Any experience with an auto shipping company?

[SeanEXP]

Does anyone have any experience with an auto shipping company? How far(miles/distance) was the delivery? What was the cost? How long did it take for the delivery?

 

[03silversvt]

it was like 500 bucks for the guy who bought my mustang on ebay back in october. It was shipped from pennsylvania to indiana and i dont remember who he used. HE arranged everything of course since he was the buyer and i think he was supposed to get the car in like a week and a half. He didnt get it for almost 4 weeks. It was sent to jersey and sat there in a lot for a while. those car hauler companies are hit and miss.

 

[Joe Dirt]

We moved a Karmann Ghia for one of our customers from Maine to Michigan, it was like $550 and it moved in about a week. I have since left that job and can't for the life of me remember who it was. I know that's not helpful...

 

[Turdle]

We had a 98 mounty hauled from upstate New York to Kansas a couple years ago.
There are several options and thousands of free lance haulers out there.

What I went for was the one which gave the most reasonable sounding price.

The prices ranged from 2200 for a covered trailer direct ship with delivery within 5 days, to 500 for a "good luck with that" type offer.

Once you have paid, the "broker" puts your load on a bulletin board for "member drivers" to pick it.

This can take up to 21 days. It may be a hassle for the seller to be there when the driver is.
I think the driver needs to see the title. Do not ship the title with the car though. Have it and any other needed paperwork overnighted fed ex.
Then there is transit time.
during this transit your vehicle may be re loaded onto another trailer.

Questions to ask

Will my car be transferred from trailer to trailer?
Will the driver take pictures before he loads, and after he loads? ( you want this).
How much will my load be insured for? Can I buy extra?
When does the driver liability end? Some only cover "point to point" not "ground to ground". In other words unloading damage may be on you.
How many other loads will my driver be hauling? This can vary.


Our truck arrived just fine, on a 2 car trailer being pulled by a Dodge Ram diesel

I suggest contacting several companies by email. I advise against putting your load on a bidding board as I did, as you will be flooded by emails and pone calls.

There are literally thousands of guys with pickups and trailers driving coast to coast hauling cars.


Now, I did talk to our driver for a bit and since he lives near me, he said he would bring a load home from wither coast for 500.00 if I was to contact him directly.


OK, now I am edumacated


For getting the 93 home from Texas I was referred to a craigslist ad.
Seemed this guy had moved from KC to Dallas. he was hauling an empty trailer to KC to pick up more stuff. It only made sense to haul a load north and make some fuel $$

I responded to his ad. He stated he was making the trip on a certain date. How I "felt him out" was by offering to pay him now if he could bring the truck now. Since he said no to this I trusted him. He said "wait until I go load it to pay me a deposit"

I paid him 200.00 to load the truck near Dallas and 200 to set it in the drive in Humboldt, Ks. I think it is right at 400 miles so it was 1.00 per mile. He had nothing else loaded and brought it home within 3 days of picking it up

 

[eeprete]

I've moved three cars in the last two years, two from California, and one from Texas.

My first car was damaged in transport outside Reno, NV, and I fought like hell for 3 months to get reimbursed for my vehicle. It's important that you understand the terms of your agreement and the binder prior to shipment. There are also sorts of disclaimers and ways out for the carriers to escape liability.

Best suggestion I can make, is make you fully insure your vehicle PRIOR to pickup. That in itself will make it a ton easier should you encounter an issue. It's much easier and more effective for an insurance company to fight with a carriers company should the uneventful happen.

Cross country, one car was 1400 to ship from Cali to NY, this way at the peak of gas prices. Same distance a year and a half later, and also not in peak season, it cost 1000. Texas to NY was 800. This was all on open trailers. It also takes roughly a week to ten days to move cross country. If it happens any quicker than 4 days, your driver is driving more than he should risking life and property.

I highly recommend Auto Transport Direct, and while they are a broker (most advertised companies are brokers and even some transporters also broker because they cannot be in multiple places at once), they have some of the best prices and have the best network of available drivers. I am a big car guy and also many of my friends have used them with equally as good success.

BTW, my damaged car I had used a different broker who had hired the carrier that damaged the vehicle. PM if you'd like to know more.

 

[surf]

I shipped my Explorer from Atlanta to California on an open carrier and it cost $700 and took 5 days. Another approach to find a carrier is to contact a local car dealership and se who they use. I got a very good quote for an enclosed carrier using this method. Try contacting a BMW or Mercedes dealership to get a quality carrier.

 

[Joe Dirt]

THESE are the guys we used. We shipped the Karmann in an enclosed trailer. Didn't have an issue with them, they were very professional.

 

[SeanEXP]

Thanks everyone for the helpful information; it is greatly appreciated.

 

[EasyRhino]

I've shipped one from the east to west coast, and one from the east coast to Hawaii, two from the west coast to Hawaii, and one from Hawaii to the west coast.

About 800 to ship VA to LA.

About 1000 to ship to/from HI.

Not hard to do.

 

[thepotroast]

I shipped a Crown Vic (police car) from Florida to California 2 years ago using A-AAA Auto Transport, and it was about $800....small deposit up front, total due on delivery.

They use multiple types of transport vehicles, mine went up on an 18-wheeler "parking lot on wheels".

http://www.autocarmover.com/index.htm