Items Missing From My Car After Auto Transport — What to Do

You open the door after delivery and your GPS is gone. Your charging cable, your sunglasses, the change from your center console — missing. What do you do? More importantly, is any of this covered? The answers are frustrating but important to understand before your shipment, not after.

The hard truth first

Carriers' cargo insurance does not cover personal items left inside vehicles during transport. This is industry-standard and explicitly excluded in virtually every carrier's policy and most broker contracts. If you leave a $1,500 laptop in your car and it disappears during transport, your legal options are extremely limited.

This is not a defense of the practice — items should not go missing from vehicles in professional care. But it is the legal reality you need to understand.

What to do if items are missing at delivery

1. Document everything immediately. Before moving the car or accepting delivery, note on the Bill of Lading that personal items are missing. Be specific about what is gone.
2. Take photos of the interior showing where items were stored and that they are now absent.
3. Contact the broker immediately in writing (text or email with timestamps). Report the missing items and ask for the carrier's contact information.
4. Contact the carrier directly and report the theft. Ask if drivers have been changed mid-route, what their procedure is for this situation, and request written acknowledgment of your complaint.
5. File a police report. Missing items from a vehicle in another party's possession is theft. A police report is necessary for any insurance claim and creates a formal record.

Your insurance options

• Your auto insurance (comprehensive): Call your insurer. Some comprehensive auto policies cover theft from a vehicle even while in transit. Check your policy — you may already have this coverage.
• Your homeowner's or renter's insurance: Personal property coverage under homeowner's/renter's insurance often covers theft of belongings even when they are away from home. Check your policy for "off-premises theft" coverage.
• Credit card purchase protection: If the missing items were purchased on a credit card with purchase protection, some cards cover theft within a certain window of purchase.

Going after the broker or carrier

Because cargo insurance excludes personal property, your legal options are narrower, but not zero:

• Small claims court: You can sue the carrier for negligence or breach of duty. Success depends on proving the items were in the car at pickup and missing at delivery, which is why documentation at both points matters.
• FMCSA complaint: File at fmcsa.dot.gov. While this will not get your items back, it creates a formal complaint record against the carrier.
• BBB complaint: Brokers and carriers are more likely to respond to BBB complaints because they affect their public rating.

Prevention: the only reliable approach

The single most effective thing you can do is remove all personal items from the car before pickup. Every single thing that has value — financial or sentimental. This includes:

• Electronics: GPS units, dash cameras, charging cables, adapters
• Documents: registration, insurance, any paperwork
• Valuables: sunglasses, change, anything in the center console or glove box
• Tools: jumper cables, tire inflators, emergency kits in the trunk
• Garage door openers and toll transponders

This eliminates the problem entirely. Do not rely on the carrier's honesty or the legal system to protect personal property you could have simply taken with you.