The Ultimate Guide To Military Car Shipping
Shipping Military Cars 101
Sometimes, military personnel may need to change their surroundings quite often. A permanent change of station, or PCS, is the most common reason a military member has to move. A permanent change of station (or PCS) is when a military member must move with their family. If the family is planning to travel together, they will need to ship at least one vehicle if they have more than one car.
Although the military will typically pay for one vehicle, if you're a military member who is moving for a PCS, and would prefer to fly, you will have to pay for any additional vehicles after the first one.
How military car shipping works
The process is the same as other auto shipping: Choose a company to book your shipment. Once your vehicle has been picked up by the driver, your car will be shipped.
The driver won't be permitted to drop off your car at the base. Drivers will need to drop off the car at the gate or another location. Before the shipment takes place, make sure to discuss this with your car shipping company as well as your driver. This will need to be discussed with your commanding officer.
Shipping your car versus selling it
You don't have to ship your car to your new home. There are other options. You could sell your car, buy a new one, or take public transport, rental cars, and/or ride-shares. There will be some differences in price and convenience.
If you are selling an older car or trading it in, its value will be less than any new or used vehicle. Unless you buy a lower-quality vehicle that is likely to pose a risk to your safety, You could be out more than twenty thousand dollars if you decide to sell your car and then buy it.
You and your family may decide to sell your car and consider other transportation options. However, it is important to consider both convenience and long-term costs. Particularly, the cost of renting or using rideshares will increase and will cause you to have more problems than owning your car. Public transport and rideshares can be a hassle and often require waiting times.
Consider also that an average ride-share trip costs just over thirteen dollars in 2015. Let's adjust for inflation and assume that the average rideshare trip costs around fifteen dollars (without tipping). It will cost you more than ten thousand dollars to take two rideshare rides per day at the same price for the entire year. It is likely that shipping your car will cost you eight to ten-times less than this. This is a one-time expense and not a annual one.
Can I ship a military vehicle?
This is another question that you should ask each auto transport company. Most companies will allow smaller military vehicles, such as jeeps, to be shipped with them. The discretion of each company will determine what size vehicles, such as Humvees, are allowed to ship. Many companies offer large vehicle shipping, which can include tractors and RVs.
Get ready for your shipment
It will be easy to prepare for your car shipment while you are moving with PCS. This will make it easier to concentrate on other aspects of the move. After you have booked your vehicle shipment, prepare your car by cleaning it, taking out personal items and making arrangements for your pickup and delivery times.
You will not likely have to do anything more than make arrangements a few days before your pickup date. Your pickup window should be between one and two days. Your driver will be able to arrive at any time during this period, but they will need to call you first. You or another person with valid identification older than 18 years must be present for the duration of your vehicle so that they can hand over the keys.
Personal items can be removed and the car cleaned. Your auto transport driver will require a visual inspection of your vehicle to determine if there is any preexisting damage. This will make your shipment take longer and cause your car to be dirty. Personal items such as sunglasses that have been damaged or lost in shipping will not be covered by insurance.