Vehicle Transportation Service

Vehicle transportation is usually part of a bigger move: you are relocating to another province, there are two cars and one driver, and driving both means two trips, two tanks of fuel and two days.

We move cars, bakkies and motorcycles between provinces on scheduled routes, insured in transit. Because we are already running removals on those routes, a vehicle moving alongside your household goods is priced considerably better than a standalone transport booking.

When transporting beats driving

The comparison people make is transport cost against fuel cost, and on that basis driving usually looks cheaper. It is the wrong comparison. Driving Johannesburg to Cape Town adds around 1,400 km of wear, a full day and a half of someone’s time, fuel, at least one night’s accommodation, and a return flight for whoever drove. Against that, transport is normally the cheaper option outright, and it is certainly the cheaper option once you value the time.

What we move, and what we do not

Standard cars, bakkies, SUVs and motorcycles, running or non-running. What we do not take is anything that is not roadworthy enough to be loaded safely without specialist recovery equipment, or vehicles carrying goods — a car being transported must be empty, both for insurance and for weight. If your vehicle does not start or does not roll, tell us upfront, because it changes the equipment we send.

Preparing your vehicle

Leave roughly a quarter tank of fuel: enough to load and unload, not enough to add unnecessary weight or risk. Remove everything from the interior and the boot — personal items are not covered in a vehicle in transit and they move around. Retract or remove the aerial, fold the mirrors, disable the alarm if it is motion-sensitive, and note any existing damage. We photograph the vehicle at collection and at delivery so its condition is documented at both ends.

Insurance while in transit

Vehicles move under our transit cover, which is separate from your own motor policy. Your insurer generally will not cover a vehicle being transported by a third party, so this is not duplicate cover — it is the only cover in force. Declare anything unusual about the vehicle’s value, particularly for classic or modified cars, so it is agreed before the trip rather than assessed after it.

Timing and scheduling

Vehicle transport runs on the same schedule as our long-distance removals, so availability follows those routes. Gauteng to Cape Town, Durban and Gqeberha run frequently; less common destinations need more notice. If your vehicle is moving with your household goods, both are scheduled together and delivered in the same window, which is normally what people want — arriving before your car does is inconvenient in a way arriving before your furniture is not.

Collection and delivery

We collect from your address where access allows and deliver to the destination address. Some residential streets and complexes cannot take a loaded transporter, in which case we agree a nearby collection point rather than attempting the turn. Tell us about narrow access, steep driveways or boom-gate complexes when you book, and we will plan around it instead of discovering it on the day.

What vehicle transport costs

Priced on the route and the vehicle, and considerably cheaper alongside a household move:

Indicative figures for budgeting, not quotes. Discounted when the vehicle travels alongside your household removal on the same route.

What we need to quote

Vehicle transport is quick to price once we have:

• Make, model and year — and whether it runs and rolls
• Collection and delivery addresses, including any access limits
• Your dates, and whether the vehicle travels with a household move
• Declared value, if the vehicle is classic, modified or unusually valuable

If you are relocating and moving furniture on the same route, book both together — it is cheaper, and both arrive in the same window.

Routes we cover

From Gauteng to Cape Town, Durban, Gqeberha, East London, Bloemfontein, Nelspruit, Polokwane, Pietermaritzburg, Kimberley and George, and in the return direction on the major routes. Availability follows our long-distance removal schedule, so the busier the route, the more frequently we can move a vehicle on it.

Why choose Careful Movers

The cheapest quote is very often the most expensive outcome. An unusually low price generally means no Goods in Transit cover, a casual crew hired that morning, or a figure that grows once your goods are already loaded. We run our own branded fleet with trained permanent crews, we publish our prices, and we quote in writing so the figure agreed is the figure charged. The warning signs are set out in how to avoid moving scams.