OT: car transport

[duff_duffy]

Anyone ever shipped a car? Need to get a car from NJ to Texas. I don’t even know what to look for. Any suggestions? Know what to look for in contract or anything? It’s a cheap car on top of it.

[cgolvin]

I have had two cars shipped but in both cases the buyer handled all the arrangements. One difference I noted, which I assume influences the pricing, was whether the trailer is enclosed or not.

Two suggestions:

1) Ask @kyle_h since I know he has done it.
2) Look at carsandbids.com (and maybe bringatrailer.com), they offer shipping to buyers as part of the package, you might be able to contract through them.

[AngryScientist]

Drive it there and cycle home

[eddief]

cover your butt.

[duff_duffy]

The more I go down this rabbit hole I think I’m going to drive the car myself and fly back. Just have to do it all in a 48 hour window and getting to old for this kind of thing.

[C40_guy]

Whatever you do, if you like the car, go with a company that owns their own trucks and is not a broker for third party driver/owners. While it might cost you more, it's worth it for peace of mind.

My Cayenne sat for five days in a Newark truck parking lot waiting for a driver to get the brakes on his trailer fixed. Turned a three day into an eight day trip and blew up weekend travel plans (Cayenne arrived at 3 am Friday morning..)

Dealer pointed finger at broker who pointed finger at driver. I ended up calling the driver at home and working out his plan for him. D'oh.

[Louis]

It isn't that hard. I had my Alfa shipped from LA to STL. No big deal. I used a reputable company that had covered trucks.

Will get you more details when I have time later.

[tomato coupe]

I've shipped several, both buying and selling. I've not had any problems, but you need to remember that the schedule they give you is merely a suggestion, i.e. expect the delivery date to change while the car is in transport.

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

Whatever you do, if you like the car, go with a company that owns their own trucks and is not a broker for third party driver/owners. While it might cost you more, it's worth it for peace of mind.

Do those even exist anymore?

I've shipped a lot of cars - you can bid them out at uship.com and after 3-4 days you'll have your price. Every one of the shipping brokers bid them out to drivers and its kind of a mess of who owns/pays what but you just pay the broker. They all use the same booking/bidding systems.

I've had some experiences where everything is smooth sailing but more often than not just expect to be flexible on the scheduling, both pick up and delivery, and you'll be fine. If you get angry at the drivers it wont help you, plus they're armed and dont care.

I had one guy tell me he was 50 miles away and would be there in an hour - except he was on the other side of DC on a Friday afternoon, I laughed and told him I'd see him in about 3 hours. Another guy showed up 2 days early with about 20 minutes notice. Others days late with a pile of excuses. At the end of the day the cars always arrived on the other end intact.

[PSC]

I would let the buyer take care of making arrangements. We sold my Volvo 240 last summer and the guy hired a transport company to take it from Tacoma, WA to Chicago. They picked up the car a got about 200 miles on I-90 and the trailer caught fire and everything was a total lose. Since he hired the company, it was out of our hands once they got the car. If we would have shipped it, we may have had some problems.

[duff_duffy]

Thanks all…catching up on the thread…I’m not selling a car, trying to get my daughter’s car to her. Looks like dad (me) is going to make a trip and load it with stuff. Will fly home. Parenting is tough these days.

I wish I had more time cause I love the idea of biking home.

[robin3mj]

I recently bought a car off Bring a Trailer and used Mikie at Reindeer Relocation to ship it from Denver to VA. My dad had used them for an AZ to NJ shipment last year. Good service and no hassles.

[Polyglot]

Originally Posted by duff_duffy

Thanks all…catching up on the thread…I’m not selling a car, trying to get my daughter’s car to her. Looks like dad (me) is going to make a trip and load it with stuff. Will fly home. Parenting is tough these days.

I wish I had more time cause I love the idea of biking home.

Why not fly the daughter home to pick it up. Double win: you get to see here and you don't need to do all the driving.

[Louis]

Looks like the OP's going to drive the car out, but here's one data point just the same: I used Intercity, and they were great.

https://intercitylines.com/

See here for more pictures: https://forums.thepaceline.net/showp...&postcount=127

[bigbill]

I used Horseless Carriage for my 67 Mustang and a broker for a 2018 Ford Escape. If you use a broker, be prepared to receive constant calls asking if you still need your vehicle shipped. Like months after it was shipped.

In 2022, my F250's high-pressure fuel pump failed near Grand Junction, CO. Ford would repair it under warranty, but it would take a month because of parts. I wanted it towed to Kingman, AZ, close to where I live, so the dealer could do the work. I tried to set up a shipment, but no one would return a call. I called some friends in AZ and offered to pay them to haul my truck with their flatbed and F350. While we were loading my truck on their flatbed, my phone wouldn't stop ringing with brokers trying to get my business. It went on for two weeks, even though my truck was at the dealer the next morning.