I’ll be moving across the country pretty soon, and I’d like to bring my car with me. I’d also like to avoid driving it there, so I’m looking into shipping. Anybody use any companies before that they liked? I’m moving from DC to LA, so it’s pretty much across the entire country. I’ve also heard they let you put some stuff in the car, but not much. Would they be okay with me sticking a 42" flat screen TV in the back with some clothes/blankets? How about a ~35lb guitar amp in the back seat? I realize there’s a risk in sticking valuable stuff in there, but how likely is it that something would be stolen? Nothing in there would be extremely high value (max would be about $400), so if it’s a relatively low risk I’m okay with that.
Thirty-some years ago I had to move a non-drivable car about 2,000 miles. I found an auto transport company in the yellow pages. They picked it up at a service station, and dropped it off at a lot in the destination city, from where I had it towed to a body shop. The other option is drive-away service, where someone actually drives your car. Probably costs less, but has different – and I suspect more – risks.
I wouldn’t think it would be an issue to have some stuff in it so long as it didn’t interfere with any controls, but that’s really a question to ask whoever is moving it. Valuable stuff, however, could be a separate issue – the company may not want to be in a position where if something goes missing they could get blamed.
You could get a transportation company to put your car on the back of one of those car-carriers (like this). But there’s a high risk of dings, and it’ll probably be really dirty when it lands. That’s probably your cheapest option, though.
Yes, that’s what the auto transport service did.
Decades ago we would get some university kid who wanted to go that way to drive it. Last time I did this was '94, needed my truck moved to Seattle and some kid at the University of Utah drove it for me. I paid the gas. Earlier a retired man I knew drove persons cars a lot. He advertised in the newspaper. Don’t know where one would place such ads today.
I’ve had a car shipped before.
If the car can’t drive onto the trailer under its own power, it will cost more (the car doesn’t have to be road legal, it just needs to be able to move and steer under its own power).
If you want to put the car into an enclosed trailer to protect it from dings (stones thrown up from the road, etc) that will also cost more. You wouldn’t want to ship a classic 1960’s show car on an open carrier. You’ll run the paint. On the other hand, there’s no sense shipping an old beater in an enclosed carrier. One more ding on a beater isn’t going to be noticeable.
If you want it picked up and dropped off on a particular date, that will cost more. Basically, the trucks drive all around and it’s much easier for the shipping company to pick up your car when the happen to have another truck already driving somewhere close to that area (same with the drop-off). If they have to schedule another truck and go out of their way to rearrange their schedule, they will want to charge you more for it.
Sometimes your car will end up on a big trailer like what rachelellogram linked to. Sometimes it will end up on a smaller single layer flatbed type truck. It all depends on what fits the shipping company’s schedule best.
There is no way in hell would I leave anything valuable in the car. If you want to take your chances stuffing something into the trunk that’s not so bad (though it is still a bit risky), but definitely don’t leave anything visible in the back seat. That’s just asking for trouble.
FYI there are also companies out there that will drive your car to your destination for you instead of throwing it onto a trailer. Not sure of the cost.
Yeah, I assumed it’d be shipped on a big truck type thing. It’s not a nice car by any means. It’s got more than its fair share of scratches from being in DC for the past 5 years.
So I shouldn’t put my TV in the trunk of the car? It’s not worth that much, but I would definitely be saddened about having to buy another one when I get there. Now I have to figure out how to get it there.
Anybody have any experience with a company they used and liked?
I’ve shipped a car across the country before. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that the shipper I used ships within the USA. But I’ll add my experience anyway; maybe you will find it useful.
I learned that there were any number of options: by truck or train, you drop off at their yard or they pick up from your home, you pick up from their yard or they deliver to you (under its own power or on a truck) etc. You may be able to mix and match, but be aware that each configuration will likely be a different cost from the others. In the end, I went with pickup at my door, the train (it was a fairly new car and I didn’t want dings), and delivery to the door of my new place. It was a little pricey, but since it was a business transfer, the company picked up much of the tab.
However you choose, I’d suggest making sure that the shipper does at least two things: an odometer reading and a walkaround before the trip to check for damage. You don’t want some shipping company employee “borrowing” your car for a joyride (hence the odometer reading); nor do you want the shipper to deny any body or glass damage sustained in transit. (Note that this works both ways–they don’t want you claiming for old dents either.) Of course, there will be some distance on the odometer, caused by simply moving the car on and off trucks/trains, and moving it in parking lots until you get it, but there should be very little.
I would also recommend against putting things in the car–not only might items in the back seat prove tempting to anybody glancing in the car at any point in its journey, but even items in the trunk might get damaged in transit. And if the shipping company doesn’t know that they are there, I don’t think you’ll be able to file a claim. As I recall, I was told by my shipping company to empty the car of everything: glove compartment stuff, sunglasses, CDs, first aid kit, jumper cables, snow brush, etc.
I had a friend who made an employer-paid move across country with their car. The moving company was able to actually put the car in the van with the furniture and stuff. It was OK to pack the car with stuff.
I went googling to check my memory and I found this company that says they do it. I am not specifically recommending this company, just using it as an example that the service does exist.
Just to make sure you’re considering all the options, if you’re going to be driving a moving van across the country, you can rent a tow dolly and tow it yourself. Probably not cheaper, but it works.
Yeah, I thought about the towing, or just driving it across, but I’m starting my intern year of residency and I don’t have much time for “vacation” to begin with. I’m hoping to get what little stuff I need out there as easily as possible. I’m thinking I’ll just ship my TV separate and maybe throw some blankets/sheets in the back of the car, since I doubt anybody will be tempted by my sweet floral print comforter (thanks Mom).
I did a lot of research on this about a year ago, when I wanted my car shipped from the East Coast to NorCal. I used these guys, and they were great in all respects:
It cost me around $1100. You can get an instant quote on their website. I had an extra set of wheels/tires (45lbs x 4) inside, and that wasn’t an issue as long as there was no chance of things moving around inside during transport
Request the upper deck if possible (usually they charge extra for upper deck, but negotiate); lower probability of road debris, and oil leakage from other cars being transported won’t fall onto your car. The closed container option is more expensive, but not worth it unless you’re transporting an exotic.
My car got here with absolutely no damage.
I’ve done this several times. Once the moving company simply drove my car up into the big trailer of the 18 wheeler and lashed it down. The other times it ended up on a big auto transporter like upthread.
Don’t leave anything valuable in it, they won’t be responsible for it. However, you can get insurance (some companies include it) for damage in transit. I recommend this if it’s a fairly new car. On one trip, they positioned my car under some other vehicle that dripped something corrosive on it the entire trip*. They paid for a new paint job and a rental during the repairs. As others have said, if you can let them choose the exact days of travel it will be cheaper. We left the keys with a company rep, and our car magically appeared in the new city about a week later each time. I checked my odometer each time, but never saw more than a mile or two extra on it. I don’t think the employees were interested in driving mine around (this could be different if you’re shipping a hi-dollar sports car tho’).
*Paint shop thought it was actually battery acid, but we never knew for sure.
I have driven a few cars cross country from Auto Driveaway. The car owner pays them to locate somebody to drive the car – I have no idea how much they charge for that. There is no charge (or pay) for the driver; he buys the gas during the trip.
The only problem I had was one car broke down during the trip but the company had another car for me the next day, no hassles, no drama.
I’ve only been the driver, not the owner, but if I had a car to ship this is probably the way I would go.
I used Alpine Auto Transport to ship my DeLorean from California to Dallas last year, and was happy with their service. They offer quite a few transport options and provide free quotes.
I wish I could drive it for you! I’ve always wanted to drive cross country. Maybe you can find someone to drive it for you and pay for their airfare back.
We shipped two cars from Northern VA to Seattle–one using DAS, the other using National Transport.
DAS was a significant PITA. They repeatedly lied to us regarding expected ship date and even said it had shipped (when it hadn’t). Once it actually shipped, we had no problems. From when they took possession to when we took possession was about one month. The vehicle arrived with a ton of hail damage. Other than that, nothing was taken from the vehicle.
National Transport was also a pain on the front end – they had some major problems lining up transport. Even though we diligently prepared well ahead of time, we were running around at the last minute because of problems from NT, who pretty much told me I should explore other companies if I wanted to stick to my timeline (which I absolutely had to stick to). They used the bidding system, so they were at the mercy of the truck drivers. The only way they could get transport lined up was to get me to up my asking price, so I wound up paying a couple hundred more than I was quoted. Once shipped, the car arrived ahead of schedule with no issues.
Recommendations: line up the company early and ensure they have a drop-off location where the car can sit (as a backup plan in case pickup falls through and you have a flight to catch). Be prepared to pay more than whatever you agree to up front. Expect issues and headaches in communication with the company on the front end (communication with the drivers on the back end was a breeze).
Wow, thanks everyone. That’s some good advice. My car is about 9 years old, bottom of the line model, so I’m not concerned about dings or scratches. I doubt I’d be able to tell which ones were new to begin with. I’ll definitely take pictures though.
Having somebody drive it cross country sounds tempting but I’d rather not put the miles on it. Now I just need to find a place to live! Moving cross country is a huge pain in the butt.
Just heard the other day of someone who’s about to ship a car from Boston to Southern California for the price of $800. The made it sound like they could load it to the gunwales with stuff, which made it a two-fer. Don’t know the shipping company, sorry.
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