Auto Transport Inspection Photos: A Pickup and Delivery Checklist

Good inspection photos let anyone compare the same part of a car before and after the transport. That means the four corners and four sides, the roof and the hood, close-ups of every existing mark, the parts and accessories that can go missing, and a check that doors and hood actually open, all taken from positions you can repeat at delivery. This checklist comes from the damage cases handled by Y7 Logistics, a Licensed & Bonded FMCSA Broker (MC #1741537, USDOT #4427359), where the photos were the core of the evidence.

Why side shots are not enough

Most people photograph a car the way they see it: from the sides, at eye level. Two of Y7’s cases show where that leaves a gap. A 2024 Jeep Gladiator arrived with dents along the front edge of the roof, and a 2026 Mazda CX-30 arrived with damage to the hood and the roof. Eye-level side shots barely show either surface. When the pickup record does not show a panel clearly, it can neither prove nor rule out that the panel was already damaged, and that is where disputes start.

The walk-around: angles and sides

• Four corners. Front left, front right, rear left, rear right, each showing two sides of the car at once.
• Four sides, straight on. Front, rear, and both full sides, so panel alignment and dents catch the light.
• Wheels and lower edges. Rims, tires and the rocker panels, where loading ramps and straps can leave marks.
• Glass. Windshield, rear window and side glass, including the edges of the windshield frame.

Roof and hood: the panels side shots miss

Treat the roof and the hood as zones of their own. Shoot the hood from the front at a low angle so dents show in the reflection, and shoot the roof from a raised position if you can do so safely, for example from a step or with the camera held above your head. Take the front edge of the roof, above the windshield, as its own photo. Confirm the hood is latched, and photograph it closed.

Close-ups of existing damage

Every mark that is already there gets two photos: one close enough to see it clearly, and one wide enough to show where it sits on the car. The close-up without the wide shot cannot be placed; the wide shot without the close-up cannot be measured. A coin or a key next to a dent gives it a scale. Existing damage that is photographed at pickup cannot be blamed on the transport later, and new damage cannot be passed off as old.

Parts, accessories, keys, and things that must work

Damage is not only dents. On a 1943 Jeep Willys in one of Y7’s cases, a part that sat on the hood at pickup was missing at delivery, and the pickup photos showed it in place. On a 1999 Porsche 911 Cabriolet, a door would not open after delivery, a problem no body photo would show.

• Photograph anything that is attached but removable: mirrors, badges, antennas, racks, spare wheels, tops and trim.
• Photograph the keys and any accessories that travel with the car, and note how many keys there are.
• Open and close each door, the hood and the trunk at pickup, and note that they work. Repeat the check at delivery before you sign.

Same position at pickup and delivery

The delivery photos are only useful if they can be compared with the pickup photos. Take them in the same order, from the same corners, at about the same distance and height. Daylight or strong, even light matters: a dent that shows at a low angle in the afternoon can disappear under a flash at night. In Y7’s Gladiator roof case, the comparison of the same area before and after was the core of the evidence.

How many photos? One agreement’s answer

There is no single legal number. One Y7 dispatch sheet, for the 1984 Jeep CJ-7 in the two-payment settlement case, required the carrier to take a minimum of 12 photos at pickup and 12 at delivery. That was a term of that specific dispatch agreement, not a standard set by law or regulation. The useful test is not the count but coverage: could someone who never saw the car compare every panel before and after?

Photos alone are not a claim

Photos are evidence. Under 49 CFR 370.3, a claim is a written communication to the carrier that identifies the shipment, asserts that the carrier is liable, and states an amount. Neither photos nor a note on the Bill of Lading meet that definition by themselves. Take the photos, note the damage on the Bill of Lading, and then follow the steps in what to do when a car is damaged during transport. For what to write on the Bill of Lading itself, see the Bill of Lading field guide.

The checklist

1. Save the auction listing photos, if the car comes from an auction.
2. Four corner shots and four straight-on sides.
3. Hood from the front at a low angle; hood latched.
4. Roof, including its front edge above the windshield.
5. Wheels, tires, rocker panels and lower bumpers.
6. All glass and the windshield frame.
7. Close-up and wide shot of every existing mark.
8. Removable parts and accessories in place; keys counted.
9. Doors, hood and trunk opened and closed.
10. The VIN plate, for your own identification of the car. Keep it in your file; do not post it publicly.
11. At delivery: the same shots, in the same order, before you sign.

What Y7 asks carriers for

On the transport it arranges, Y7 asks the carrier for pickup and delivery photos, the signed Bill of Lading and proof of delivery, and the driver’s details, and checks the carrier’s certificate of insurance before assigning the load. When those documents do not arrive, Y7 asks again and follows up, because a claim built later can only use what was recorded at the time.

Dealers and exporters can talk to us about how Y7 handles condition records and claims on their future shipments: see the dealer program, dealer auto transport, Y7 for exporters or auction-to-port transport. If you already ship with Y7, contact your dispatcher about your order.