It Is Time to Ship Your Car

You may have changed residences from Chicago to California. That sure is a long way off and driving your car could prove to be quite a long road trip. Maybe it is time that you have your car shipped to your new place instead of taking that long drive.

It is best that you first decide when would be the best time to move your car. That way, you can actually plan ahead and make your car ready for shipment. When you have already decided when the shipping would take place, it is time to call several moving companies. Inform them about the type and kind of car that you are moving. Also, inform them the specific locations of the move – from where you are moving your car to the place where your car will be shipped. Also give them the data on the date when you plan to do the shipping.

List down your choices of moving companies. To be safe, check these companies out with the Better Business Bureau. You surely would like to have your vehicle shipped and handled by a good and trusted company. From there, you can make your choice of company.

Call up your choice company and inquire about the kind of insurance coverage that the company has with regards to shipments. Also ask if there is a deductible. Ask for their insurance policy carefully even if they might be written in fine print then ask for a copy so you could also review them over yourself at home.

On the day that you will be moving your vehicle, be alert. Check if the mover will be filling out a bill of lading. This includes a report of the condition of your car before loading. Read the whole report. Before you sign it, make sure that you agree with the report. Then, ask about the pick up dates and times as well as the delivery time. Any promises of the date and time should be given in writing as well as any conditions if these are not met. All your personal belongings should be removed from your car. Remember that these items are not covered by the carrier’s insurance.

Upon delivery, check your car and note any problems.
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Auto Towing Need Not Be A Nightmare

All but the very luckiest of souls has, at some point, had their car towed away from them in the wake of malfunction from an automotive towing company, or worse, come out to the place it had once been parked only to find some phantom tow truck had grabbed hold of their prized possession and quickly spirited it away. The latter case is always most infuriating, though having to call an towing company is never anyone’s idea of a ripping good time in itself. Either way, without traffic enforcement bylaws and tow trucks we probably wouldn’t recognize the world we live in, so it’s time to accept their existence, and know a few things about them that can help you in case you have to cross their path.

The first thing to make sure of as a car owner is that you have a plan of action in mind in the event of a breakdown or, God forbid, a sudden realization that you haven’t the requisite amount of gasoline to continue running that combustion engine of yours. It’s embarrassing, yes – but hey, it happens to all of us, so the best thing to do is swallow pride and vanity and ring up a auto towing company ASAP to get that motionless heap of your off the road as quickly as humanly possible. Having a number handy with you in your car at all times is a necessity. Just when you’re having the worse day of your life as your engine overheats on two-lane bridge in the middle of summer, billowing smoke out like chimney, you don’t need the added joy of having to stop and ask someone if they know the number of a tow truck so that you can quickly get out of the flow angry motorists who are bound to be making vocal their aggravation with you.

But that, of course, is the worst of the possible scenarios which could force you to have to call a towing company. We’ve all done the key-in-the-ignition thing, where we frantically grope ourselves in hopes of realizing we’ve left our set of keys in some secret, hidden pocket we didn’t realize we had, and then peered in through the tightly sealed window to see them dangling there inside locked doors. Again, we hate to admit our own stupidity, but it happens, and a towing company is the first number you punch into your cell phone to admit the understandable lapse in common sense. Of course, you may also be in the unfortunate position of having battery with no more juice without another soul around to help jump start you back into running order.

And then there’s the other kind of auto towing that we have to bear witness to on a daily basis: the parking violation tow away. This, surely, is no laughing matter, but it’s also important for you as the motorist (in this case, parked motorist) to know that there are rules and regulations that every towing company must abide by before they hook themselves up to your car and speed off to the nearest impound lot. These laws are up to you to be aware of, and are occasionally broken at the motorist expense, when companies assume that car owners will be too ignorant to know their rights. Firstly, a car cannot usually be towed by an auto towing company due to a parking infraction unless the proper authorities are noted, and a significant amount of time (usually in the neighborhood of an hour) has elapsed to give the owner a chance to claim his automobile. Second, if you race out to see a truck in the process of raising your car up to tow away, you have the right to tell him to lower it back down, and it is against the law for him to impound it after you have done so.

Just knowing this much can save you money and stress, in what is bound to be a costly and stressful enough situation as it is. Know your rights and be prepared, and your encounters with the towing companies won’t be as horrifying as they could be.



Information on towing accessories here.