Classic Car Shipping

What a classic car needs that a daily driver does not

A standard open carrier is built around modern cars: 4-6 inches of ground clearance, working brakes, a battery that holds charge, and tyres you can steer under load. A 1967 coupe on period suspension, a barn find that has not run in a decade, or a restored car on new paint breaks at least one of those assumptions, and the difference between a good shipment and an expensive one is whether the carrier knew before the truck arrived.

Four things matter more here than on any other kind of move.

Ground clearance and how the car gets on the trailer

Standard ramps sit at an angle a modern car clears comfortably and a lowered or low-slung classic does not. What you want is a hydraulic lift gate, which raises the car level rather than dragging it up an incline. Most enclosed carriers running collector work have one; most open carriers do not. Measure the lowest point of the car — usually the front air dam or the exhaust — and give us the number at the quote stage. It is the single most useful thing you can tell a dispatcher.

Soft ties, not chains

Modern cars are secured by straps over the tyres. Older practice was chains on suspension or axle components, which puts load through parts that may be original, brittle, or freshly rebuilt. Ask explicitly for soft straps over the wheels. Any carrier that regularly handles collector vehicles will have them and will not be surprised by the question.

Enclosed, in almost every case

Open transport is the right answer for most vehicles and we say so on the open transport page. It is not the right answer here. The exposure that makes open transport a reasonable risk on a leased Camry — a stone chip, road salt, a summer of sun on the roof — is exactly the exposure that turns into a four-figure repaint on a show car. Enclosed transport costs roughly 30-50% more and removes that risk entirely.

Insurance written on the right basis

This is where classic car shipping most often goes wrong, and it goes wrong quietly. Standard cargo insurance is typically written on actual cash value, which for a 50-year-old vehicle can mean a depreciated book figure with no relationship to what the car is worth or what the restoration cost. What you want is agreed value: a number written down before the car moves.

Before the vehicle loads, ask for the certificate of insurance, read the per-vehicle limit, and confirm in writing how the policy values the car. If the limit sits below the vehicle's value, close the gap by declaring the value with the carrier or by confirming your own collector policy covers transit. Do this at booking, not at pickup.

Running, non-running, and partial projects

"Runs and drives" for transport purposes means it starts, steers and brakes well enough to move onto the trailer under its own power. A car that does any less needs a winch, and a car with no brakes needs one at both ends. None of that is a problem, but it must be declared at the quote stage — a driver who arrives expecting to drive the car on and finds a seized engine cannot load it, and the trip is wasted for both of you.

Be specific rather than optimistic: whether it starts, whether it steers, whether it stops, and whether it rolls freely in neutral.

Documenting condition, properly

The Bill of Lading inspection is the only record of the car's condition before it loads, and on a collector vehicle it is the document a dispute turns on. Do more than the driver's walk-around:

• Wash the car first. Damage on a dirty car is invisible in a photograph and invisible to an inspector.
• Photograph every panel in daylight, plus the wheels, the underside of the front bumper, the interior and the odometer.
• Photograph any existing chip, crack or imperfection deliberately and close up. What you are proving is that it was there before.
• Note the fuel level and any known quirks on the form itself, not verbally.
• Do the same walk-around at delivery, against the same form, before you sign.

Preparing the car for the trailer

Leave about a quarter tank — enough to load and unload, not enough to add weight. Remove or retract an aerial. Fold the mirrors. Disable an alarm that could drain the battery over a week in a trailer. Take out everything loose, including the items people forget: the tool roll in the boot, the jack, the period-correct accessories. Cargo insurance covers the vehicle, not its contents.

If the car has a battery tender, a specific starting procedure, a fuel cut-off or a hidden kill switch, write it down and hand it to the driver. Do not assume it will be remembered from a phone call.

Timing and cost

Enclosed capacity is thinner than open, so a collector shipment takes longer to dispatch — plan on a wider pickup window, and on a thin lane possibly a week. If the car is going to a show, an auction or a sale with a fixed date, say so at the quote stage so the date is built into the booking rather than hoped for.

Expect roughly 30-50% above the open rate for the lane, plus more for a dedicated single-car load. Get a free quote with the pickup and delivery ZIP codes, the lowest ground clearance and whether it runs, and the number will come back realistic rather than as a placeholder.

For the wider picture, what to know before shipping your classic car covers the same ground in more depth, and luxury and exotic transport handles modern high-value vehicles with similar requirements.