Yes and no. The strict interpretation is no, you can’t ship items inside your vehicle. The reality is that almost all auto transport carriers look the other way on items that weigh less than 100 pounds, roughly the equivalent of 2 suitcases. We recommend placing any additional items in the trunk and out of sight. The U.S. Transportation Law states that a carrier can be fined $10,000 for hauling household items in the vehicle, but it is rarely enforced. Please know that car delivery drivers estimate every vehicle’s weight that they carry and don’t want problems at weight scales. They must keep the personal items to a minimum to make it through the scales. Some drivers will accept a tip ($50-$250) for hauling extra stuff, and some won’t. Rule of thumb, don’t take advantage. The car transporter is there to ship a car, not move the owner’s personal belongings. Our car shipping calculator will not add a charge for extra items because it would be presumptuous to expect the driver to agree. If you want to include extra items in your vehicle, please discuss that first with the driver and come to a mutual agreement.
Door-To-Door Car Transport Services
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Direct Express Auto Transport
Like a taxi pulling right up to your house or apartment, wouldn’t it be nice if a door-to-door auto transport service knocked on your door to let you know that they are waiting outside? In that scenario, you could even stay in your pajamas and slippers, and pause your favorite show for thirty minutes, while you hand over your vehicle keys to the car transport driver. Then expect him to do the same thing upon delivery in a few days. But in reality, door-to-door auto transport does not usually happen that way.
What does happen is that a car transport carrier is supposed to get as close as possible to your door, and that can mean within a mile or two of your house or apartment. It is rarely farther, but sometimes that also makes sense. You see, a car transport carrier is huge. It’s a big truck, not a small taxi. Most auto transporters carry five to ten vehicles and require extra space to turn around or maneuver. They can’t do that on most residential streets and might be legally forbidden anyway.
Aside from getting pinned into a small space to turn around, the car transporter is also wary of low-hanging tree branches on residential streets. The top rack might have vehicles twelve or thirteen feet above ground level, and the auto transporter is rightly concerned about scratching the roofs of not only your vehicle but others as well. The car transport service driver must assume that there are low-hanging branches and avoid going into your neighborhood streets, and of course, directly to your door. Please be understanding.
After Direct Express Auto Transport assigns your vehicle to a carrier, we instruct the driver to pick up and deliver as close as possible to both your origination and destination addresses. The carrier will first locate your address on Apple or Google Maps or something similar. He will search for a large area nearby where he can safely park his car transport truck to unload your vehicle.
Typical meeting places are grocery store parking lots, malls, places like Home Depot and Target, extra wide roads, or rest areas. You get the idea. Then he calls your origination contact and informs them of the nearby location to meet. Most people understand why the car transporter is selecting someplace other than the actual address. Because it is not practical. The parties agree to a time and things usually go smoothly. The whole scenario repeats at the destination.
Most people bring someone with them to meet the car transport carrier driver. That makes things easier. But what if your contact doesn’t have anyone to drive them to the meeting place? Most people use a Taxi, Uber or Lyft service. The cost is usually nominal, around $10-$15.
We recommend waiting until the carrier has confirmed that he has reached the meeting spot before actually embarking. That’s because drivers are often running behind schedule. Being hours late is not uncommon. While the driver is unloading your vehicle at the meeting spot, you can be on your way. He will likely be patient. By the way, a tip for that hard-working man or woman is greatly appreciated. He is no different than the waiter you tipped last Saturday.
Sometimes a customer absolutely has no other choice, so a carrier might off-load and drive the vehicle to the actual address. But then he will need a ride back to his transport rig.
We advise female customers not to do that. We err on the side of caution. We think it is also prudent for female customers to never meet alone. Or if they do, make sure it is in a well lit, very public setting. We have had over 300,000 car shipments and have never heard of a female customer of ours being accosted. But let’s just stay safe, anyway.
Sometimes there are no easy alternatives. Your Grandma might be 90 years old, does not drive, has nobody to help, and there are no taxis in her area. Guess what? We love Grandma, but she should not be your contact. Please find somebody else. A neighbor. A friend. A brother-in-law. How about the mechanic you’ve given so much business over so many years? Pay him $50 to help you out and receive your vehicle. And if you think about it, Grandma would probably appreciate your doing that too.
