How to Prepare Your Car for Shipping: 12-Point Checklist

Everything on this list exists to do one of two things: get the car onto the truck without a problem on pickup day, or make a damage claim provable if you need one at delivery. The single most important step is the condition report you sign at pickup, because a claim at the other end is only as good as the baseline it is compared against.

Work through the list in order. The first eight steps happen in the days before pickup, the next two on pickup day, and the last two at delivery.

Before pickup day

1. Wash the car

A clean car is an inspectable car. Dust hides scratches, and a scratch that was hidden at pickup and visible at delivery is a dispute you will lose. Wash the exterior, including the wheels, a day or two before the driver arrives, and do not wax over anything you want to be able to see.

2. Photograph every panel, with timestamps

Walk around the car and shoot each panel straight on and at an angle: hood, roof, trunk, both sides, both bumpers, all four wheels, the windshield and glass, mirrors, and the undercarriage edges if you can. Then the interior, the dashboard with the ignition on so warning lights show, and the odometer.

Make sure your phone records the date and time in the photo data, and back the photos up somewhere other than the phone. These pictures plus the signed bill of lading are your evidence.

3. Leave about a quarter tank of fuel

Carriers ask for a low tank because fuel is weight they have to haul and a fire consideration on a trailer full of cars. A quarter tank is enough to drive the car up the ramps, off at the other end and to a gas station. A full tank can get the car refused on the day, so if you are at three-quarters, plan a few errands before pickup.

4. Remove everything that is not part of the car

Carrier cargo insurance covers the vehicle. It does not cover the box of books in the trunk, and if that box slides into the seat back in transit, the interior damage is on you. Loose items also add weight against the trailer’s limit, and some carriers will refuse to load a car that is visibly packed.

Clear the cabin, the trunk, the glovebox and the door pockets. Take out phone mounts, dash cams, aftermarket stereo faceplates and anything else that detaches. Keep the original title, and anything with your Social Security number on it, out of the car entirely. If the carrier asks for a copy of the registration in the glovebox, provide a copy, not the original.

5. Deal with toll tags and parking passes

A windshield toll transponder will be read every time the truck passes a gantry between here and there, and you will be billed for the truck’s trips. Remove it, or put it in the shield bag it came with. Take garage remotes and parking passes with you, and pull any employee or campus permit you would not want lost.

6. Disable the alarm

An alarm that triggers on a moving trailer goes off for hours until the driver disconnects the battery. Turn it off, and if it cannot be turned off, write the disarm procedure on the note you leave for the driver (step 9). The same applies to aftermarket immobilizers and kill switches.

7. Fold mirrors, retract the antenna, secure or remove loose exterior parts

Fold the mirrors, retract or unscrew a mast antenna, remove bike racks and cargo boxes, and take off custom covers, spoilers and ground-effect kits that were not installed at the factory. Anything that sticks out of the car’s normal profile is at risk on a trailer where cars are parked inches apart.

8. Check fluids, battery and tire pressure, and note any leaks

The car has to start, steer and brake on the ramps at both ends, so top up fluids, charge the battery and set the tires to the door-jamb pressure. Low tires complicate loading and can be damaged by the wheel straps.

If the car leaks, say so in advance. A leaking car may be placed on the lower deck so it does not drip on the car below, and a leak the driver was not told about can get the car refused at the curb.

Pickup day

9. Leave a note for the driver

Tape a note inside the driver’s door listing anything that is not obvious: a starting quirk, a parking brake that sticks, a battery cut-off, the alarm disarm sequence, a leak, a tire that loses air slowly. The driver will load and unload the car alone, possibly at night, and a note is cheaper than a misunderstanding.

10. Hand over one full set of keys

The driver needs the ignition key and any fob required to start and move the car. Keep your spare. If the car has a wheel-lock key for the lug nuts, leave it in the glovebox so a flat can be dealt with.

11. Walk the inspection and sign the bill of lading

The bill of lading is the contract and the condition report together. Walk around the car with the driver and make sure every existing chip, scratch, dent and scuff is marked on the diagram. If the driver marks damage that is not there, say so before signing. Never sign a blank or incomplete form. Take a photo of the signed copy and keep the paper one.

This is the baseline for the whole shipment. Every claim you might make at the other end is measured against it, which is why the earlier steps (clean car, daylight, photos) matter: they make the baseline accurate.

Delivery day

12. Inspect before you sign, and note any damage on the report first

Inspect the car in daylight if you possibly can, and take as long as you need. Compare each panel against the pickup diagram and your photos. Check the roof, the lower bumper edges and the wheels, which are where trailer damage tends to show. Start the car, check the odometer against your pickup photo, and look under it for new leaks.

If you find damage, write it on the delivery copy of the bill of lading before you sign, photograph it with the driver present, and get the driver’s signature on the note if possible. A clean signature with no exception is treated by the carrier’s insurer as proof the car arrived undamaged, and that ends most claims before they start.

If the driver is in a hurry or it is dark, write “delivered at night, full inspection not possible” and note anything you can see. Then, the same day, notify the carrier and the broker in writing, attach your photos, and ask the carrier for its cargo insurer’s claim process. How that insurance is structured, and why you ask the carrier rather than the broker, is in how car shipping is priced.

Where this fits in the move

If the car is going with a household move, put the shipping quote request and the pickup window on the same timeline as the movers, since the car usually needs to leave a few days before or after the truck; the 8-weeks-out moving checklist shows where it slots in. Whether it should go open or enclosed is a separate decision, made in open vs enclosed car transport, and the rest of the process from quote to delivery is on the car shipping hub.

One last point on timing: shipping usually runs to a pickup window and a delivery window, not a date, so plan to be without the car for longer than the driving time and keep the keys, the bill of lading and the photos together until the car is home and inspected.