need advice on car shipping ASAP

[mspiegle]

I know a guy in florida who is selling a porsche. I want it and I have money, but I dont know about the shipping...

someone reccomended DAS. I got a quote from their site, they wanted $920 for non-garunteed and non-insured shipping.

Just a FYI - the car would be going from florida to california.

Is this a very typical price? or slightly on the high side? Does anyone know of someone better/cheaper to ship with?

thanks!

[M3 Ryan]

its an OK price...
I sent with abc auto shipping or something like that...
check carshippingquotes.com or whatever and get the best quote from them.
hth!

[Jand3rson]

I inquired about this before, and was told to stay away from shipping companies that will just load your car onto a multi car trailer. They are not careful with them at all, are very rough loading and unloading them, and your car is subjected to the elements much more harshly than just driving it.

[mspiegle]

thanks for the quick comments guys. i checked out the carshippingquote thing.

What i'm aiming for isn't necessarilly a whole lot cheaper than 1000, i'm aiming to get better service for my $1000.

I can also deal w/ the elements since the car needs some paint anyways, but physical damage to the bumpers and what not is unacceptable... i'm gonna have to shop around alot...

thanks again guys. if anyone else has experience with some shippers or other advice, please share!

[e9nine]

Contact RedBaron... he posts on here. He is a car hauler by profession if I am not mistaken.

What Porsche is this that you're acquiring..can we see pics :?:

[TIATO]

About 700-1500 for coast to coast transport depending on service. Best bet, although more expensive is a closed trailer. Ditto open trailer remarks above.

Alternative - buy a one way airline ticket and let it be road trip time.

Thats what I did when I bought my 318is. Im in NJ , car was in Minneapolis. Flew out there and 21 hours and 1200 miles later I was home. 21 hours drivig time.. It took me a bit longer than that because I stopped to sleep and visited some freinds. The first day I drove from Minneapolis to the Ohio State line. The balance on the second day.

Doing that I saved more than 50% of the shipping cost, had a great time.

[UNHCLL]

I'm an advocate for flying out to pick the vehicle up and driving it back provided it is road worthy.

This gives you 2 benefits:
you can first hand inspect the vehicle and decline the sale should you find major obvious flaws that were not represented in the sale.
saves on shipping
gives you time to become aquainted with the car.

Regardless of how you have it shipped, have the shipper take a LOT of detailed photos. All flaws, all panels from every angle, freshly washed and dried if possible.

Having shipped a few cars I can say this:
Almost all shipping companies do a walk around inspection of the vehicle and notate any damage before it is even placed on the trailer. Provided you arent buying a 959 or similarly rare P-car, I wouldnt worry about it.

Enclosed, insured shipping is expensive. No matter how you break it down, it will be expensive. For example, un-insured, open transport for my 325is from NJ to NH - $350.

If the car is road worthy, you can avoid to take some time off from work/school, and you want to have some fun and take a roadtrip.... I'd highly suggest flying to FL to pick it up. Rates for flights are super cheap right now.

[UDM Motorsport]

try this company

http://www.a1-auto.com

Friend shipped his Porsche and all was good...not too expensive...

[mspiegle]

ok, i'll give red barron a PM... otherwise UDM's suggestion of a1-auto seems good (would cost me about 775)

[Charlie]

What sort of porsche are we talking about?

An older 911 with an "unknown to me" history would not be my ideal candidate for a cross country road trip.

1000-1500 for a good carrier is the norm for coast to coast shipping.

-Charlie

[UDM Motorsport]

also...for A1 auto...u can also bargain with them.
My friend bargained with them, and got his for about $600plus...

[mspiegle]

its an 86.5 928S