Many families are relocating en masse to new states with just months’ notice. All moving quotes, school enrollment and tenancy start dates are carefully checked. Then, it feels like the car will magically appear at the new address two or three days after arrival. For two cars, this means both adults may need to drive the family fleet.
Why driving all your own vehicles is often a false economy
Calculating the cost of a multi-vehicle fleet suddenly isn’t that simple. Petrol for routes between 400 and 600 kilometers accounts for only a small part of the total cost. If the interstate trip falls on a weekend, the cost of accommodation for the two-night drive plus food and tolls on the road, especially from Sydney to Canberra, can all add up. The route from Sydney to Canberra contains multiple tolls and if the driver does not have a valid toll electronic toll station or a Linkt account assigned to two vehicles, the invoice will arrive at the postal address that is no longer in use.
More worryingly, the physical and mental toll of driving one car while a partner leads the convoy in another car, with children split between vehicles, is greatly underestimated during planning and is all too apparent during recovery. The family arrived at their new home laden with boxes and the two-day journey already felt like an endurance test.
Professional interstate shipping eliminates these variables, and the cost is often surprisingly low for families. For the more than 400,000 Australians who move every year, the vehicle transport sector can carry two, three or even four cars on a single trip for a fraction of the total cost after taking into account all driver-related expenses.
Consider door-to-door delivery or pick-up/drop-off at a warehouse
With the multi-vehicle haul calculations complete and families having a shortcut to their sanity in this regard, there’s one big decision to make. Is it cost-effective to combine that with door-to-door service, essentially using the family home as the carrier’s pick-up and delivery site, or is there a significant cost savings by exchanging a 40-minute taxi ride for over $200 in savings and having all vehicles shipped to and from the carrier’s site?
An infographic in a vehicle brochure may contain a disclaimer about “street access,” but this can easily be overlooked during the planning stages. Car transporters are 20-25 meters long so this is an important consideration for those who have parking in front of their residence along with a few other considerations to avoid heartache later.
Access is not possible if there are power lines above the street or if the street is too steep for operators to navigate. Likewise, if there is no direct road access to and from the new address, or the carrier cannot back out of the home’s front driveway, curbside encounters can occur, sometimes with little to no warning.
For most households there are several options, with the car being picked up at a garage, often with more flexibility in terms of time, and drop off at the new address being door-to-door. Before finalizing any vehicle transportation agreement, ask your carrier about your options.
Unusual vehicles require additional discussion
Households with modified four-wheel drive, lower performance cars or other vehicles that cannot be relied upon to start should provide full details when arranging Newcastle to Canberra car transportrather than expecting the carrier to receive them as-is. Carriers need to know what modifications have been made to unusual vehicles at the time of booking.
Lowered vehicles present ramp height challenges and roof racks, bull bars, snorkels often change the parameters of the vehicle for loading onto a multi-vehicle trailer. Vehicles that do not start reliably require winch procedures, which are not available from all operators. Each of these variables will affect the quote, the type of vehicle carrier used, and the equipment on hand when picking up the shipment.
The rule of thumb is to keep everything on the table when booking a vehicle for transport as the Australian Design Rules, while confirming the vehicle is legal for the road, do not necessarily apply to transport requirements. The Carrier has every right to refuse transportation upon arrival if the Carrier shows up at the front door with a vehicle that is significantly different than the vehicle described at the time of booking.
Insurance and carrier specific responsibilities
Shipping insurance is different from full coverage, and this nuance is especially important for valuables worth more than $40,000.
Standard carrier liability insurance generally covers the cost of damage caused by the carrier’s negligence. This includes tie-down failures, accidents during loading and unloading, or chain damage to the panel. It rarely includes pre-existing damage (which is why condition reports make families feel like it’s Oscar season), damage to loose or personal belongings, and in many cases weather-related events, assuming the carrier can demonstrate professional protection of the shipment.
Ask the carrier in writing what their specific shipping insurance covers and what the claims procedure is. Likewise, check your private motor vehicle insurance to see if it covers the vehicle during transport. Both are valid ways to check, although it’s easy to call the insurance company and ask within ten minutes of receiving a quote from a carrier.
The rule of thumb is that if you are concerned about coverage because of potential claim costs, and your carrier or insurance company doesn’t make it clear in writing, it’s unlikely to be covered.
Vehicle Preparation Tips Before Transport
The carrier will perform a condition inspection upon pickup and issue a bill of lading, sometimes called a condition report. This document serves as a legal record of the vehicle’s condition before transportation begins and serves as a comparison tool upon delivery. It’s a good idea to prepare the vehicle’s condition and create additional documentation before the carrier arrives.
Before handover, clean the car inside and out. Biosecurity checks at state borders are not uncommon, particularly for motorists transiting or traveling from Tasmania or Western Australia, and removing soil and plant material from vehicles can make it easier to comply with checks and reduce the risk of delays.
In addition to national biosecurity requirements, clean vehicles make photography a reliable method of creating comprehensive condition reports. Take high-resolution photos of all panels, roof, underbody and interior prior to handover. Any defects should be clearly visible in the image.
Other preparation tips include:
• Empty the fuel tank until it is approximately one-quarter full. A full tank makes the vehicle overweight and adds unnecessary fuel costs to the carrier,
• Secure loose items in the luggage compartment or car,
• Car alarms should be deactivated if they are prone to false triggering, as faulty alarm systems are a headache for everyone,
Scheduled car pickup and return
This is a big deal that families don’t plan enough for long term. Vehicles should arrive before family members arrive. If the truck arrives three or four days early, as it does for most people, the new house seems to have everything except the things the family desperately needs.
This could include leaving your car keys with a real estate agent who’s only open on weekdays, stuffing boxes with baby food somewhere, missing a mom’s group trip, forgetting to pack your child’s school shoes, and most worryingly, a lack of everyday items that are easier to purchase locally than shipped to a new address.
This is not the case. Cars can and should arrive before the family arrives so they can be unloaded and ready when the family gets there. The easiest way is to find a carrier that can move the vehicle to your new home two days after the scheduled arrival date. If a family member is inevitably late, no one suffers.
When it comes to East Coast home moves, it’s basically simple because they’re all about timing. The more predictable the arrival time, the better the carrier’s planning. Families who fly with a carrier that operates in a specific corridor (one that specializes in East Coast moves) have more flexibility in scheduling than those who request a general carrier.
Transferring vehicle registration when interstate
One of the things families forget when moving interstate is vehicle registration. Once becoming a resident of the new intended state or territory of residence, motorists have 1 to 3 months to transfer their vehicle registration.
Most people will find that the three months in the first month after moving are plenty of time, while the third month while still unpacking at the new address is painfully short.
For cars traveling from NSW to the ACT, the process requires motorists to obtain a vehicle inspection from Service NSW or Transport Canberra, whichever is applicable to the new area of residence. New South Wales usually requires a blue sheet, depending on the age of the vehicle, as a form of roadworthiness testing.
The benefit for families is that registration fees paid by the home state are often refundable, especially for the unused portion. This refund is not automatic and the family must claim it, so it is another addition to the family moving checklist. The same applies if the vehicle has been modified and requires a professional inspection for registration.
Get the details right when coordinating
A large interstate move with two or more cars is not an “outsource and forget it” task. Families who successfully complete this process view vehicle transportation as a separate element of managing their overall move. Those who are underprepared don’t think about this until the week before the big day.
Booking early, discussing all parameters honestly with the carrier, getting photos of the car’s condition, and timing shipping correctly so the vehicle is where it needs to be, when it needs to be, can all go a long way.