Having your vehicle damaged during an auto transport is not common, but it has happened to a decent percentage of people. Most of these damages are minimal, but there have been cases when an engine fails, or headlights are broken, or even tires popping. Sometimes, it will be the auto transport company’s fault because they did not take the time to properly strap your vehicle in or did not give you the right configuration to fit your vehicle. However, sometimes it is the owner’s fault if they did not check if their vehicle rolls, steers, and brakes properly, or they did not give the proper measurement to the transport company, or not doing what the company says (such as having only a quarter-tank full, deflate the tires slightly, and taking out personal items that can bounce around and damage your vehicle internally).
Coverage
When damages are an auto transport company’s fault, they will take full responsibility and will call you to inform you about the situation. The next step would be for the auto transport company to call their insurance and report the damages to them. All auto transport companies should have insurance, but make sure to read your contract and ask questions to know that you are dealing with a professional and reliable company. With open car transport, you are insured less because of the known risks of weather and road conditions prior to the transport, but it will still cover most damages if one were to damage. Keep in mind that most auto transport companies expect less expensive vehicles to be on their Open carriers, so if you have a higher- end vehicle and it is damaged, not all the damages may be covered. No matter what vehicle you have in an Enclosed Car Transport, you will be insured more (it will cost more for this transport service though).
When It Is on the Owner’s Hands
When any damages are made because of the owner’s actions (or lack of action), then an auto transport company will call and state that they are not responsible for the damages and that they cannot cover them. At this point, many customers dispute it, but if this was listed in the contract, there is not much you can do. The best thing to do is before the transport even begins and ask for what the auto transport needs you to do and prepare your vehicle for transport. Get the measurements on your vehicle done correctly so that you the auto transport company can give you a list of services that best fit your vehicle.
Whose Fault Is It?
There are times that you do not know whose fault the damage is or who must pay up. These cases are the rarest cases, but they are also the most time consuming and the most stressful. Both parties would want to deny that they are responsible for the damages because an auto transport company would not want to have a bad review and lose customers and the owner does not want to have to pay thousands. All we can say is that if you do all the prior working of checking your vehicle and do what the auto transport company wants you to do, then it will be almost impossible for an auto transport company to put the blame on you.
You should not be too concerned about damages as long as there is efficient communication between both parties. Most of the time, you will experience a smooth auto transport because you are likely to pick a professional auto transport company that either has plenty of years in the industry, a company that has new technology to safely transport your vehicle, or both!
