There are many aspects of moving which people who relocate locally or nationally necessarily don’t think about or tend to leave to the last minute.

When you want to ship your vehicle, automobile and/or motorcycle, take a few moments to make a checklist of all the items you need to take care of so that you have your vehicle for use in a rather timely fashion or set up your new house and find that you have no idea where your vehicle is or when it will be arriving.

There is no exact or set timeline as to when your vehicle will be shipped or arrived. This is entirely up to the company you decide on using; but, normally this will be between 1 to 7 days for the initial pick-up time and then count on another 7 to 14 days between the time the vehicle is in transit and when it will arrive at your new location. In total, you can expect the entire process to take up to 21 days for shipping.

A good “rule of thumb” would be to look at scheduling your vehicle move a minimum of one month in advance. But, depending on the time of year you are planning your move, you may want to think about scheduling the pickup time longer than a month in advance. For instance, if you are moving in the middle of winter and there could be potentially frozen streets or transportation methods, it may take longer to get to your new location.

Many people like to be present at both ends of the transaction as your vehicle is an expensive commodity and thus you need to inspect the vehicle thoroughly to ensure no damage has occurred. If you are unable to be present, it is important that a person you trust can inspect the vehicle during the pick up and delivery process.

Many companies offer a GPS tracking method, the device is in the trucks that are transporting your vehicle. If this is important for you to address, check with different companies and they can provide a quote on this service.

When the auto transporter picks up your vehicle, you will fill out a “vehicle condition form” that is filled out, signed, and copies are provided to each party; when your vehicle arrives at the destination point, the person who turns over your vehicle to you will present the same type of report. It is extremely important to the person receiving the vehicle to compare both reports thoroughly so that if there has been any damage, minor or major, it must be noted on this form in order to process any claims against the carrier. Do not rush this process and take your time looking both reports over. Any claims filed after the driver leaves with the signed reports are unlikely to be fulfilled.

You will note the odometer reading during the initial pick-up report and finally on the delivery report which will need to be signed off by the driver.