
Realistically, this process is most beneficial when you’re relocating long distances or when buying/selling a vehicle remotely. That’s when you’re most likely to see significant savings or a big reduction of stress in general. Many folks who do decide to transport a car will be doing one of those two things, so that’s certainly worth keeping in mind as you consider your options.
The fact that it provides convenience and reduces wear and tear on the vehicle is another point in its favor. However, it does come with the costs that we’ve mentioned, so again, you may want to do some calculations.
It’s important to compare the expenses of car shipping with alternative options like driving the vehicle yourself. Often, you’ll find that the shipping is actually less expensive, but that may not always be the case, so checking for yourself is highly recommended. Thankfully, once we’ve started the process, it’s quite simple and stress-free to go through.