Shipping a Car That’s Damaged: Is It Possible?

So, you’ve totaled your vehicle. There’s no salvaging it whatsoever. It won’t even crank. 

You’ve managed to get it back to your home, but now you have an unsightly paperweight on your lawn. You would like to take it to the junkyard, but you obviously can’t drive it there. 

What are you supposed to do? 

The answer is shipping a car. It’s a simple enough process when a vehicle runs. When it doesn’t, things get a little more complicated and expensive, but it’s still doable. 

There are a few things that you’ll need to do on your end before the shipping company can take the car. Check out this guide to learn more. 

What Does It Mean to Be Unsalvageable?

First of all, what does it mean to be unsalvagable? In short, it’s when your car is so damaged that your insurance company admits that you can’t drive it, let alone repair it. 

You could take it to the shop, but fixing it will cost way more than the car is worth. In these cases, your insurance company will most likely pay for you to get another car, but you’re on your own when it comes to getting rid of the old one. 

Shipping a Car That’s Damaged

The easiest way to get a damaged car off your lawn is to ship it to a junkyard. Since most salvage places take in broken cars so they can scrap them for parts, they’ll accept your vehicle. It doesn’t matter what condition it’s in. 

If your vehicle is crunched but still runs, you’ll pay standard prices to ship it. Things get a little more complicated when it won’t crank or steer, though. 

The shipping company will need to use specialty equipment to load and offload the inoperable vehicle. It’s a lot more labor-intensive so it’s going to cost more.

This being said, it’s still doable as long as you have the cash. You can go here to get more info on how much money you’ll need to have. For now, we’re going to move on to preparing your car for the trip. 

Prepare the Vehicle 

Before you call a car shipping company to take your vehicle away, you’re going to have to do a little prep work. If your car is leaking fluids of any kind, it can pose a hazard to the workers that are loading it. Get help of unwanted car removal to deal with your removals.

To stop someone from getting hurt, you’ll need to drain your damaged car of all fluids beforehand. From there, park the vehicle in a place where the shipping company can easily get to it.  

Disclose the Issue

When you call the shipping company to come to get your vehicle, you must disclose the condition of the car. Don’t spare a single detail. 

Again, shipping a car that’s damaged will cost more money. The business can’t give you an accurate price quote if you don’t tell them what’s wrong with the car. 

They won’t bring the special equipment that they need to load the car or bother sending someone that’s trained to deal with broken vehicles if you don’t let them know that it’s necessary. 

If the person coming to deal with your car isn’t equipped to handle the job, they’ll have to turn around and come back or try to work with what they have. Either way, it will take a lot more time to load your broken car. 

Provide Keys

Having your car unlocked isn’t enough for the workers to take your car. They’re going to need a copy of your keys as well. Without them, they won’t be able to steer your vehicle onto the truck. 

If you don’t have your keys, the workers can move the car as long as it’s in neutral gear. If you have it in the park and can’t hand over your keys, there’s not much the shipping company can do for you. 

Remove Your Things and Loose Parts

Let’s say that your vehicle can be salvaged and you’re sending it somewhere to be fixed. You may want to leave some of your personal belongings in it. 

That’s fine, but your stuff can’t exceed a certain weight. If you have any loose belongings, you’ll either have to remove them before the shipping company takes the car or secure them somehow. 

Loading and Unloading Your Car

The shipping business is going to need plenty of room to line their truck up with your car. That means you’re going to have to be on location on the day of the pickup. 

This way, you can move your car if need be. You also need to stick around to confirm any details about the vehicle before the company takes it away. 

Shipping From an Auction 

Many people buy broken cars from an auction and spruce them up or sell the good parts. If you’re one of these people, the auction will often provide towing services. 

These services are convenient, but they can be expensive. If you want to save a little money, you can hire someone to bring the broken car to your house. Many of the rules that we talked about above will still apply in this situation. 

Get Your Damaged Car Where It Needs to Go

Is your vehicle damaged beyond repair? You need to find a way to get it off your lawn. 

Shipping a car that’s damaged is possible, but as you can see, it’s complex. It will cost more than transporting a functional car, and you’ll need to follow the steps provided to prep your vehicle before the shipping company arrives. 

Are you looking for more auto information and tips? Feel free to explore the rest of our blog for all the latest car news.