Preparing, pickup, and delivery: questions and answers

Do it a day or more before the pickup window, not in the street while the driver waits. Read the carrier's prep sheet. Wash the car enough to see the paint. Fix or report leaks. Set the fuel within the highway rule and the carrier's instructions. Leave the battery installed and secure unless their sheet says to disconnect it. Take out loose items the contract does not allow. Then photograph the car. The driver records the condition they can see. Dirt hides chips you will want on the form.

Follow the carrier's written instructions first. On a highway move, a securely closed tank may hold more than 500 milliliters under the motor-vehicle exception in 49 CFR 173.220. The carrier can still ask for less, often about a quarter tank or whatever their sheet says. This page does not invent a gallon figure beyond that rule. Do not ship a leaking tank. If you are unsure, ask the company before the driver arrives and write down what they said.

Yes, unless the carrier's written instructions say to disconnect or remove it. It stays securely installed. A wet battery stays upright. Do not pull it as a default. Electric and hybrid cars have a separate transport setting and a charge level. Follow that model's instructions, not a gasoline-car habit. If the sheet is silent, ask before pickup. A car that will not start because you removed the battery without being asked can become an inoperable load at the curb.

Whatever that carrier's contract allows. Usual practice is a small amount in the trunk, under a weight the carrier writes down. There is no single federal pound limit to quote. If the contract forbids items, do not leave them, and do not expect cargo cover to pay for them. If anything stays, list it on the bill of lading. Documents, the title, and medication should travel with you. Photograph the trunk if you pack it.

Someone. That person is you, or an adult you name in advance, with the keys and the authority to sign the condition record. The car should not be left with a note unless the company agreed in writing, and even then nobody is marking damage. Federal rules require a receipt. They do not require the registered owner to hold the pen. Send the person's name and phone before dispatch, not when the driver is already on your street.

A carrier meets you as close as the truck can legally and safely get, you inspect the car, you sign the condition record, and you pay the balance the contract says is due. The quote was not the truck. The truck is real when a carrier is assigned and you have its name and MC or USDOT. At delivery you do the inspection again. Door-to-door is that meeting. It is not a federal promise that a long trailer enters the driveway.

Door-to-door means pickup and delivery at the closest legal, safe access for that truck. Low trees, a tight turn, a soft driveway, or a local truck ban can move the meeting point to a wider street or a nearby lot. Agree that point before the driver is waiting. Terminal-to-terminal is the other product. You take the car to a lot and pick it up at another lot. FMCSA's auto-transporter advisory does not define door-to-door. The contract and the dispatch do.

There is no best service on this page. Open transport, enclosed transport, and a terminal drop are different trucks. Pick from the car's value, its clearance, and whether you can meet a driver. Then check the company: legal name, MC or USDOT, cargo certificate, and deposit rule. A retailer that delivers a car it sold is a different product from a carrier you hire. Compare a range for your lane. Do not hire from a ranking headline.

The driver looks at the condition they can see, the VIN, the odometer, and whether the car will load. They mark a condition record for the carrier, not a mechanic's inspection for you. Leaks, a dead battery, and a car that will not steer or brake change the load. Walk with them. Add marks they missed. Do not sign a blank section. Photograph the same walk. Keys, an alarm code if they need it, and a person who can sign are the rest of the curb.

The four corners, the roof if you can see it, each wheel, the glass, the interior, the odometer, and every mark that is already there. Do the same set at delivery, in the same order. If you cannot see the roof, say so in the note. Do not sign a line that says it was inspected. Photos support the bill of lading. Under 49 CFR 370.3 they are not a claim by themselves. Keep a copy off the one phone you might lose.

Inspect before you sign and before you pay. Compare the car with the pickup notes and your photos. Write new damage on the delivery copy as an exception, in words, not only a check mark. Then pay only the balance the contract already states. A balance at delivery can be legitimate. A surprise total is not automatic. This applies to a shipped car and to a new car a dealer hands you. Match the VIN either way. Do not sign a clean bill for a mark you can see.

Write that limit on the delivery bill before you sign. Do not sign a line that says every panel was inspected. Use a light if you have one, and photograph what you can. Your contract may or may not allow time for damage you could not see. Read that sentence the same day. A limit you wrote down is the fact you will have later. A signature that says the car was perfect, when you could not see it, is the fact the carrier will have.