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Auto Shipping Experience?

bluecollarjock

bluecollarjock

1/2 ton status
Joined
Nov 19, 2006
Posts
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Location
Manhattan Beach, CA
Anyone ever ship a vehicle and if so do you suggest any particular company? I had a buddy tell me a horror story about shipping his Jeep on an open carrier and it getting trashed...ugh...so is it worth double the price to go with an enclosed carrier, and if so what companies are reputable?

Thanks for any input! I gotta get an SUV shipped soon and am totally unfamilar with the auto transport/shipping scene.
 
Greg72 shipped his Porsche from NH to Cali in an enclosed carrier. Where is the SUV going to and from where? Does it run? If it doesn't run the charge is usually alot more since the hauler will have to deal with a dead vehicle. If it is driveable how about someone drive it to where it needs to be with a return flight home if so needed.
 
Its going to be from LA to Branson, MO. I was gonna drive it out in two-three weeks (24 hours on road) but with the snow and ice they keep having out there, they kinda want it as fast as they can get it. Its running, its a MINT '04 Grand Cherokee Columbia Edition...I bought it new, babied the heck out of it. A good friend needs it more than I do, since I have my GMC pickup out here and really Im happier driving an old truck then a modern SUV. I keep the Cherokee in the garage and am too anal to drive it for the most part haha....

With the costs of gas and flights these days, and a night in a hotel for a two day drive out...Im guessing $700 at least....some of the automatic shipping quotes online are telling me $700-900 for an open carrier....so might be around the same price, minus my time.
 
I used these guys:

http://www.intercitylines.com/

They moved my Blazer from California to Michigan in 2003. It was an enclosed carrier and it showed up in Michigan in the same truck with the same drivers it left California with.

-Ben

PS> My Blazer brought the average 'per vehicle value' in that trailer WAY down once it was loaded.......
 
If you would want to pay for my plane ticket there and for my time, we could maybe work something out. I only live a few hours from Branson myself.
 
bluecollarjock said:
Thanks guys, both very valuable information!!!

Yea, Ive heard bad stories that I guess are not isolated....
Click to expand...

That's actually why I chose intercity. They were definitely more expensive, but I had peace of mind that they knew what they were doing.

It let me sleep well at night and the Blazer was just fine when I got to Michigan.
 
Fellas, after hearing all of this and getting quotes, looks like I might be taking a 24 hour pedal to the metal trip to Branson, MO, picking up my ex-GF in it, getting dropped off at the airport and flying back to LAX. 3 day road trip hah....from the crappy companies like DAS, Im getting $900 quotes, and basically you dont even pick a specific pick up date or delivery date...its flexible depending on THEIR end not yours....and this is the first and probably only ever new vehicle Ive purchased (the cost of paying this thing off is more than all the other vehicles in my life combined!), and Ive pampered the living $#% out of it....only high octane, garaged, every 3k full synthetic, and every stinking one of those $800 dealer tune ups (yea I know stupid) every year getting every fluid changed and then some....so I dont want it to get trashed at all....

Cost of the above mentioned reliable source and others, all $1600...price of one way plane ticket looks like $200 if I grab it at the right time...gas $250 estimated on mapquest....cheap bare bones hotel a night or two $120....I might drop $700 driving it out there, in addition to putting a few more miles on it hah, versus $1600 shipping.

I might be road tripping boys...
 
That math sounds about right.
Your quote is about what it cost to go San Francisco to Grand Rapids, Mi in 2003.

If I were you, I'd take the road trip too!
 
I had my AMC Spirit shipped from FL to CA not too long ago- open carrier. It definitely got there dirty, but otherwise OK. No real problems, but you do have to be flexible, which is really annoying. I used National Transport LLC- the truck transporting my car had some issues, so it got delayed en route a few days, but that stuff happens. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.
 
Thanks guys....got a ticket, next weekend road trip haah....getting new brakes on it, oil change, new rear pinion seal and diff fluid to be safe, and tomorrow getting new Pro Comp shocks put on it since I can get Pro Comp shocks for half of what a Firestone Place will install Monroe or KYB...but oh well I just want there to be no snags or hassles for my ex, just give her the keys and be safe and secure for a few years for her.

So yea looks like Ill be driving from Los Angeles to Missouri next week hah....

In the future if its an older vehicle I might do the shipping thing, but with the time frame I just thought it would be easier to drive...and she hates the snow and ice, and also has some trips she is taking so with needing to be flexible on delivery date could be a hassle.

Sets back me spending some money on my own rig but just gotta do what I gotta do for now.
 
Matt

I just made the trip from SoCal to Tulsa, OK over the holidays. It was 1432 miles. I'd imagine to Branson is about another 225 miles. Albequrque is just past halfway to Tulsa and took me 11 hours to get there. If you can do 17 hours in one stretch you can reach Amarillo and then only have about an 8 hour drive the next day. I drove straight through to Tulsa on the way out and it took 21 hours. I was a mess for about 2 days after that though. Nothing like 3 Rockstars, 1 Redbull, 1 Five Hour Energy and about 4 cans of Skoal to pull me through.

Also, Fill your tank full (obviously) when you leave or atleast fill it up enough in the Barstow area so you have enough fuel to get to either Kingman or Flagstaff. The fuel in Needles, CA is running about $3.80 a gallon. I only filled up 2.5 times on the way to Tulsa and the fuel in Gallup, NM and Amarillo, TX is about $2.39. Most of AZ, NM, TX and OK should be about the same price wise. Call me if you have any questions about that drive.
Hoby
 
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