Question: Shipping Cars

[!AjHoWzA!]

Hey guys, I was wondering if I could get some of your past experiences and input on shipping cars.

I just got out of my school for the Navy and my next duty station will be Kings Bay, Georgia. I plan on shipping my E30 from Washington State to Georgia.

Navy won't pay for shipping in the states. I was wondering how much it will cost me and if there are any specific companies that are great with shipping vehicles.

Let me hear your stories good or bad. Just trying to figure out the best way to do this and also how you yourself did it.

Thanks!

[LateFan]

My guess is it will cost $800 to $1200, but maybe less if it's on an easy cross country route. You call a shipping company, and they bid you out to private contractors. You may get several bids from these guys. The driver is usually a private contractor who contracts with a shipping company.

Could be anything from a guy with a dually and a flatbed trailer, to a real car shipping truck. Check it out first. Don't pay the driver, pay the shipping company. They may try to trick you into paying cash on delivery.

You can call the more exclusive high-end shippers with their own trucks, sometimes enclosed, but they are big bucks.

I had a Volvo wagon shipped from Denver to MT, and it disappeared for two weeks! Turns out the guy had a spat with the shipper, parked the truck and went home to see his wife. Somebody else picked it up in a storage yard and finished the job.

But this is NOT normal! Don't worry, they do it all the time.

[z6ne]

this is NOT normal



they do it all the time.

[Bimmerista]

I've got plenty of experience with Dependable Auto Shippers.

Never had a bad experience.

[apm]

I've had horrible experience with Dependable Auto Shippers.

I shipped my Lachsilber M3 with them, I reset the odo and when I got it it has close to 165miles logged on it. Talking about taking it for a spin.


Also, my 190E cosworth went with the E30 with 1/2 full tank of gas - when I got the car it's almost empty. It's also got smashed driver window and shoe prints with dirt all over the dashboard and console. Hood has good scratches due to them cleaning the car. I specifically told them not to touch or do courtesy cleaning.


3rd car I had was a Civic auto all stock, which arrived with a nice cracked in the front bumper.

Thanks to DAS for all the issues above. Shipping fees was all paid for by the company, so it's supposed to be "premium service".

They did however pay insurance coverage, but it's nasty experience.

Oh I forgot, they stored my cars in their warehouse in Dallas for almost an extra week for free sitting around! Never again with DAS, 3 bad experience is enough.

[hfabricius]

I just delivered a boat from Cincinatti to Bellingham, WA. Took me and my dad a week to go there and come back to Georgia. I would guess it will cost closer to $1000+ if you want to get it shipped with less chance for damage during delivery. It's too bad this wasn't a few weeks ago though, my dad said we could have done it for about $600 on a flatbed. Also, I have heard bad things about the U-ship website as well. The Broker we delivered the boat from said they have bad experiences and boats usually end up arriving damaged.

[MR 325]

If it's in your budget Intercity Lines is the best of the best. Not cheap though!

[mrcheezle19]

I used montway which I got into contact with through uship. I've read hit and miss things about uship, but montway was awesome. The driver Peter called me everyday with updates and made the journey a day faster than expected. He shipped a 76 vette and 97 740il for me. He had 2 porsche boxsters and a newer vette on his open trailer.

[vert_this]

This place will give you a price just by putting the zip codes and dates.

http://www.aaat.com/

http://www.aaat.com/free-online-time-distance-speed-calculator.cfm

[Court M3]

Intercity Lines all day as MR 325 suggested above. Also Brown's auto transport has military discounts if you call them

[!AjHoWzA!]

Awesome, thanks guys. All this information is great to hear

[S14pwrdE30]

I had my M3 shipped to me from Ohio. Showed up 3 days early. I just used some site where they bid to ship and had it shipped open air transport; I don't even remember the name of the company but they were easy to use and both the company and driver were in contact through me. They even wanted to pick the car up from the seller the same day I asked for a quote! I used DAS to ship the M3 to Michigan when I sold it and it arrived with a broken windshield and a week late (although there were a lot of snow storms around the time it was shipped). They also got mad at me for the vehicle not being empty (I had a few extra parts in the trunk and back seat) and they questioned the ground clearance. Their site says 4" and I shipped it with 6" of clearance.

[z6ne]

okay so I was an ass earlier, but now I may have to get a car shipped. Is Virginia beach, VA, to Atlanta, GA (30316) part of a common east coast route these shippers run? It's 600 miles, trying to get an idea of how much itll cost. requested a quote from that aaat site that was in post #9