Tips to Prepare your Car for Auto Transport

Sometimes it just isn’t possible to drive your vehicle to its new home. While your Castlegar movers at Kootenai Moving can get your household items there, cars require some special attention. This means that you may need to employ an auto transport service to get the job done for you.

Generally, these services do not drive your car to your new home. Rather, they load it onto a car carrier and transport it that way. This means that you need to do a little preparation of your vehicle to ensure that it arrives safely.

Give it a Thorough Cleaning

The first thing you are going to want to do is make sure that your car is cleaned inside and out. A clean car is much more likely to show any damage that occurred during transport. Dust and dirt can conceal dents and dings.

Your car is going to be jostled around during the transport as well, which can mean that things on the inside get shifted about. Cleaning the inside of the car and removing anything that isn’t necessary will prevent that from happening.

Turn Off the Alarm

The truck driver is not going to be very happy with you if your car alarm is going off for his entire drive to your new home — at least until the battery in your car dies. Disable your car alarm if you can. If not, you may be able to disable it by unhooking the battery. Make sure to check with the driver of the truck before doing this, as it may be necessary to drive your car onto the carrier.

Drain the Tank

You are going to want your vehicle to travel with as little fuel in it as possible. Since it isn’t being driven there, you are going to want your tank to be as light as it possibly can. Gasoline weighs a lot, and having a full tank can add risk to the move. For these reasons, keep your tank as empty as you possibly can without draining it completely.

Check your Tire Pressure

If your tires have too much or too little air in them for the trip, it can cause problems during transport. Just like you wouldn’t want to drive your car around with under or over inflated tires, you don’t want your car transported that way either.

Lock the Car

Once your car is all loaded up, there is no reason to invite people to go looking through it. Lock it up and, if you need to, provide the truck driver with the key. It may be necessary for him to move it around during transport.

For everything else you need during your move, consider hiring the expert Castlegar movers at Kootenai Moving. Contact us today for a quote on your move. We can help you with any move, short or long distance!