Car Shipping for Corporate Relocations

Jeremy Louisos, Senior Vice President at Preowned Auto Logistics, discusses auto shipping and corporate relocations. He explains that PAL can ship your vehicle quickly and help you set up a payment arrangement that works with your employer’s reimbursement plans.

My name is Jeremy Louisos, Senior Vice President at Preowned Auto Logistics, and we want to discuss auto shipping when it comes to corporate relocations. You might find yourself in a situation where your company says, “Hey, you’re not going to be working in Texas anymore. You’re heading to New York and you have a month to figure everything out.” Don’t panic when it comes to auto shipping. At Preowned Auto Logistics, we do this all the time. We have you covered.

The first thing to think about is when that vehicle going to be ready and when you need it in your new office or your new workplace location. Our sales reps will guide you through that process and make sure that we have you fully covered, that the vehicle is going to be there when you need it, and that you’re not having to release it earlier than you’re ready for, so you can rest assured on that one.

Second, when it comes to payments, there’s sometimes questions as to, “Well, the company is going to reimburse me, or they’re going to pay directly.” We’ve handled any variety of those payments. Whatever it is, we’ll work with you and make sure that that part runs very smoothly as well.

I think the final thing I would say is just take a breath. We got you. This is something we do all the time. You have a number of things to get off of your checklist while you’re making this quick life move. Consider your auto transportation handled.

Advanced Technology Integration for Dealerships

Jeremy Louisos, Senior Vice President at Preowned Auto Logistics,  talks about system integrations for dealerships. He explains how dealerships can sync their management systems to PAL’s online portal for easy updates and inventory oversight.

My name is Jeremy Louisos, Senior Vice President at Preowned Auto Logistics, and I want to talk about system integrations for dealerships when it comes to their auto transportation.

Many of our customers are aware of the three layers of tech goodies that we offer. So one, is the PAL nightly email update. This provides a rundown of all the vehicles you might be shipping with us, at any given time, what was delivered today, what’s still in route, that sort of thing.

Second is the PAL portal. The PAL portal allows our customers to log in to our database, and they can view that same information they’re getting with the nightly email update. They see all their status updates and where all their vehicles are. The VIN lookup is a huge tool that our clients love to take advantage of. Hey, I have this vehicle, where is it? Pop the VIN into our VIN lookup, and you’re off to the races.

We also offer some customized reportings and custom notifications, lots of things to really custom tailor the PAL portal to your needs. But that final layer of customization comes in the form of our system integrations. So, you might be working with Reynolds Reynolds or CDK or Advent or whatever your DMS is. PAL has developed a very robust API that automatically generates transportation requests in our system when you update your management system.

It’s seamless, it’s smooth. We make sure the details are right, and we can set up confirmation emails to go back and forth, whatever you’d like to see. But we found this a very powerful tool for a number of our clients. They’re moving at a fast pace, and they don’t really want to jump outside of what they’re doing, and they’re able to generate that request automatically, just by doing what they’re already doing day in, day out.

The final bit to this, which makes it really slick is, those updates that you might be going to the PAL portal for, we can send those back into your management system. So, if the vehicle has been picked up, or it’s in route, you’ll see that right away in your management system. We can also generate quotes, and ETA’s. It’s a really robust system that a lot of our dealership customers have been taking great advantage of.

Moving Tips: Shipping Your Car (Video)

Mike Scenna of PAL gives you tips for shipping your car, whether you’re moving permanently or seasonally.

Hi, I’m Mike Scenna, sales manager at Preowned Auto Logistics. Today, I want to talk about moving tips, specifically shipping your car during a move. When it comes to shipping your car during a move, the first thing you’re going to want to figure out is, “which end of the move is it easier to be without a car?” Is it easier to be at your origin end or your destination end? Most people find that it’s easier to be at their origin, and their current home, without a car. They have friends that can drive them around, or you’re really busy packing and you just don’t really have a need for a car.

However, on your destination end, your new home, most people find that as soon as they get to their new home, they need their car to just get around, do some grocery shopping. You don’t have as many people that you can rely on for transportation.

Once you’ve decided which end is easier to be without the car, you’re going to want to reach out to a shipping company. A good shipping company is going to help you pick the right date, once you know where it’s easier to be without the car. They’re going to help you really set that move up the right way, tell you exactly when to give the car up so you get it exactly when you want on the other end.

Ultimately, once you’ve got your move figured out and you know which end is easier to be without the car, reach out to a reputable shipping company. They’re going to really help you decide the best way to ship the car.

Moving Tips: Permanent vs Seasonal Moves (Video)

Mike Scenna of PAL explains the difference between permanent and seasonal moves, and offers tips to think about when moving, such as whether or not to own a second set of furniture and clothes, and whether or not to ship your car.

Hi, I’m Mike Scenna sales manager at Preowned Auto Logistics. Today, I want to talk about moving tips, specifically moving permanently versus moving seasonally. Moving permanently, of course, is a much bigger project. You’re uprooting your entire life. You’re taking everything you own from one place and bringing it to an entirely new place. You need to really go through everything thoroughly. Make sure you don’t miss anything. Make sure that you have everything lined up, identification changes, vehicle registration changes, paperwork. When it comes to the house, the moving company is set up for the right date. There are so many factors that go into moving permanently that it’s just a big project and you want to make sure you really prepare for it.

Moving seasonally is something you’re doing on a frequent basis, once or twice a year. Although it might not seem as big of a project, there are still things that you have to think about and decide before doing this. You need to think about how long you’re going away, and how much stuff you want to bring. Remember, you’re moving seasonally, so you’re going to one place, but then you’re coming back from that place again. You want to really try to, most of the time, pack light, bring as little as possible, because you’re going to have to move that stuff two times.

For most people, it’s two times every year, which leads into the final part. You want to think about owning versus renting, and that’s anything, whether it’s the residence, whether it’s furniture, or whether it’s the car. Owning versus shipping; you want to decide, does it make more sense to have a fully furnished home at your seasonal residence, rather than bringing a bunch of furniture, items and clothes.

When it comes to the car, it’s the same thing. Does it make more sense to own a car at your seasonal residence, or ship your car back and forth? A lot of people think right away that, “Oh, I should own a car at my seasonal residence,” but you have to consider the costs that come with that. There’s storage costs for the vehicle. There’s registration cost, there’s insurance. These things add up quickly.

Ultimately, when it comes to a permanent move and a seasonal move, there are a lot of factors for both. The best thing you do is prepare well ahead of time and contact professionals that could help walk you through the process and make it go as easy as possible.

Moving Tips: Contacting Your Moving Company (Video)

Mike Scenna of PAL gives you tips for contacting your moving company, including when you should contact them, and the types of information that you should provide to them.

Hi, I’m Mike Scenna, sales manager at Preowned Auto Logistics. Today, I want to talk about moving tips; specifically when to contact a moving company. Moving is something most people have either never done before or only done a handful of times. So when it comes to contacting a moving company, you really want to reach out well in advance in order to have a professional help walk you through the process; when to start packing your items, how to prepare for the move, when to start preparing certain things. These are things that you may be asking yourself and find that you don’t have the answers to. The sooner you have a professional moving company on board, the easier it makes this process go.

Number two is availability. Moving is a big project. It’s something people plan several months, sometimes years in advance. For this reason, moving companies book out several months to years in advance. So you really want to make sure you reach out so that you get a moving company that’s available those dates that you’re looking to move.

And number three is you want time to talk to a few different companies. It’s good to see at least two or three different companies. Get two or three different quotes and just get a feel for the company moving your stuff. These are all your personal items, things that have a lot of sentimental value. You really want to make sure you find a company that you’re very comfortable with.

So when it comes to contacting a moving company, it’s never too early to reach out to one. However, I’d suggest a minimum of six months prior to your move that you reach out to a moving company.

Cheap Car Shipping (Video)

If you’re looking for cheap car shipping, while maintaining quality, Mike Scenna of PAL gives you some tips to make your next car shipping as inexpensive as possible.

Hi, I’m Mike Scenna, Sales Manager at Preowned Auto Logistics. When it comes to cheap car shipping, there are a few ways you can save some money.

Number one is the type of shipment you choose. There are two types of shipments. There’s enclosed shipping and open shipping. In enclosed shipping, the vehicle is on a trailer that’s fully covered. A much safer way to ship the car, but it can be a little bit more expensive. In open shipping, the trailer is open. The car is exposed to the elements. It’s still a safe way of shipping, but you could save a lot of money by doing this way.

Number two is preparation. You want to call well ahead of time. You want to plan properly for your move. This way you can assure that you’re without the car for as little time as possible. This results in car rentals being shorter, and you’re ultimately saving money on your car rental fees.

And number three is flexibility. If you don’t need to rent a car, or you don’t have a problem with being without a car, transportation companies love this. This gives them more time to work on the order and ultimately more time to save you money. At the end of the day, the best thing you could do is call a professional well ahead of time and let them walk you through the process and tell you the best ways to ship a car cheaply.

What to Do If Your Car Arrives Damaged After Shipment (Podcast)

Mike Scenna from Preowned Auto Logistics talks with John Maher about damage during auto shipping. He discusses the type of damage that may occur, and he compares the risks of shipping in an open versus an enclosed truck. Then, he talks about the importance of the condition report and what to expect if you put in a claim for damage that occurs during shipping.

John Maher: Hi, I’m John Maher. I’m here today with Mike Scenna, sales manager at Preowned Auto Logistics, a car shipping and auto transport and logistics company in Massachusetts. And our topic today is damaged claims. What to do if your car arrives damaged after shipment. Welcome Mike.

Mike Scenna: Hey John, thanks for having me.

What Type of Damage Can Occur When Shipping Cars?

John: Sure. So Mike, tell me a little bit about what types of damage might occur during a car shipment.

Mike: Yeah, sure. So of course we’re always looking for damage, right, not to occur, right? The goal is we don’t want to see damage happen during a shipment. Let’s do things safely and in the right way to not see that. But I mean, really anything can happen, right?

It’s just like when you’re out driving, when you’re talking about damage, which is unexpected, it can be anything from a typical accident of the truck getting into a fender bender, like veering off the road to what we would see the most would be things like trees or debris from the road to shifting maybe on the truck from like winds and stuff. There’s a lot of cars stacked up on the truck, anywhere from, it could be as few as two or three all the way up to nine.

And they’re stacked in there like a puzzle and they’re very close together. So depending on the conditions of the road and the weather, these things can move around and it’s possible for them to move against each other and rub against each other. And that can cause some minor damages so. Things not being strapped down properly, they could rarely like roll off the truck, fall off, but yeah, wide range of anything. So if people aren’t moving things safely you could see damage and then sometimes it’s just stuff that’s out of your control that can cause damage. You can be as cautious as you can, but at the end of the day, it’s damage. Right. It’s an accident. And it’s always going to be unavoidable, but you do what you can to limit it.

Damage While Driving Vs. Damage While Shipping

John: Yeah. Just the other day I was driving a good distance behind a truck and it threw up a little rock and cracked my windshield a little bit. And I’m sure that kind of thing can happen just as much with a car that’s not driving, but that’s just sitting on the back of an open vehicle.

Mike: Right, right. Exactly. In that rock goes over Mike, over the cab of the truck, but it’s got nine other vehicles that it could hit on that thing and yeah. Yeah. Not much you could do, but hopefully you’ve got good procedures in place to help fix the situation if it does happen.

Insurance for Shipping Vehicles

John: Right. So for people having their car shipped, is insurance an optional thing that they choose or they don’t choose to get with the car shipment or is it a requirement on all car shipments?

Mike: So for us it’s not an additional charge, it’s just, we have it. It’s always, it’s offered, we don’t ship cars without insurance. We don’t work with carriers that aren’t insured. As far as personal vehicle insurance, if that’s what you’re asking, you’re okay to ship a car that you don’t have personal insurance on. That’s fine. We do that all the time.

We ship cars for dealerships, we ship cars for individuals who just purchased them. So they haven’t even registered and insured them. Yeah. So there’s not a situation where we’re having people go through their own personal insurance. Whereas a broker of vehicle shipping, we have supplemental insurance as well in the off chance that someone’s insurance does expire or lapse and we didn’t know about it, which also shouldn’t happen because we have procedures in place for that.

We have insurance that covers that as well. So we do a really good job at making sure that we’re covered on that end. So yeah, it’s pretty safe. I tell people all the time that they really don’t need to worry about being covered when shipping with us. For high end vehicles too, the policy goes into the millions so there’s nothing to worry about.

John: Wow.

Mike: We’re covered on like some of those crazy sports cars and like Bentley’s and things like that, we ship that and policy covers all that stuff as well.

What Does Car Shipping Insurance Cover?

John: Right. I know that sometimes you might have like a warranty or something that only covers certain things, but it doesn’t cover other things. And inevitably, the thing that goes wrong is the thing that’s not covered under the warranty. Does the insurance cover any type of damage that occurs during car shipping or do I need to be concerned that something might happen that’s not covered?

Mike: So for the most part, pretty much anything is covered that happens during shipping. I’ve seen some policies that might not cover acts of God, like things that could happen, like natural disasters and weather. So those kinds of things you might want to look into if you had just purchased a car and don’t have insurance on it. When we ship cars, I’ve seen that before, like a heavy hailstorm cracking a windshield and people’s personal insurance policies will cover that because that was through weather that broke the windshield, it wasn’t anything caused by the driver or any improper driving or anything like that. It wasn’t something that they did that caused that. But that’s something that’s very rare. There is a difference between enclosed and open shipping.

So in open shipping, there is like normal wear and tear is not covered. So very, very minor scratches that could occur while you’re driving down the road like on the bottom of the bumper, something surface level, maybe through the clear coat of the car. Stuff that I’m sure if you walked around your car, you’d probably notice on the bottom that you can maybe not even tell if it’s like a piece of dirt or a scratch, or how you might have little pebbles pits in the front of your bumper from driving. That kind of stuff that just over time, driving down the highways and things like that, you’re just not going to be able to avoid, that stuff happens on an open shipment on the truck as well. You don’t avoid that kind of stuff on the truck when you’re not driving.

So that kind of stuff is not covered on open shipping. So if you are concerned about that, you’re shipping a really pristine high-end car, you might want to look into that, where that is covered or enclosed shipping. Insurance for enclosed shipping covers absolutely everything. Anything you can think of is expected to be covered there. You should not have any normal wear and tear. Any of that is covered. So there are some small differences that it’s important to ask some questions if you are concerned, to make sure you’re covered if you are looking to have those small things covered.

Insurance for Open Vs. Enclosing Shipping

John: Right. So basically on an open shipment, if the car would have suffered a similar amount of damage just from driving the car on the highway, it’s not going to be covered just for the fact that it’s on the back of a truck. It’s still an open shipment and it’s going to be involved in, like you said, that dust and sand and things like that, being kicked up from the road. That’s normal.

Mike: Right. Exactly. That’s the best way of putting it. It’s like if it happened while driving aside from something major coming up, just like you said, just like dust and things like that, it’s not covered. But if it were something significant, like if a sizable object came up and hit it and that would, of course be covered.

John: Right.

Mike: And then again, with enclosed shipping, you can even go a step up and cover from even that stuff.

Proving Damage While Shipping Vehicles

John: So how do I know that my car was damaged during a shipment? And how do I prove it, to my car shipping company that yes, this damage occurred during the shipment?

Mike: Yep. This all goes back to the condition report. And this is something that we can’t stress enough the importance of. We spend a lot of time going over this with people and really explaining the proper way to do it. But basically when a carrier shows up to pick up your car, you have a part of this where you and the carrier both go over the condition of the vehicle. You both come to an understanding that this is the condition of the vehicle that I’m giving it to you for the shipment. You note it on a piece of paper or you do it digitally, is an image of a car where you mark the location of any scratches, dents, and any imperfections on the car. And you also take pictures. Pictures are the best. Take as many pictures as you can.

A carrier will take pictures and you should take your own. On the other side of delivery, the carrier is going to show up and deliver the car. And they’re going to have that same condition report with them in which you’re going to sign off on saying that you are receiving the car in the same condition that the carrier received the vehicle in. If there is any difference there, you want to note it at that time. It’s very important to do it at that time.

If you miss anything at that time, even if you sign the condition report, even if they just drive away and you make a phone call saying, oh, I just missed this. I’m noticing it now. You still signed a legal document saying that you received the vehicle in the same condition that you shipped it in, that they picked it up in and it can be very difficult to have any damages covered. So you really want to make sure you take the time to go over the vehicle while the carrier is still there before you sign the condition report. It’s very important.

How to Submit a Claim If Damage Occurs During Shipping

John: Right. So what are the steps then involved in submitting a damage claim if you do notice that there’s damage that has occurred during the shipment?

Mike: Yep. So what you can do is again, really this should all start at that moment while you’re receiving the vehicle while the carrier is still there. I mean, really the best thing you do is even make a phone call right then and there. I tell my customers all the time, if you are even slightly concerned, just give me a call while the carrier is there, get me on the phone and I’ll start walking you through the process of what to write on the condition report before you even let the carrier leave.

But really it starts there, making sure you’re writing on the condition report that I am adding damage to this. I am not receiving this vehicle in the same condition that I gave it to the carrier in. So you want to start right then and there. From there, most companies will submit a damage claim form to you.

So the form will request that condition report the way that you signed it. You’ll send it back to them along with just explaining what happened in the shipment, where you think the damage occurred, what happened and just the next steps from there. So a company like us, we’re going to handle all of that internally. We’ll take the damage claim form. We’re going to look at all the pictures. We’re going to reach out to the carrier for you. We’re going to reach out to the insurance companies. We’re going to gather all of the information. We’re going to make a decision and see where it looks like the damage occurred, if you did everything right and we can expedite the procedure and get it covered and get it fixed. We’ll do that.

If you miss a step, maybe something wasn’t done right, like you signed that condition report and you shouldn’t have, we’re still going to fight for you and do everything that we can. If the information looks like the damage still occurred during transport, it might not be a guarantee, but we’re going to help you out. But basically the short version is you call the carrier, the broker up, us and submit the form and we take care of it from there, every bit of the claim.

Resolving a Car Shipping Damage Claim

John: Okay. And then when can I expect a resolution to my car shipping damage claim and how long does that typically take?

Mike: Yeah, it really depends on the situation. If again, if you did everything right, you signed that condition report properly by marking the damage and helped to make sure that everything was going to pass through properly and there was nothing that was going to hold that up, it could be just a couple of days to move it through, get it right into a body shop. If it’s minor damage again, maybe a couple of days there. We could see the whole process take under a week from the start to having the claim approved and the car fixed.

More complicated ones with more severe damage and maybe the process hasn’t been done right, could go on for possibly months, which is why, again, it’s just important to do the condition report properly. Because no one wants to be without a car for months. So if you take the extra time, which is just minutes to do the condition report right, it can really help on that end of not being without a car a lot longer. So yeah. Anywhere from a couple of days to months, just depending on the damage and what you do during the condition reporting process.

Contact PAL for Your Auto Shipping Needs

John: All right. Well, that’s really great information, Mike. Thanks again for speaking with me today.

Mike: Yeah, of course. Thanks, John.

John: And for more information or to request a quote for your auto shipping needs, visit the website at preownedautologistics.com or call (877) 542-1955.

Car Shipping for College Move-Ins (Video)

Mike Scenna of PAL talks about shipping cars for college students, and the logistics of receiving a car on a college campus.

Hi, I’m Mike Scenna, sales manager at Preowned Auto Logistics. Today, I want to talk about car transportation for college move-ins. The first question for college car transportation is, “do I drive the car or do I ship the car?” A lot of college students want to throw all their stuff in their car, get behind the wheel and drive off to school. However, there are a lot of risks with going with this option.

Depending on where the school is, you’re looking at a lot of hours on the road, which can get very unsafe. Most college students haven’t spent too much time on the road. Doing an 8 to 10 hour day on the road could be something that they’ve never experienced and ultimately be very dangerous to them.

Long trips behind the wheel also usually involve staying somewhere overnight. You need to bring all of your stuff to school, which means it’s all in the car. It can be very dangerous leaving all of your items in the vehicle overnight. There’s a chance of the vehicle being broken into, which results in damage to your car and ultimately loss of items.

And there’s also the cost. Driving the car gets expensive fast. There’s hotels, there’s food, there’s gas, there’s wear and tear on the car. It’s not necessarily cheaper to drive your car. A college student might think that, but if you really go through the cost, you might find that it’s cheaper to actually ship the car.

If you decide you want to ship the car, the best thing you could do is reach out to a professional car shipping company as soon as possible. They’re going to help really walk you through the process. Look at the dates that you need the car, where and when, and help you decide the best timing for shipping the car.

They’re also going to help guide you through the process on the delivery end. A college campus is a big and busy place. You want to make sure that you find a nice, safe spot to unload the car, and most car shipping companies have that kind of information. They’re experienced with that kind of stuff. Ultimately, the best thing you could do once you decide you want to ship a car is just reach out to a professional company as soon as possible and let them guide you through the process.

The Fine Print in Car Shipping Contracts (Podcast)

Mike Scenna from Preowned Auto Logistics (PAL) talks with John Maher about the fine print in car shipping contracts. He explains cancellation policies, pick-up and delivery details, liability, insurance, and more.

John Maher: Hi, I’m John Maher, and I’m here today with Mike Scenna, sales manager at Preowned Auto Logistics, a car shipping and auto transport and logistics company in Massachusetts. And today, our topic is the fine print in car shipping contracts. Welcome, Mike.

Mike Scenna: Hey John, how’s it going?

Cancellation Policies on Car Shipping Contracts

John: Good. So there’s a lot, I’m sure, that goes into a contract that deals with car shipping from one place to another. And there’s maybe a lot of things that I’m sure you discuss with your customers, but maybe people kind of forget about it, or it’s like a little bit of that fine print stuff, the details that maybe they don’t always remember for every one of their car shipping experiences.

So, I want to just talk about a few of the things. And the first one is like a cancellation policy. What is the cancellation policy for a car shipping contract? Is that something that, up until a certain point before it gets shipped, I can just call you and cancel it? Or what’s the policy there?

Mike: Yeah, so that’s something great to look into John. And first and foremost, you want to make sure that there is one, that you actually have one in place. So, as we’ve talked about before, there are tons of car shipping companies out there, anywhere from really big car shipping companies, brokerages with lots of trucks or lots of resources to trucks, and also just small companies with individuals just on a single truck and they’re looking to haul a few cars around the country.

So, you want to make sure you actually have a policy, a cancellation policy or a contract in general. Because there’s a lot of companies out there that will take an order from you just verbally and take money, and you have a no contract and nothing in place. And that’s something you want to stay away from.

I see it all the time. I hear it all the time. And that can be scary, because if something goes wrong and you have to make a last minute change, or someone’s unable to move your car, you could be out money and you have no one moving the car. It does happen. People take money and they’re not able to move the car. So, you want to make sure you have a cancellation policy. Typically, you want to be able to get your money back.

Our company here, we offer a full refund as long as you’re canceling in an adequate amount of time. So, there’s a lot of work that goes into preparing for shipping a car. We spend a lot of time looking for a carrier to find that spot on a truck for you. There’s a lot of people in here, a lot of resources that are applied to that.

As long as you’re not canceling a day of transport, any good reputable car shipping company should be able to offer you a refund. So, that’s something that you should look out for. You should see in the fine print that you’re able to get your money back. So, it’s a great question. I think you should look out, and read the fine print, and make sure that, as long as you’re doing the right thing on your end, that you are able to get your money back if you aren’t able to go through with your vehicle shipment.

Obtaining Refunds for Car Shipping Cancellation

John: Right. So, if you do cancel your car shipment and you do want a refund, what’s generally the way to go about getting that refund?

Mike: Yeah. I guess it really depends on your situation and how you paid. Right? If you paid with a credit card, it could be as straightforward as just refunding those funds back onto the card. Maybe it’s mailing a check back. We ship a lot of people seasonally or on a regular basis. Sometimes, we have folks who aren’t able to make a car shipment, so they have to cancel it or put it on hold.

So, we can just credit those funds to their file, apply them to their next shipment if they know that’s something that’s coming up. But as long as we’re being fair to the customer, we just make sure that we get those funds back to them in whatever way is appropriate or easiest for them.

Pick-up and Delivery Terms for Car Shipping

John: Okay. And what are the pickup and delivery terms for car shipping, or some of the things that… the details of what happens during the pickup and delivery?

Mike: Yeah. So, for that, it’s just going through the proper procedure to make sure you’re covered. So, it’s all about the condition reporting. Right? So, the driver shows up, or you meet the driver somewhere to hand over the vehicle, and you go through that condition report.

You really want to go through exactly what the condition of that vehicle is like prior to giving the vehicle up for the shipment, because that’s really what it’s all about, you and the driver agreeing this is what this vehicle looks like prior to the shipment. The driver is responsible for getting the vehicle back to you in that same condition. So, this comes up if there’s a dispute about damage or any kind of funds involved with covering any disputes on the condition of the vehicle.

Just take that time to go over the vehicle, take pictures, and make sure everyone’s on the same page with the condition of the vehicle. And then, you do that, the same exact thing, on the other end, on delivery. We see it a lot where people don’t take the time to do that on delivery, which is unfortunate because it’s a lot harder to help people fix any issues after the fact. Right? So, when you’re receiving the car, take the time to go through it and check those things, because you want to make sure you note that right then and there. If there’s something that you see that’s out of place, we want to address it before that driver leaves. They’re going to have that bill of lading or condition report.

You want to get it noted right there at the time of delivery. It’s very important. It makes it a lot easier to dispute any discrepancies that there might be, rather than having the truck leave and making a phone call later. So, just really take your time on pickup and delivery.

Pick-up and Delivery Details in the Contract

John: Are the details of the pickup and delivery detailed out, or spelled out, in the car shipping contract as well, in terms of like that this car is going to be picked up at this time, and this date, at this location, and the owner of the car is going to be there to meet with the driver of the truck, that sort of thing? Is that all part of the contract?

Mike: So yeah. The addresses and the individual’s contact information is all in the contract, but we try to be flexible here because we understand that, when you’re shipping a car, that there’s probably a lot of other things going on in life, that you’re either moving permanently or seasonally, or you’ve just got a lot of things going on, and you’re on the go. You’re moving around. So, you might need to have a neighbor meet the driver with the keys. So, we understand that that might come up. So yeah, we’re going to work with people.

And then, dates aren’t always going to be exact. Things come up that… Drivers get delayed, or even individuals’ availability changes. So, that stuff’s not exactly set in stone. We try to set… here especially, get set up with a really good representative, a good customer service representative, and work with them. That’s our goal here is just, we know flexibility is very important, so constant communication, stay flexible, and just let’s see if we can make sure that the pickup and delivery both go smooth.

Damage Liability During Car Shipping

John: Right. So, you mentioned that, during pickup, you want to check over the car and make sure that you accurately detail what the condition of the car is, so that if any damage does occur, you’re aware of it. Who is liable when there’s an accident or maybe damage that happens during a car shipment?

Mike: Right. And that’s exactly the reason you want to go over it. So, as long as we’re covering that condition of the vehicle, very specifically, that’s how we’re able to find out who’s liable. So, if everything is noted at pickup, if every scratch is noted, pictures are taken, and the car arrives at its destination, and there’s something that’s noticed that wasn’t there at pickup, and it’s noted on the bill of lading, and it’s also maybe the customer has also taken a picture…

A lot of these drivers are very responsible, but sometimes you don’t notice. Something happens, a tree branch, a rock off the side of the road, bounces up and hits the car. They don’t know something happened that hit the car, but that’s why we do these things.

That’s why these drivers have insurance, so if something does happen, the carrier is liable for the damage. And we want to have these condition reports done to cover that. So, you are fully covered during transport. So, if you’re shipping a car with a reputable company, once it gets on that truck, until you receive it and have the car back in your hands, if something happens to it, you’re covered. The person shipping the is liable. So, it’s just important to make sure you’re doing the condition report right, so that if something does happen, you are covered.

Insurance Details on Car Shipping Contracts

John: And I assume that that type of damage is covered by insurance of some kind. Do you know, how is insurance handled on a car shipping contract?

Mike: Yeah. So, if there is damage and it’s noted at the time of… you note it at the time of delivery, you note that on the bill of lading, you contact the company that you shipped with, and you put in a damage claim. Once the damage claim is put in, you wait to hear back from your rep at the company. And it depends on the company. For us, we handle it all internally here. Some companies, however, they might pass you off to their insurance company. You’ll get a policy number. And it’ll be handled with the insurance company from here, like I said.

Or with us, it’ll be handled all internally. So, we’ll deal with the insurance company and act as an intermediary from there. So, we’ll reach out to the body shops, get the estimates, reach out to the carrier, handle the insurance from there, set up the appointment, handle it really from beginning to end to make sure that it goes very smooth, right until the car is repaired and the whole lot of damage is behind you.

Contact PAL for Your Auto Shipping Needs

John: All right. Well, that’s really great information, Mike. Thanks again for speaking with me today.

Mike: Yeah, of course. Thanks, John.

John: And for more information, or to request a quote for your auto shipping needs, visit the website at Preowned Auto Logistics dot com, or call 8 7 7 5 4 2 1 9 5 5.

222 Jubilee Dr.
Peabody, MA 01960

Phone: 978-313-5841
E-Mail: support@palmoves.com

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