Five Steps to Filing a Damage Claim Report

At PreOwned Auto Logistics, we take care to deliver your car safely and securely. In the rare instance that your vehicle incurs damage during shipment, there is a process to repair the damage. If you notice something on your car that was not listed on the condition report, take these steps to file a damage claim report:

• Contact us as soon as you notice the damage.  

The sooner you report the damage, the better. The reason we have one of our dispatch representatives check out the car with you is to make sure there are no scuffs or scrapes left behind. If there is a problem, we want to take care of it right away. If you call after a few days or even weeks later, your damage claim report could be denied because we have no way of knowing whether this damage happened before or after you picked up your car. In short: The earlier you say something, the better.

• Send the damage claim report and pictures within 24 hours.

Once you have verified damage on your vehicle and alerted us, be sure to send in the damage claim report that we provide – along with any pictures you can take – within 24 hours. This step is a lot more important than you might think. In order for us to do a proper investigation, we need the incident fresh in the driver’s mind. It is a lot easier to piece together what may or may not have happened when the driver can recall the details easily.

• Get an estimate if possible.

Go to your local shop in Florida or Massachusetts to see how much the damage is going to cost. However, do not get anything fixed until you have shared the estimate with us. If we have confirmed that the car was damaged during transport, we will fix the damage at our local shop at no cost to you.

• Don’t hesitate to call us for an update.

Once we have all the required information, the damage claim report will be passed on to management. It generally does not take more than a week or two to get everything taken care of on our end. However, we will be happy to give you an update. Don’t hesitate to call.  

• In the future, take pictures.

To make the damage claim process run smoothly, it’s helpful to take pictures of your car when you drop it off at the terminal, or when our local driver picks it up. It’s easy to do with your cell phone, and it adds an extra bit of security. Although our terminals do thorough condition reports, it is always helpful to have a back up. This can give us valuable information, and give you peace of mind the next time you ship your vehicle.

If you have any questions about a damage claim, please let us know! We’re happy to answer your questions before, during, and after the shipping process.