Selling a non-running car: prepare collection details

Prepare collection by agreeing who may take the car, what they are collecting, how they can reach it and which conditions the carrier has accepted. The seller's job is to supply accurate observations and control release. Loading methods belong with the qualified transport provider using the vehicle-specific manufacturer procedure.

The non-running-car transport request covers obtaining and comparing quotes. This article starts with the seller preparing the site and ends with a record of what actually left it.

Confirm the collector before collection day

Keep the buyer's agreed contact channel and written collection authorization together. Record the carrier's business name, the person expected, the collection window and any later substitution. Ask the buyer to confirm a change through that established channel before releasing keys or the vehicle.

For US interstate moves, FMCSA distinguishes the broker that arranges transportation from the carrier. Ask which business is actually collecting. This US distinction does not establish requirements for a Canadian or other domestic move.

Vehicle release, ownership transfer and the agreed payment conditions need their own records. A truck arriving is not evidence that all of them are complete. Use the published payment-scam guide for that separate issue.

Copy this private pickup-access sheet

This blank sheet is a communication aid, not a carrier assessment or authorization form prescribed by a government.

Share full addresses, contact details and access arrangements privately. Use photographs already available or obtainable without approaching a known hazard. Do not start, push or release the car to test an answer for the sheet.

Let the carrier resolve movement requirements

“Non-running” does not identify a transport method. Tell the carrier what is already known about missing wheels, locked or damaged components, brakes, steering, leaks and electrical damage, with the source and date. Mark unassessed functions unknown.

For a model-specific example, Tesla's Model 3 transporter instructions contain transport restrictions and warn that collision damage may compromise high-voltage components. Have the provider identify and apply the procedure for the actual vehicle. The example is not a loading plan for every Model 3 or every non-running car.

If the collector arrives with different assumptions, pause the release while the buyer and provider resolve them. Do not improvise movement, lifting or electrical work to make an unsuitable booking proceed.

Use a before-and-after handover record

Record what you can observe from your permitted position before loading. Refer to existing photographs for damage you cannot approach. Keep a separate entry after loading so any disagreement has a time and a description rather than an unexplained signature.

• Before loading: date, collector identity, vehicle reference, existing condition photographs and exceptions to the agreed included-items list.
• Items handed over: keys, documents and loose items actually supplied, with their manifest references.
• After loading: departure time, condition changes observed, omitted items and any disagreement recorded on the carrier's collection document.
• Acknowledgement: who received the vehicle and items, what document each party retained, and which issues remain open.

Read the record before acknowledging it. Ask for an observed discrepancy to be recorded rather than signing a statement that does not match the handover. This suggested record does not determine liability or replace the carrier's terms.

Update availability through the existing sale process once the vehicle leaves. Browse current vehicles for listing context, and keep collection instructions out of the public advert.