Terms of Service for Car Shipping Requests
Effective September 27, 2026.
Who we are
PlainHaul provides this site and the services described here. "We", "us" and "our" mean PlainHaul; "you" means the person who makes the request. We are a new company. We are not a carrier: we do not own trucks, employ drivers, or hold insurance of our own on any vehicle. Contact bookings@plainhaul.com with questions about these terms.
What we do
We arrange your car shipment: we set the price, book it with a vetted carrier or licensed broker, and stay your single point of contact from request to delivery, as described on How it works. We are not the carrier that transports your vehicle; our role is the request, the price, and staying accountable for the arrangement.
We book only moves that start and end in the same state, and only in the states listed on About us. The service is door-to-door transport of one operable passenger vehicle on an open carrier. Enclosed transport and vehicles that do not run are priced by a person on request, where we can arrange them at all.
Routes we do not book: free referrals
For a route we do not book, including any move that crosses a state line, we can reply with licensed carriers or brokers that run it. That reply is free information. You choose whether to contact them, you contract with them directly, and you pay them directly. We do not quote a price for that move, take payment for it, receive payment from them for it, or act as your broker or carrier, and we are not responsible for their service. Check any company's USDOT and MC registration on FMCSA's SAFER system before you book.
Who can book
You must be at least 18, and you must own the vehicle or have the owner's permission to ship it.
Requesting a shipment and pricing
On some routes, we show an all-in price the moment you describe your shipment, built from a current, dated quote for that route and one standard operable car; see How our pricing works. You pay that price on this site through Stripe. Your card or bank statement will show a charge from HOPTIRE* PLAINHAUL; that is the statement descriptor this charge posts under, not a billing error.
On every other route, a person builds the price for your specific shipment and emails it to you. Nothing is booked and nothing is charged until you see that number and give the go-ahead. An emailed price is paid in full before we book a carrier, and that email tells you how to pay.
If we cannot confirm a carrier for your shipment at the price you paid, we refund your payment in full. No fuel surcharge, booking fee, or other line is added after you pay; if it is not part of your confirmed price, it does not exist. If sales tax applies, it is shown as its own line before you pay. If your vehicle, addresses or dates change, that is a new shipment and we confirm any new price with you before it applies.
Payment
You pay the full confirmed price to us. There is no separate deposit, and you never pay the driver anything. Card and wallet payments are processed by Stripe; we do not see or store your full card number. If you think a charge is wrong, tell us first so we can correct it quickly.
Confirming your shipment
Once you pay, or approve an emailed price, we arrange your carrier and confirm your pickup window by email before dispatch. Requested pickup and delivery windows are estimates until we confirm them; federal driving-hours rules and carrier availability can affect a window, as described on How it works. No shipment date is guaranteed until we confirm a carrier.
Your part
- Accurate details. Describe the vehicle correctly, including anything that makes it larger or harder to load, such as a lift kit, a roof rack, lowered suspension or oversized tires. A vehicle that differs from the request can need a new price.
- A running vehicle. The price assumes the car starts, steers and brakes. Tell us before pickup if that changes.
- Preparing the car. Remove personal items and toll tags, turn off any alarm, and follow any preparation the carrier asks for. Personal items left in the car travel at your own risk.
- Pickup and delivery. You, or an adult you name, must be at both addresses in the confirmed window to hand over the keys, inspect the car with the driver and sign the Bill of Lading. The carrier is a full-length truck; if it cannot legally stop at your address, the driver arranges a meeting point close by.
Carrier vetting and cargo insurance
Before we confirm a carrier for your shipment, we check its USDOT number and FMCSA SAFER record. Cargo insurance on your vehicle during transport is the assigned carrier's responsibility, not ours; we do not carry that insurance ourselves and we do not adjust or pay damage claims. See car shipping insurance, inspection, and damage claims for how that coverage works and what the pickup and delivery inspection means for a claim.
Who the carrier works with
We book your shipment with the carrier in your name and with your contact details, so the carrier and the Bill of Lading list you as the shipper and the driver contacts you directly. PlainHaul arranges the shipment and pays the carrier out of the price you paid us; you do not pay the driver anything.
Damage in transit
Inspect the car with the driver at pickup and again at delivery, and write any damage on the Bill of Lading before you sign it at delivery. Take photos. Tell us within 48 hours of delivery; we send you the carrier's claim contact, its USDOT number (and MC number, where it has one), and a copy of the booking record, and we stay involved while the claim is open. The claim itself is made to the carrier and its insurer, under the carrier's own claim rules and deadlines.
Limits of our liability
Our liability for any claim about a shipment is limited to the amount you paid us for that shipment. A claim for loss or damage to the vehicle in transit is made against the carrier and its cargo insurance, as described above. We are not responsible for personal items left in the vehicle, for mechanical faults, for road chips or weather damage, or for damage that was not written on the Bill of Lading at delivery. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, such as a rental car, travel costs or lost time while you wait for a vehicle. Nothing in these terms limits any liability or consumer right that the law does not allow to be limited.
Cancellation
Cancellation is free before we confirm a carrier for your shipment. After a carrier is confirmed, a fixed fee of $239 applies, and the same fee applies to a dry run, where the driver arrives in the confirmed window and the car is not available or not as described. The fee is never more than the amount you paid. See Cancellation for how to cancel, rescheduling and refunds.
Limits on what we can guarantee
We arrange your shipment; we do not control conditions at your pickup or delivery address, or everything a carrier discovers once a job is under way. We are not liable for delays or an inability to complete a shipment caused by inaccessible or unsafe conditions at either address, incorrect information provided in a request, or a vehicle issue discovered only at pickup. We do not guarantee a specific pickup or delivery date; carrier schedules are confirmed within a window. Weather, road closures and breakdowns can also delay a shipment; if a delay means no carrier can take your shipment, we refund what you paid in full.
Problems and disputes
If something goes wrong, email bookings@plainhaul.com with your booking reference first. We aim to settle the matter within 30 days. If we cannot, either of us may take it to court. You can always use the small claims court where you live.
Changes to these terms
We may update this page as our service, the carriers we work with, and our payment capabilities change. The version in effect is the one posted at the time of your request.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York.
Online and emailed prices
These terms apply to both an online-priced shipment and a request a person prices by email. Review the confirmed price before you pay; your shipment date is not guaranteed until we confirm a carrier.