Chris11LE

I ended up getting a car that is 500 miles from home. I dont mind renting a car to go and get it, but I was interesting in comparing that cost vs just having someone pick it up and ship it to me.

Can anyone suggest a shipper that they've used/seen did a good job?

It would be an east coast ship from VA to CT where I am.

Thanks.

-Chris

da mayor

iTrader: (2)

i would say $700 in a closed container.

if you're in CT, why not just drive down to me... i have the LE model still

colburs

I had mine shipped from a dealer in southern FL up to CT. The dealer recommended the carrier as they had used them very often for similar stuff.

I think I paid $450 (December '09) and I got the car in three days (see below).

The car was fine when it got here.

I also quoted closed carrier and it was 2x-3x the cost. Since this wasn't a collector or car that I needed to keep in perfect condition (i.e. a street car) I decided to go with the open carrier the dealer recommended.

Some things I learned:
- Only use a carrier that pics up and drops their own stuff, not someone who will farm out the job
- Get the phone number for the guys in the cab so you can check in to see when they will arrive
- Google the companies name and see what comes up
- Ask about price versus delivery time. My guy had a $200 price difference between 3-day and 5-day transit. I booked 5-day and it came in 3.
- Ask if it's door to door not only for the car but also for the carrier. I didn't know this but it makes sense; typically they don't want to risk getting stuck so they off-load nearby and drive the car to your house. The part about some trucker driving my car made me nervous. I met them at the off-load spot.

Ibanez540r

iTrader: (1)

I've used uship.com to have several boats moved. It's a reverse auction. Basically you list what you need shipped, where from and too, and companies will bid for your business. I really liked the process because each "bidder" has full information about the company and also a "review" section so you can see what kind of experiences people have had. A lot of these guys are making a similar trip anyways and will charge very reasonable just to fill the space they have.

I do not have any relation to the web site, just a suggestion from personal experience.

Chris11LE

Thanks for the tip about uship. I filled out a request, will be interesting to see how (if) it works out.

Plan B is drive down with a rental.....its actually a lot cheaper than I thought it would be, and since I have family in the area I can go visit them at the same time, so its not like Im insane enough to drive all that way just to buy a car.

roots4x

Depending on how mug it is and how much time you have I'd suggest renting and driving. While my experience wasn't bad, it's jut hard to coordinate drop off and pickup times. I was transporting more like 2500 miles so it was not feasible for me even though I was just moving my car to my new house (moving from one city to another).

Chris11LE

Yeah, renting and driving is Plan A right now, actually (I think I said it was Plan B but that was wrong)

If I didnt have family living near the car Id probably ship it (or not buy it there at all), but I dont mind the drive. Looks like driving back it is! Going to have clear bra installed on it before I even get there, so I should be able to prevent most paint chips on the way back (I might bring some painters tape to cover the front end anyway)

Chico

I would drive if I were you, but in the meantime here's another company:

http://mcnutttransport.com/home/default.aspx