Frequently Asked Questions
About Auto Transport Services

Multiple factors influence the cost of your transport service:

• Type of vehicle: size and weight
• Vehicle Condition: operable or inoperable. Inoperable means the car does not start.
• Type of trailer: open or closed
• Distance/mileage: amount of miles between your pickup and delivery locations
• Location: urban/metro or rural area
• Modifications: lowered, lifted, larger tires, racks on top, etc.
• Seasonal fluctuations: seasonal supply and demands change on certain routes

Yes, per Federal Law, you are required to pay the full amount to the driver in order to release your vehicle. If you choose not to, the driver has the right to withhold the release of your vehicle(s).

Please contact your dedicated shipping agent via email or call us at (877) 303-3990 to cancel your order.

We charge your card once a driver has been assigned (dispatched) and you confirm that you want to move forward with the scheduled pickup. If you decide to cancel the service after your card has been charged, your payment is refundable, less a $100 service fee or the amount of your partial payment, whichever is less.

Yes, per the Department of Transportation, you are permitted to have up to 100lbs of cargo inside the vehicle. All cargo must be secured, below the window level, and in the rear or trunk of the car, nothing behind the driver's seat.

Yes, your car is fully insured from the time it is loaded on the trailer to the time it is unloaded. The carrier’s insurance policy covers, at minimum, $100,000. The contents inside your vehicle will not be insured during transport.

No, the carrier’s insurance policy does not cover personal items being shipped with your vehicle. We recommend not placing valuables inside your vehicle during transport.

At delivery, please inspect your vehicle with the driver to see if any damage occurred during transport. Please notate all damage on the Bill of Lading (Vehicle inspection report) before signing for the release of the vehicle. Ask the driver for a copy of the Bill of Lading and take pictures on-site of the damage for claim purposes. Then please contact Guardian Auto Transport to get the claim process started. Please note that any damage to the interior caused by personal items is not covered with insurance.

Not necessarily. When setting up your order you can designate a pickup and delivery contact for the driver. The contact must be at least 18 years of age. Both the pickup and delivery contacts are responsible for signing off on the Bill of Lading (vehicle inspection report).

Please make sure that the exterior of your vehicle is clean for the truck driver to properly inspect the vehicle for pre-existing damages and discrepancies. Empty out all personal items and make sure that there are not loose parts on the exterior and interior of the vehicle. Please leave some gas inside the tank, preferably 1/4th of a tank.

After we assign (dispatch) a driver to your order, you will receive a dispatch notification email that will include scheduling details and your driver's phone number and information. Your shipping agent will also contact you to confirm the details of your auto shipment once a driver has been assigned.

Drivers typically allocate about 400 miles per day for over the road travel. This may seem a bit low, but we also factor in pickup and delivery downtime time into that estimate.

Yes, as long as driver assignment has not been confirmed, you can change your first available pickup date.

Our shipping agents will stay in contact with you throughout the shipping process to keep you updated. For additional status updates please contact us via email or phone.

Yes, please let one of our shipping agents know that you are looking for either a guaranteed pickup or delivery date and we will adjust your price accordingly.

The “First Available Pickup Date” is the first date that your vehicle will be ready to get picked up. On standard priced orders, we ask for a 1-5 business day window for pickup. If you are in a rural area, we ask that you stay flexible, as there are not as many pickups and deliveries in your area and driver availability may be limited.

We recommend that you book your auto transport order about two weeks before your first available pickup date. You can book sooner, but due to market fluctuations, you will be quoted the most accurate price within 30 days of your shipment.

With open transport, your vehicle is transported on an open-air trailer. Over 95% of vehicles in the auto transport industry get transported via open-air trailer. It is considered very safe and used to transport new vehicles to dealerships. With an enclosed transport, your vehicle is transported inside of a hard-side or soft-side enclosed trailer. The vehicle is protected from any outside elements, including dust, weather, and sun exposure. Enclosed transport is more expensive due to only a small percentage of drivers having this equipment. We recommend enclosed transport for luxury, exotic, or classic cars.

Yes, typically enclosed transport is about 40-60% more expensive than open transport. Less than 3% of carriers in the auto transport industry have enclosed trailers, making them more difficult to schedule and more expensive.

No, the value of the vehicle you are shipping does not influence the cost of the service. We always offer competitive rates for all types of vehicles and services.

• A bill of lading (sometimes abbreviated as BoL) is a document issued by a carrier (or his agent) to acknowledge receipt of cargo for shipment. Basically, the BoL is the vehicle inspection report that marks any pre-existing damage to a vehicle on pickup and any damage during transport on delivery.
• Please make sure that your designated pickup and delivery contacts carefully inspect the vehicle with the truck driver and make sure they agree to the BoL report before signing off on the release of the vehicle.
• It is the right of the delivery contact to inspect the vehicle before release. It is the right of the delivery contact to mark any damage during transit on the BoL.
• You are legally required to pay the full amount of the transport after signing for the release of the vehicle on delivery. An insurance claim and payment for transport are not the same transaction.