Gainesville, FL Car Shipping

Preparing your vehicle properly ensures a smooth shipping experience from Gainesville, FL. Here are the key steps:

Clean Your Vehicle: Wash your car inside and out. This makes it easier to document any existing damage during the inspection.

Remove Personal Items: Take out all personal belongings, toll passes, and loose items. These aren’t covered by insurance and can shift during transport.

Check for Leaks and Issues: Make sure your vehicle is in good working condition. Fix any fluid leaks and ensure the battery is charged.

Document the Condition: Take photos of your vehicle from all angles before shipping. This protects you if any damage occurs.

Disable Alarms: Turn off your car alarm to prevent it from going off during transit.

Provide a Key: Have a spare key ready for the carrier. Keep only essential keys on the ring.

Remove Accessories: Take off or secure any exterior accessories like bike racks, spoilers, or antennas that could be damaged.

Keep Fuel Low: Maintain about a quarter tank of gas. This reduces weight while ensuring the vehicle can be loaded and unloaded.

For complete preparation guidelines, visit our Vehicle Shipping Tips page.

Yes, your vehicle is fully insured during transport from Gainesville, FL. All carriers in our network must carry a minimum of $1,000,000 in liability insurance and $100,000 in cargo insurance.

Before your shipment begins, we verify that the carrier’s insurance is active and valid. This gives you peace of mind knowing your vehicle is protected throughout the entire journey from Gainesville.

For added protection, all carriers also list Sherpa Auto Transport as a Certificate Holder on their insurance policy. This means we monitor coverage to ensure it stays current during your transport.

If you have questions about insurance coverage or need a copy of the carrier’s insurance certificate, our team is happy to provide that information.

We recommend scheduling your car shipment from Gainesville, FL at least 1-2 weeks in advance. However, booking earlier gives you the best results.

Here’s why early booking helps:

• Better pricing: Carriers can plan efficient routes and bundle multiple vehicles together
• More flexibility: You’ll have more pickup date options to choose from
• Lower stress: You won’t be rushed to find available carriers at the last minute

If you need expedited service, we can often arrange pickup within 24-48 hours, though this typically costs more. For the most affordable rates and smoothest experience, give yourself 2-4 weeks of lead time when possible.

Peak season tip: During summer months (May-September) when college students move and families relocate, book even earlier—3-4 weeks ahead is ideal.

No payment is due at the time of booking. We do require a payment method on file so that it is available to charge once a carrier is secured. We accept all major debit and credit cards, including Mastercard, Visa, Discover and American Express. The most convenient option is to pay for your shipment in full by credit card at the time a carrier is secured.

We also allow you to pay for your Initial Payment via credit or debit card and then pay the outstanding balance on delivery day via cash or a certified check made out to the carrier.

Your Sherpa shipment includes up to 100 lbs of personal items or household goods stored in the trunk area or secured below the window line. If you are shipping to or from a port or your shipment includes ocean transit, your vehicle must be emptied of all items. Sherpa and your assigned carrier cannot be responsible for personal items left inside the vehicle. See our Vehicle Shipping Tips for more details.

Yes. It is important that you, or another adult that you trust, is there for pickup and delivery of your vehicle. This designated person plays an important role in the shipping process including documenting the state of the vehicle and signing the Bill of Lading, which acts as a receipt of the vehicle’s condition.

Open auto transport uses open-air trailers that carry multiple vehicles at once. Your car is exposed to weather and road elements during transit. This is the most common and affordable option, used for about 90% of vehicle shipments.

Enclosed auto transport ships your vehicle in a fully covered trailer, protecting it from weather, dust, and debris. This premium service costs 40-60% more than open transport.

Which should you choose? Most Gainesville residents use open transport—it’s safe, reliable, and budget-friendly. Consider enclosed transport if you’re shipping a luxury car, classic vehicle, exotic sports car, or any car with custom modifications. For standard daily drivers, open transport works perfectly.

Learn more in our detailed open vs enclosed auto transport guide.

Yes, we offer door-to-door auto transport service for Gainesville, FL shipments. This means we’ll pick up your vehicle from your home, office, or preferred address in Gainesville and deliver it directly to your destination address.

Here’s how it works:

At Pickup: The carrier will come to your specified location in Gainesville to load your vehicle. Whether you’re in a residential neighborhood near the University of Florida or a business district, we aim to make pickup as convenient as possible.

At Delivery: Your vehicle will be delivered to the address you provide at your destination, eliminating the need to travel to a terminal.

Important Note: In some cases, large car carriers cannot safely navigate narrow streets, low-hanging trees, or tight residential areas. If your Gainesville location has access restrictions, the driver will contact you to arrange a nearby meeting spot, such as a shopping center parking lot or gas station. This ensures your vehicle and property stay safe during transport.

Door-to-door service is included in most quotes and provides maximum convenience for your Gainesville car shipping needs.

Many Auto Transport companies try to tease customers with lower rates, only to surprise you with “hidden costs” later. At Sherpa Auto Transport, we do things differently. We provide one locked-in price upfront and stick to it. If unexpected costs arise, we pay them out of our own pocket.

While we may not always be the cheapest option at first glance, our commitment to transparency and reliability offers exceptional value. As a premium service, we ensure an stress-free experience from start to finish.

We transport sedans, SUVs, pickup trucks, vans and motorcycles across the nation, including service to Alaska and Hawaii. At this time, we do not service boats, golf carts, ATVs, or RVs. We can ship both operable and inoperable vehicles so long as the vehicle can roll, brake, and steer, and that you can provide the carrier with a key to the vehicle. We can also ship electric vehicles.

Visit Sherpa’s FAQ page to learn more about car shipping!