There are a number of things that need to be considered when thinking about shipping a vehicle overseas. If you are a first timer and don’t have much experience in the subject, you can get lost with the overflow of information about auto shipping that is on the internet. Thinking about that, our post today intends to facilitate the understanding of the car shipping process, by providing a step by step guide to ensure a successful transport.

Let’s start by answering a simple question: who needs to transport vehicles?

Basically, any person or company that needs a safe and reliable way of moving a car from one country to another can benefit from this service. What can vary is the method you will choose; there are several shipping modals, and a specialized car shipping company, like GCE Logistics, will help you choose the one that most meets with your necessities and expectations. You can learn more about this subject with this blog post: Car shipping methods – What is the best?

If you fit in the profile described above, the next thing to think about is finding the right company and taking all the steps to complete the shipping process. Follow the checklist below:

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1. Plan ahead and research

First of all, it is ideal that you start thinking about the car shipment in advance. This will give you more time to research about logistics companies and which one offers the best services. Although the internet has made it easier for people to find businesses that do car shipping, you can’t really trust everything you find online right away. There are many factors to be considered when picking a reliable car shipper and you want to choose it carefully to avoid any incidents.

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2. Analyze options and decide

Once you choose the companies you most like, get in touch with them to learn more about the solutions they offer and which one would best fit your needs. Consider aspects such as cost effectiveness, positive feedbacks, insurance and reliability in the market to make the decision of which company to ship your vehicle with. If you want to learn more about how to find the best car shipper, you can also check our previous post: How to find the best company to ship your car.

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3. Clean out your car

Once you decide which company you are shipping your car with and set everything up with them, it is time to start moving. Make sure you clean the inside of your vehicle and take out any personal items that you might have in there. This will facilitate the process, considering carriers are very strict about the weight limit of a car during shipping; besides insurance will not cover any items left inside it.

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4. Inspect vehicle

Make sure you carefully check the exact condition your vehicle is before it’s shipped. Make a checklist reporting everything you find relevant of your car’s condition and make the shipping company acknowledge it before they take responsibility over the vehicle. This will give you more peace of mind and facilitate the insurance coverage if anything happens to it during transportation.

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5. Arrange pick up

After following the steps above, your vehicle will be all set to go. Define if you are delivering it to the shipping company’s warehouse or if it is getting picked up from your house. All of that will be arranged with the carrier upon the closure of the deal. Make sure you have a quarter tank of gas in your vehicle (required for the transport) and also remove its non-retractable antennas.

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6. Follow up with shipment

After your vehicle is in possession of the shipping company, you can still follow up with the shipment and keep track of where your car is by track and trace systems offered by the major cargo carriers. At GCE Logistics, we offer our customers an effective tracking system, so they can have peace of mind during the whole freight process.

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7. Arrange delivery of car

Once the vehicle gets where it’s supposed to, it can either be picked up by you or someone you hire as an additional service, or delivered to its last stop by the car shipping company. If you don’t live close to where you are shipping your vehicle, the second option is the most cost-efficient, because the shipper will be in charge of everything until the car reaches its very final destination. GCE Logistics, for example, offers an effective door-to-door service, which saves our customers from having to do anything, from start to end.

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8. Ensure its condition at final destination

When the vehicle arrives at its final destination, you or someone you trust need to ensure that it is in the same conditions that you gave it to the car shipping company. In case there is anything wrong with it, get in touch with the car shipping company and they will guide you through the insurance process.

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At GCE Logistics, we can make your car shipping process a lot simpler by guiding you through each one of these steps with efficiency and at a competitive rate. Contact us to learn more about our car shipping solutions!