Putting the Classic Away for Winter? How to Ship It to Storage Without Regrets in the Spring

Somewhere around late October, a lot of garages up north have the same conversation. The last cruise night is over, the leaves are on the driveway, and the classic needs somewhere to sleep for five months. For some people that is the back of the garage under a cover. For a growing number it is a climate-controlled storage facility across the state — or a garage in Arizona or Florida where the car can actually come out on a sunny January afternoon. Either way, the car has to get there, and it has to come back in the spring the way it left.

Start with how it should travel. For most collector cars we suggest enclosed transport. An open carrier is fine for a daily driver, but a classic with original paint, chrome and a soft top is better off out of the road salt, slush and gravel that late-fall routes throw around. Enclosed costs more — about 1.5 times the open price in our published estimating method — but for a car you plan to keep for years, most owners think it is money well spent.

Ask how the company loads and secures low or valuable cars. Many enclosed carriers use a hydraulic liftgate instead of steep ramps, which matters for a car with a low front spoiler or long overhangs. Ask whether they strap over the tires with soft wheel straps rather than chaining to the frame, and tell them about anything unusual — a lowered suspension, a fragile front lip, a car that has to be pushed. A good company will want to know before the truck arrives.

“The car has to get there, and it has to come back in the spring the way it left.”

Then prep the car for the trip and for the months after it. For shipping, leave about a quarter tank of fuel and take out anything loose. For storage, plan to top off the tank and add a fuel stabilizer once the car is at its winter home, or follow whatever the facility recommends. Ask the facility how they want the battery handled — Hagerty suggests a battery maintainer where there is power, or disconnecting the negative terminal where there is not — add 2 to 5 pounds of air to the tires to make up for slow loss, and note anything the car needs when it wakes up: an oil change, a new battery, a slow leak you have been watching.

If the car does not run, say so when you book. A car that cannot drive on and off the trailer ships as inoperable, which needs a truck with a winch and costs more — about 20% more in our published estimating method. It is far better to plan for that than to have a driver arrive expecting a car that starts.

Document the car carefully, twice. Before pickup, take dated photos of every panel, the roof, the wheels, the interior and the odometer, plus close-ups of any chips or scratches already there. Keep them somewhere you will find them in April. The return trip in the spring is a second shipment with its own Bill of Lading, so you want a clear record of what the car looked like in October.

Check the paperwork side too. Ask your insurer how the car is covered while it is on a truck and while it sits in storage, and ask the facility what they require from you. If the car is going out of state for the season, check whether that changes anything for your registration or insurance at home.

At delivery — to the storage facility in the fall and back to your garage in the spring — walk around the car in good light, compare it with your photos, note every new scratch or dent on the Bill of Lading, and then sign. That signature records the car's condition when it arrived, so take the time even if the facility is busy.

How it works with us is simple. We put your shipment in front of vetted, licensed auto transport companies, they compete with their best offers, and you choose the one whose equipment, dates and price suit your car. You book directly with that company, and you never pay us a cent. Putting the classic away for the season? Get your free estimate — and while you are at it, ask about the trip home in the spring.