Customer Reviews

How to Inspect and Ship a Car You Are Thinking of Buying Online

Posted on 04/01/2022

Jump to section:
Ask for the CARFAX
Pre-purchase Car Inspection services
How to ship the car after you have purchased it
Conclusion
 


 

Ask for the CARFAX

 
If you are considering buying a car that has piqued your interest online, you will still need to make sure that it is not a lemon prior to officially purchasing the vehicle. This means you will need to ensure that the car runs correctly, does not have a bad history of accidents and that there are no other issues being concealed by the seller. The first step in doing so will be to “check the CARFAX.”
 
You should go directly to CARFAX’s website and purchase a copy of the CARFAX for that vehicle. Each report will cost about forty dollars, so make sure that you are definitely interested in buying that particular car. However, there are deals where you can get three reports for three separate vehicles for only sixty dollars which is useful if you are interested in multiple cars at once. Either way, you will need either the VIN (vehicle identification number) or the license plate number. If the seller will not give you this information, move on as they are trying to conceal something wrong with the car.
 
The CARFAX report will provide you with a litany of information about a vehicle including but not limited to an accident report, service history, mileage report, recall info, warranty info and much more. This will not substitute checking out the car in person , but it will be more than enough when combined with an in-person inspection to make an informed decision. But what happens if the car is out of state, and you cannot make the trip to inspect it yourself? Thankfully, you can hire someone to do it for you.
 

Pre-purchase car inspection services

 
Once you have carefully gone through the CARFAX report, your next step really should be seeing the car in person . The issue is that if the car is several hundred or thousand miles away, you will have to travel a long way to do this. That will be quite costly as well as time consuming. So, in that case you should really consider hiring someone to conduct a pre-purchase car inspection.
 
A pre-purchase car inspection is when you hire someone to go inspect a vehicle for you. You should go through a service rather than going through an individual on Craigslist or something like that. A service such as Lemon Squad will provide a thorough inspection of a vehicle in almost all locations in the country. The inspection will include a complete exterior check, interior check, engine check and vehicle function check. The standard inspection costs approximately one hundred and eighty dollars .
 
Again, the person selling the vehicle will need to agree to allow this inspection in its entirety which will include having the inspector get into the vehicle and run the engine. If the seller says they do not want this to occur, then you can be nearly sure they are trying to hide something. If they are trying to get rid of the car, why be so protective and private?
 

How to ship the car after you have purchased it

 
Once you have done your due diligence and purchased a car, you will then need to get it home. You could take a flight and then drive the car home but that will be costly, time consuming and very stressful. Thankfully you will be able to ship your car home to your front door with extreme ease.
 
The car shipping process with a company like RoadRunner Auto Transport has three primary stages: planning/booking, preparation and pickup/delivery. The amount of effort you will need to put into each part of the process will be minimal.
 
In the planning and booking stage, you will obviously begin with planning. You should begin by knowing which dates you want your new car picked up and delivered. When it comes to these dates with regards to your shipment, exact dates can never be guaranteed. Instead, you will select a two-to three-day window during which your vehicle will be picked up for transport. The reason for this is that due to the volume of traffic, weather, and other potential delays, guaranteeing pickup and/or delivery on one specific day is not possible. After that, you should make note of the vehicle make, model and year. Once you have done all of this, you can go ahead and book your shipment.
 
At this point, you will wait until a day or two before your pickup window begins and then you can start the preparation. In order to properly prepare for your car shipment, you should start by removing any valuables and personal items from the vehicle such as sunglasses, gloves or CDs. Doing this is necessary because these items are not covered by the car shipping insurance in the rare instance that they are lost or damaged in transit. Next, you will want to make sure that your car’s exterior is completely clean because of the visual inspection that will take place upon pickup. The visual inspection is when your auto transport driver will check the outside of your vehicle for preexisting damage for insurance purposes. If your car is dirty, this will take up much more of your time and delay your shipment from getting on the road.
 
Pickup and delivery are even easier than planning or preparation. You will just need to ensure that you are available during the pickup and delivery windows at the agreed upon addresses of pickup/delivery with a valid form of identification. For pickup, you will also need to make sure that you have your keys with you to give over to the auto transport driver.
 

Conclusion

 
Buying a car that you purchase online will be a bit more involved than you might initially think. However, shipping it will not be. By shipping it instead of picking it up yourself you will be saving the time, energy and money that you would have otherwise spent making that trip. As far as shipping your car, you will just need to worry about planning/booking, preparation and pickup/delivery. However, your primary focus in this process should be on checking out and inspecting the prospective vehicle to make sure there are no issues. That will include checking the CARFAX report as well as hiring someone to do an in-person and thorough inspection.

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How to Inspect and Ship a Car You Are Thinking of Buying Online

Posted on 04/01/2022

Jump to section:
Ask for the CARFAX
Pre-purchase Car Inspection services
How to ship the car after you have purchased it
Conclusion
 


 

Ask for the CARFAX

 
If you are considering buying a car that has piqued your interest online, you will still need to make sure that it is not a lemon prior to officially purchasing the vehicle. This means you will need to ensure that the car runs correctly, does not have a bad history of accidents and that there are no other issues being concealed by the seller. The first step in doing so will be to “check the CARFAX.”
 
You should go directly to CARFAX’s website and purchase a copy of the CARFAX for that vehicle. Each report will cost about forty dollars, so make sure that you are definitely interested in buying that particular car. However, there are deals where you can get three reports for three separate vehicles for only sixty dollars which is useful if you are interested in multiple cars at once. Either way, you will need either the VIN (vehicle identification number) or the license plate number. If the seller will not give you this information, move on as they are trying to conceal something wrong with the car.
 
The CARFAX report will provide you with a litany of information about a vehicle including but not limited to an accident report, service history, mileage report, recall info, warranty info and much more. This will not substitute checking out the car in person , but it will be more than enough when combined with an in-person inspection to make an informed decision. But what happens if the car is out of state, and you cannot make the trip to inspect it yourself? Thankfully, you can hire someone to do it for you.
 

Pre-purchase car inspection services

 
Once you have carefully gone through the CARFAX report, your next step really should be seeing the car in person . The issue is that if the car is several hundred or thousand miles away, you will have to travel a long way to do this. That will be quite costly as well as time consuming. So, in that case you should really consider hiring someone to conduct a pre-purchase car inspection.
 
A pre-purchase car inspection is when you hire someone to go inspect a vehicle for you. You should go through a service rather than going through an individual on Craigslist or something like that. A service such as Lemon Squad will provide a thorough inspection of a vehicle in almost all locations in the country. The inspection will include a complete exterior check, interior check, engine check and vehicle function check. The standard inspection costs approximately one hundred and eighty dollars .
 
Again, the person selling the vehicle will need to agree to allow this inspection in its entirety which will include having the inspector get into the vehicle and run the engine. If the seller says they do not want this to occur, then you can be nearly sure they are trying to hide something. If they are trying to get rid of the car, why be so protective and private?
 

How to ship the car after you have purchased it

 
Once you have done your due diligence and purchased a car, you will then need to get it home. You could take a flight and then drive the car home but that will be costly, time consuming and very stressful. Thankfully you will be able to ship your car home to your front door with extreme ease.
 
The car shipping process with a company like RoadRunner Auto Transport has three primary stages: planning/booking, preparation and pickup/delivery. The amount of effort you will need to put into each part of the process will be minimal.
 
In the planning and booking stage, you will obviously begin with planning. You should begin by knowing which dates you want your new car picked up and delivered. When it comes to these dates with regards to your shipment, exact dates can never be guaranteed. Instead, you will select a two-to three-day window during which your vehicle will be picked up for transport. The reason for this is that due to the volume of traffic, weather, and other potential delays, guaranteeing pickup and/or delivery on one specific day is not possible. After that, you should make note of the vehicle make, model and year. Once you have done all of this, you can go ahead and book your shipment.
 
At this point, you will wait until a day or two before your pickup window begins and then you can start the preparation. In order to properly prepare for your car shipment, you should start by removing any valuables and personal items from the vehicle such as sunglasses, gloves or CDs. Doing this is necessary because these items are not covered by the car shipping insurance in the rare instance that they are lost or damaged in transit. Next, you will want to make sure that your car’s exterior is completely clean because of the visual inspection that will take place upon pickup. The visual inspection is when your auto transport driver will check the outside of your vehicle for preexisting damage for insurance purposes. If your car is dirty, this will take up much more of your time and delay your shipment from getting on the road.
 
Pickup and delivery are even easier than planning or preparation. You will just need to ensure that you are available during the pickup and delivery windows at the agreed upon addresses of pickup/delivery with a valid form of identification. For pickup, you will also need to make sure that you have your keys with you to give over to the auto transport driver.
 

Conclusion

 
Buying a car that you purchase online will be a bit more involved than you might initially think. However, shipping it will not be. By shipping it instead of picking it up yourself you will be saving the time, energy and money that you would have otherwise spent making that trip. As far as shipping your car, you will just need to worry about planning/booking, preparation and pickup/delivery. However, your primary focus in this process should be on checking out and inspecting the prospective vehicle to make sure there are no issues. That will include checking the CARFAX report as well as hiring someone to do an in-person and thorough inspection.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Get answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about the vehicle shipping process.


When determining your car shipping cost, there are a few factors that we take into account in order to provide you with an accurate price quote. The mileage between the origin and destination is the biggest factor that contributes to your total rate. In addition to the distance of your relocation, another factor is the type and condition of the vehicle being shipped. The final factor is the date that your vehicle will be ready for transport. There are also additional options, such as enclosed carrier and top-load service that can be added to your shipment at the time of booking for a higher level of service. Read more about how much it costs to ship a car.

To get a quote for shipping your vehicle, you can either use our instant online car shipping quote calculator or you can call (888) 422-7584 to receive a quote from one of our car transport pricing specialists. In order for us to calculate your quote we will need to know the location you are shipping from and to, the type of vehicle you would like to ship, and the date your vehicle will be ready.

The transit time for your shipment is based mostly on the mileage between the pickup and delivery location. Generally, every five hundred miles will add one day to the transit time - so for a 1,000 mile transport, the transit time would be 2-3 days. Check out our estimated transit times for a detailed view of approximate delivery times.

Yes, online tracking is available to you 24 hours a day and is updated in real time. Upon scheduling your shipment, you will receive a unique booking number that will allow you to track the status of your shipment online. Your tracking portal will also give you the ability to live chat with a shipping agent that can answer any questions you may have regarding the status of your shipment.

All shipments include basic liability coverage during transit. Comprehensive insurance options are available for an elevated level of shipment coverage during transit. You will be able to select a level of coverage during the booking process. If you have further questions regarding insurance options give us a call.

We accept all major credit cards, electronic transfer, postal money order, and bank/certified check for the deposit or full pre-payment of your shipment. If a balance is due upon delivery, it can be paid directly to the driver and can be paid in either cash, bank/certified check, or postal money order.

Yes, there must be someone present to release and accept the vehicle, provide keys to the driver and sign the initial and final inspection reports. This person can be anyone over the age of 18 that you trust with releasing or accepting your vehicle.

You may transport personal belongings in your car, as long as their total weight does not exceed 100 pounds and they are stored in the trunk or back seat (below the window line). Please keep in mind that personal belongings are not covered by insurance if they are reported as damaged or missing.

To get a quote for shipping your vehicle, you can either use our instant online car shipping quote calculator above or you can call (888) 422-7584 to receive a quote from one of our car transport pricing specialists. In order for us to calculate your quote we will need to know the location you are shipping from and to, the type of vehicle you would like to ship, and the date your vehicle will be ready.

The further in advance you schedule your shipment, the more likely we will be able to meet the time requirements you desire. For best results, we suggest scheduling your transport at least 2 to 3 weeks in advance. Expedited shipping options are available in order to accomodate shipments that require . You can always give us a call and ask one of our car shipping experts what your options are in terms of the schedule for your car transport.

The driver will get the car transporter as close to your door as he can legally and safely get. In most cases, the driver will be able to pickup and deliver directly at your door. Some cities may have restrictions on large trucks that prohibit them from driving into residential areas. Auto transport trucks are large and need lots of room to maneuver and turn around, so if access to the pickup or delivery location is restricted by narrow streets, low-hanging trees or tight turns, the driver may ask that you meet at a location nearby with a large parking lot, such as a grocery store.

Open transport is the most common car shipping method. There are two types of open-air transporters. The Majority of shipments are be made with 8-10 car carriers. Smaller carriers which hold 2-3 cars are used for shorter more local moves. There is broader network of carrier availability for open-air carriers since they are used more often. We suggest choosing enclosed shipping methods when shipping classic, luxury or exotic vehicles. Enclosed transporters guarantee maximum protection from exposure to any open-air elements on the road. We suggest booking your enclosed transport in advance since there is limited carrier availability. Read more about the difference between open and enclosed transport

RoadRunner Auto Transport specializes in shipping all types of vehicles such as sedans, SUVs, pickup trucks, minivans, oversized vehicles, antiques, classic cars, motorcycles, construction vehicles, inoperable cars and boats. If you are not sure whether or not we can ship your vehicle, you can give us a call to find out what we can do for you.

You should have about a quarter of a tank of gas in your car at the time of shipment. This leaves enough for the car to be loaded and unloaded but doesn't add much additional weight.

The Bill of Lading is a very important document used by car shipping companies that documents any pre-existing damage on the vehicle during the time of pickup. It also serves as a record of your contact info and the official agreement for transport. If you want to file any insurance claim regarding your shipment you will need the Bill of Lading.

Top load service is when your car is placed on the higher deck or level of an open auto transport trailer. This is considered to be preferable to the bottom load because the cars on the lower deck are at risk of possibly having fluid from the cars above leak on them.

Make sure your car has been completely cleaned, both inside and outside. This is particularly important because this will help the driver conduct their inspection in order to assess any pre-existing damage on your vehicle. You will also want to make there are no additional personal items in the vehicle unless you intend to ship those with the vehicle (remember those items must total less than 100 pounds combined and be kept below the window-line of the vehicle). Be sure to inform the driver of any special circumstances concerning the vehicle. Finally, make sure there is a quarter tank of gas in the car at the time it is picked up for shipment. Visit our car shipping checklist to make sure you are prepared for your vehicle shipment.

Yes, we can ship vehicles that are in non-running/inoperable condition. When inoperable cars are shipped, a special auto carrier is required that makes use of a winch which is connected to your car and slowly and safely pulls your vehicle onto the carrier. There is an additional fee for inpoerable vehicles because of the special equipment and extra work involved with securing the vehicle onto the transporter. You can select the inoperable option on the online booking form or inform your shipping agent if you make your reservation by phone so that the proper arrangements can be made to accomodate a non-running vehicle.

We offer open car shipping and enclosed car shipping services. Open car shipping is used much more frequently and is the type of auto transport that you see on the highway where carriers are hauling vehicles on two decks that are exposed. Enclosed car shipping is when your vehicle is shipped in a trailer which has walls and a roof, they look like a larger version of a regular eighteen-wheeler. This method is recommended for luxury, exotic or classic cars.

Door-to-door car transport is the full service delivery of your vehicle directly from the door at the pickup location to the door at the delivery location. Our drivers do their best to get as close as physically and legally possible to the pickup and delivery locations, but in certain instances there may be restrictions preventing them from being able to safely reach your door. Our transporters need ample space to maneuver and load/unload your vehicle. If your street is too narrow, or if there are hazards such as low lining trees or power lines, drivers may ask that you meet them at a location nearby where they can safely load or unload your vehicle, such as a large parking lot or shopping center nearby.