Is it me, or does Ohio’s top three cities all start with the letter ‘C’? I mean, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus sure have a nice ring to it. Not to mention that these three cities are all incredibly beautiful places to live in (see reference). It’s not too crowded but not too quiet either; it’s just a good mix of affordability, diversity, and a vibrant community.
Today, we will be talking about another thing that starts with the letter ‘C’: Car Shipping.
If you’re moving in or out of Ohio or maybe coming over for a short vacation, you’re probably thinking about bringing your car with you. After all, it’s way more convenient to move around when you have your own means of transport.
While Ohio does offer many options for public commutes (taxis, buses, etc.), nothing beats being able to get up at 2 in the morning and driving to the nearest convenience store for a little snack. More than food, though, having a car with you is also very helpful in case of emergencies. Just having that assurance that you can drive yourself to places when you need to is reason enough to bring our vehicle with you.
Before you get ahead of yourself and start shipping your car tomorrow, however, there are a few things that you need to be wary of when you plan to hire professional haulers to transport your car to Ohio.
Fraudulent Companies
This is the biggest red flag that you need to watch out for. As much as possible, you should start planning to ship your car ahead of time. If you know you have to take a trip somewhere, and you’ll be there for a couple of months, so you want to bring your vehicle with you, start looking for a company to hire at that point.
The reason for this is simple: Shady companies tend to take advantage of people who are in a time crunch. When you are slightly in a panic due to not having enough time to prepare everything, you tend to be careless and start making decisions out of convenience. This is when the worst people are likely to come out of their hiding and prey on you.
So be extra aware of the companies you deal with, especially online. Make sure to conduct a thorough background check – demand documents that will verify the business’s authenticity and legitimacy (registrations, permits, etc.), look for valid testimonials and reviews of the company’s performance and visit their physical location before you sign or transfer payment for anything.
Steep Shipping Costs
The second thing you need to watch out for is insanely high shipping costs. A company can be legally “legit” and have all the proper documentation to back them up, but it doesn’t mean that they do business integrally. When you’re looking for a service provider, make sure that they are reliable and honest in their business dealings.
Ask them upfront for their fixed price quotation and let them know outright that you will not tolerate any hidden or added fees that have not been disclosed in the agreement prior to shipping. Have both parties sign on it as well if need be. Companies for vehicle transport in OH who have no intention of charging you more in the first place shouldn’t have any reason to deny you transparency.
Also, there are a couple of ways for you to personally help keep your shipping costs down, such as booking ahead of time, reducing your car’s weight by controlling the amount of gas you have loaded up, and looking for discount deals online.
Sales or Use Tax
Most states will also impose a “sales tax” or “use tax” on items being brought from out of state, whether pre-owned or brand new. This also applies to cars upon entry to the state. The tax percentage often depends on the valuation of your vehicle, so it’s important to have it appraised prior to shipping. If new, keeping your purchase receipt would be necessary as well.
If you happen to pay a sales tax to the state where your vehicle was bought, you need to keep proof of it as well. Again, this is in the case of purchasing new vehicles.
Bill of Lading
Lastly, when you’re planning to ship out a car, always remember to keep the bill of lading. The bill of lading is issued by the car shipping company and details everything about the shipment: the type of car being shipped, origin and destination, date the car was handed off to the shipping company and the expected date it will be delivered, etc. See more here: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/billoflading.asp. It also details the condition of the car prior to shipping so it will serve as proof in the case of your vehicle dealing new damages after the delivery is completed.
That being said, it is very important that you check your car and the bill of lading upon receipt before you sign off on anything. When you sign off on a delivery, it pretty much means that you have cleared the company of any liability and that you have received the car in proper condition. So make sure you have checked before you do any of that!
