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When you know the date and destination for your car move, you’ll need to know about potential services you can use to transport your vehicle. Generally there are three ways to go when it comes to car collection and delivery.

Trade plates: This mode of car collection involves someone driving your car for you from pickup to destination. A “trade plater” is commonly used if you’re having a car collected from auction but can be used for other occasions. Such driven services may be self-employed or part of a business.

It’s important to note that this mode of transport carriers a higher (albeit small) risk of damage to the vehicle. So be proactive in asking about the insurance cover of such services. The upside to this type of service is that it can be relatively inexpensive, go right to your door, and you don’t need road tax as this is covered by the trade plates.

Multi car transporter: What most people picture when they think about car delivery, these are the large lorries you often see on the motorway. These transports can carry upwards of 10 cars at a time, meaning they are restricted to only the biggest of roads (preventing a personalised door to door service).

The benefit of multiple-car transport is that because you’re sharing the journey with many other vehicles you can expect to pay less. However, due to their size these vehicles can only collect from and deliver to out-of-town hubs, meaning you’ll have to arrange to go and pick it up your car when it arrives (this also rules out transporting a non-starter).

Single trailer: If your car is a non-starter, you’re only having parts collected, or you don’t fancy a trade plate service then individual car transport is another option. Your vehicle is loaded onto a flatbed or other small trailer and is towed to its destination.

This option tends to be more expensive because you’re only moving one vehicle; there are no other loads to share the cost of transport. The upside to using individual car collection is that it can be easier to find an available service and you can often choose from enclosed or uncovered modes and these services can usually collect and deliver near enough door to door.

When you’ve worked out what kind of car collection company you wish to use comes the time to compare them. Researching and getting quotes from a number of firms can allow you to get the best price, but can also be quite time consuming. Searching online makes this a great deal easier.

Hopefully this is where we can help out. Shiply allows you to find a driver, be it trailer or trade plater, to collect and deliver your car for you.

By listing your car move requirements with us you’ll be able to receive quotes from a number of different car collection firms, which you can compare based on their cost, credentials and feedback from other users. If you find a quote you like then you can accept to have that driver carry out the job.

Collection and Delivery

When the car has been moved to its new destination someone will need to be there to sign off with the driver and check over the car to check for any potential changes when compared to the pre-transit inventory:

Things to check:

How far has it gone: Check the miles on the clock and see if this matches the estimated distance (this can go up marginally if using a trailer service).

Exterior: Is the paint and bodywork as described/how you left it? If not, why not?

Inside: Are the seat and panels all still clean and free of marks and damage? Do the radio and heaters/AC work? Do all interior lights and displays meet expectations?

Running: Does the car run as described or as well as when it was collected. Listen for any unusual noises or changes in engine sound or performance. Also make sure all lights, indicators and wipers are still working.

The transporter should be willing to go over any discrepancies you think there are. If you’re collecting the car from an out-of-town hub then you’ll need to arrange how to get there.

Once you’re happy with the post-transit checks we encourage you to review the transporter on Shiply. This helps them improve their service and it also assists other users when comparing different companies.