Transporting a car long distance

[ga66mopar]

I'm thinking about buying a car in Phoenix and having it transported back to Chattanooga. Anyone have any experience with auto transport companies?
My plan is to fly out purchase the car have it transported to a storage building in Phoenix until I can arrange shipping. Since I don't know the seller I feel taking possession at purchase limits my liability. The seller did offer to keep the car until it is picked up. I'm thinking I can put a combination lock on the storage building that way I can give the transport company the combination when they pick it up.

The only thing is the car doesn't run.

Any ideas?

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Just found the thread about transporting

 

[eric383]

You don't want to use a cheap transporter. My son in law sold a car on e bay and the buyers shipper came to pick it up. He said the guys truck was beat up and the car was on the the bottom of the trailer. He said it was a tight fit going on the trailer and when it arrived at the buyers he received a call from the buyer that there was a dent and a few scratches on it. I would look into a enclosed trailer if the car is in nice shape and do some research on your shipper. Good luck.

 

[Bruzilla]

My only experience with this was finding a car in New Hampshire on AutoTrader.com, sending the payment to the seller (certified check) and buying the car sight unseen, then posting an ad on a Southern Maryland online forum for someone to transport it. I heard from a guy who was taking a car up to his sister in NH and said he would bring my car back for $300. It all worked fine and got my car delivered as promised, but I would not recommend doing it that way these days.

You'll probably have to pay a premium since the car isn't running, but they should be able to handle the move the way you described. Just make sure the storage area is accessible to their equipment.

 

[terzmo]

NEVER buy sight unseen or through pictures.

 

[ga66mopar]

I'll like to keep the tranporation cost to around $1500 but not sure that is realistic.

 

[monaco66coupe]

google four corner transport, they are in Washington state. They are an excellent broker, and I have had a number of cars moved with them, and the cars didn't run either. A lady named Jan will answer the phone. She is very professional. Chattanooga is a bit of a haul though, good luck. The prices fluctuate depending on the time of year, just a tip.

 

[Lionized]

Stay far away from Livingston Transport.
My 2c.

 

[R/T]

San Francisco via L.A. all the way to Canadian Border in Champlain NY for 1400 bucks. Car was inop. Bought on eBay , been sitting outside 10 years, 1 broken torsion bar, upper table adjusting bolts loose, someone gave up on alignment I presumed, both wheels aiming in different directions , anyways took a month to comb through all the scammers , everyone wanted a deposit, Royal Car Hauling , best part was C.O.D. Since the car was an INOP. , it rode on top on the back end, that's the spot where he puts the one he doesn't want to move. It stayed up there the whole time, every time he stopped somewhere , someone offered to buy it, said he could of sold it 12 times ;) Anyways , Royal Car Hauling , based in L.A. I paid him when he showed up at the border, not a scratch. Husband and wife team, beautiful people .

 

[ga66mopar]

Here's one quote. Not too bad

 

[Budnicks]

try Reliable Carriers http://www.reliablecarriers.com/ or Inter City Auto Transport

 

[whosyurdaddy]

No matter who you contract with make sure the car stays on the originating hauler . Pass on anyone doing a transfer

 

[Lionized]

No matter who you contract with make sure the car stays on the originating hauler . Pass on anyone doing a transfer

Exactly. Hang up immediately on anyone who brokers their transport. 1 trailer. 1 driver. No BS.

 

[khryslerkid]

If the car isn't a perfect piece, doesn't run, fixer upper, Id use Cosmos. Bought a car in Texas, delivered it to Maryland, my front door, for just over $400 . I'm not sure if they have enclosed trailers or not.

 

[Bb70charger500]

Man this is hard there all different I'll tell you (DON'T go the cheapest)
I bought a 51 Chevy truck out of south Texas cost $800 to get it to fl it got here and the trailer had cly problems and the car above was laying on the roof of my new truck (and the drive still expected to be payed , I told him to hang on the d.o.t. officer was bringing the check the truck was very elegal to be on the road , I found you go with the middle cost and it gets there with no problems I've had 3 inop cars moved and 4 runners I had a guy who was good I kept his info he did most of them for me at a lot less then the "we'll set you up with someone in a few days" people charge but sadly he went back to Russia and I'm without a long haul driver agen .
Good luck and remember cheap is not always good
Also I wouldn't worry to much about the seller keeping it , I'd be worried about the truck driver "losing" it car parts are going for big cash now a days

 

[Dieselholic]

I bought my Roadrunner off of eBay in 2007. The guy selling the car had a friend that custom hauls across the country. $500 and he brought it from southern Missouri to Minnesota on a dually pickup and 5th wheel trailer. Granted I wouldn't have done that with a nice driver, but mine was just a project.

 

[ilm65]

RELIABLE--Absolutely headache free--totally accommodating!!!

 

[Propwash]

I used USHIP to ship a Dodge Dart from Santa Ana, CA to Wisconsin last year. It ended up costing me around $800 bucks total and the car showed up in an enclosed trailer. The USHIP transaction went pretty well and the driver was an independent OTR Truckdriver. Real nice guy. Anyways, one thing I didn't like about USHIP was the very limited amount of contact I could have with the driver until I agreed upon his bid. It's part of USHIP's policy. Other than that, real happy. I've heard bad feedback about USHIP as well, so it seem's it's kinda luck of the draw on how professional the company/driver you hire may be, because once you pay, USHIP pretty much wipe's it's hands of the transaction and your left dealing with the shipper on your own. I suppose no different than if you just hired a driver/company outright. After researching and looking at a few options, one thing came real apparent, real quick and that was to stay far, far away from shipping brokers. A lot of them seem to have the mentality of a crooked used car salesman. Good luck, hope it helps!

 

[Dako]

I don't know that things have changed much (had mine moved in `09), but I can tell you how things went then.

A broker quoted me a price ($810 for a non-op car). I paid the broker a small fee ($50) up front, with an agreement to pay the remaining 1st half ($350) once they contracted a hauler. The balance ($410) was due to the hauler upon delivery.

They posted the job...letting me know up front it could take a few weeks to get a hauler lined up.

After a few weeks passed I started contacting them every other a week. They explained a Non-op car was harder to get someone to pick it up during the May to July timeframe...that hauler's usually find plenty of running cars to move, so they will pass over non-ops unless the money is high.

At one point they offered to raise the cost (to $950), hoping to entice a hauler to step up. I chose to wait it out.

I did get two offers, but with stipulations (both were higher cost, one wanted to drop it off hundreds of miles away...)

Eventually a hauler agreed with the terms originally established.

Somebody had to be present to sign a 'release' when it was picked up in KS. (So I don't know if providing a combination to a lock will work?)


Things to be aware of:

- Pick-up and drop-off points being closer to major interstates help entice drivers, as they don't lose hours making long 'end of the road' runs. Those out-of-the-way detours (like mine) take up time, cutting into the profit margin.
- If a driver has to do a lot of work (maneuvering his rig in and out of tight spaces, getting your non-op car out of a building, etc...) in order to get it loaded, they may ask for more money...or may pass completely.
- I set up a deal in May, but the car was not picked up until July.
- One driver tried 'negotiating' a higher price before even getting to the pick up point!
- Another hauler tried negotiating a drop-off point a couple hundred miles away...AND at a higher fee than originally quoted!

Things to make the process go easier:

- Have all info you think they may/ will need at hand when calling to make shipping arrangements
- Ensure the car is READY to be picked up BEFORE the transport arrives!
- Make the pick up and drop off as easy as you can for the hauler...car is in an open area...hauler can back right up to it...no wheels/ brakes locked up...steering unlocked if so equipped...etc.
- Make sure all tires hold air.

Mine was an easy pick-up a mile off I-70, but a 2 hour trip off I-95 down to the southern tip of MD made it very un-enticing. Since I wasn't in a hurry, I held out, kept bugging the broker...and finally got it delivered to my driveway by 'Big Blue Transport' for the original quoted price.

Hopefully some of this helps in you making your decisions. Plan for your schedule to be adjustable...or as we use to say in the Navy, "Semper Gumbi' (Always Flexible).