Can anyone recommend a company to ship a car from Portland, OR to Chicago, IL. I would like a company that ships the car on a truck (or train), rather than one that has someone drive the car across country. I would especially like to hear about companies that have delivered the car on-time and damage-free. Also, if anyone has any warnings/horror stories (about shipping generally or about specific companies), your input is also appreciated. Happy new year everyone, and thanks for your help.
db
I bought a 1963 Triumph Herald that was in Sacramento. I called an auto shipper (I don’t remember the name) and got a quote of $495. I placed the order. A week goes by. No shipper assigned. A second week goes by. No shipper assigned. A third week goes by, and I’m becoming angry. After a full month I cancelled the order and went down to get the car myself. I had to ‘remind’ them to refund my money. Apparently my refund had ‘gotten lost in the paperwork’. :dubious:
Sacramento is off of the 5. I live off of the 5. The 5 is one of the most heavily-travelled freeways in the country, being the main road from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. It’s full of trucks. I see empty flatbeds all the time. But after a full month the shipping broker couldn’t find anyone to assign to pick my car up.
I’ll have to look up the company I used when I get home tonight. About 3 years ago I had them haul my car from Ft. Myers, FL to Minneapolis, MN. It cost around a grand. They showed up on time to pick it up (within a 3 hour window), and delivered it in about 3 days as they said they would. They even did a pre and post walkaround inspection with me to look for pre-exsisting and new damage.
I’d use them again if I needed.
A tip: when you do the pre-shipping walk-around, videotape it.
I had a great experience with Hoghaulers. They’re based in Portland. I’ve also heard good things about Horseless Carriage.
If you were shipping along the cost it would be easy but if you were shipping cross country it’s a different story. Finding a return trip out of SAC going east is a freighter dead zone. You’d be better off using a mainstream freighter for that. 50’ containerized trucks will often use 88"x125" pallets. If you have a little car it might work that way (not that I’m recommending it). Since you live in LA I’d agree that you should have been able to tag a car carrier.
I no longer live in L.A.
Tired of smog, couldn’t find YVR or did you piss off a General?
There’s an internet car shipping business working out of Camas–Google auto shipping and there’s a grip of movers. It’s kinda cool how it works, independent shippers pick up single cars to avoid deadheading back from a delivery and there are internet clearinghouses for them to pick up car deliveries along a given route. If you don’t have specific time constraints and aren’t sending to some total Podunk destination you can get the job done for pretty cheap. They’re insured, too, the good movers.
Got tired of the traffic, the crowding, and the noise. But I think the real reason I started hating L.A. was that I was just bored. Now that I’ve had a break, I may go back. (Depends on how the business goes, whether we relocate there, and whether I have to get a real job.) As long as I can keep my house up here in the PNW, I don’t think L.A. will bother me. It’s my escape hatch.
We recently had our Beck Spyder shipped from Southern Calif to the Great Lakes by http://www.horselesscarriage.com/. I remembr the cost was reasonable and the service was exceptional.