Shipping a Car

[rlee6462]

I just bought a S4 located in WV. I live in MN, so I will have to have the car shipped. Anybody know of any good, cheap shipping companies? I'm have a hard time with the broker I'm currently working with. It has been 10 days now, and he can't find a carrier.

[zachf88]

intercity lines shipped my RS4 and X5 from TX to ME. They were a little expensive, but they were VERY VERY good! Before they loaded up the car onto the truck, they spent 15 mins walking around the car, looking for every little chip and documenting it. They also had real time tracking so I knew where my cars were at that exact time.

Intercitylines.com

[manhattanprjkt8]

man just fly out and pick it up...drive er back

[A4A4A4]

man just fly out and pick it up...drive er back

x2

The cheapest way to do it is to just buy a plane ticket to WV, fly out there and drive it back home. Also, it gives you a chance to take a look at the car in person, and you get a 1000 some mile drive home to get acquainted with your new baby.

[ieatfishburitos]

I used intercity to ship a corvette in the past and was very impressed. Again it was expensive ($1700 from Michigan to Az), but there were $300k+ dollar cars in the trailer and they were very careful. I think it was worth it for me.

[MOFSTEEL]

Ship it!!!!
You dont need to be driving 1000 + miles in the dead of winter if you dont have to. You'll be avoiding 1000 + miles worth of rocks/salt/dirt and any other debris you might encounter.

[...Mark...]

Carriers are not cheap, especially on short notice.

I gotta agree w/ flying out. When i got my S4 i flew out to Houston on a Friday night crashed at a hotel and signed for the car first thing the next day and drove it straight back only stopping for food and gas. It was a little over 800 miles and i did it in 12 hours. Flight was free due to miles that i had accumulated, i hotwired a hotel for the night not to far from the dealer for $70 in a nice hotel, and maybe spent $150 or so on gas and food to get it home.

Whole trip cost me a little over $200 versus the $900 that it would have cost me to ship it. Pack a backpack w/ some good CD's a radar detector a change of clothes and grab a oneway flight.

[nealRlett]

Kentucky to California was $700 for my S4. Ship that thing. 1000 miles is well, 1000 miles. Just be careful who you use. Make sure they do not hire a 3rd party to ship it! Read the contract carefully. My carrier shipped it 3rd party for "time sake" and I got the car scratched!!!! Took me 3 months to get them to replace the front bumper. The truck driver even had the nerve to tell me that I did it! I had not even sat in the car before I noticed the scratch!

[road race s4]

I would fly there and drive back, no matter the distance. I could never buy a car without seeing/driving it first.

[Samster]

Minnesota to New York was exactly $565, but was open top. Only damage was a small crack on the bottom plastic under the dirver side passenger door[made a small thread on it]. Didn't notice it until a week later.

lol if you do do delivery make sure you stop jumping like a giddy girl inside and look ALL OVER the place. Under, Over, Inside, Outside, Everywhere.

[sakimano]

man just fly out and pick it up...drive er back

I flew to Atlanta, and drove to Toronto.

it was fun, and I got to know the car inside out on that trip.

shipping is a pain in the ass because even though "XXX shipping" is hired, they don't actually ship the car...they hire an independant truck driver to ship it. They're at the mercy of those guys' schedules, so you might have to wait 3 weeks for it to get shipped.

I said eff it, flew down on points, and drove back. It was awesome.

Plus, this will get you out of the snow for a day and a half. Get your girl to go with you, or a buddy (I did it alone and met someone half way). Priceline a hotel on your way back (long drive, unless you cram it all in one day), and you'll be done for $400 including gas, hotel, food and you'll have the car instantly instead of waiting 2-3 weeks for the slow ass shippers. Budget for speeding tickets!

[EYE4SPEED]

Check to see if the local dealer is buying from auctions in other states. When I bought my car in MN, I had them deliver it via enclosed carrier to Chicago (where they go for auctions). It was cheaper since they were picking up another car, and saved me about 8 hours of driving. Might have to wait a week or so, but most dealers go at least once a week.

[atbroome]

Pay for intercity or drive it back yourself. I bought a car in FL and had it shipped to NJ. In my research I came across a number of horror stories for the shipping brokers that subcontract. Intercity has their own enclosed trucks and drivers.

I just got a quote from them (S4/RS4 Cab shopping ) for ~$2k for San Diego to NJ. A one way ticket is ~800 right now, plus gas, plus 3k in additional miles on the car. Would probably ship.

My concern for driving back a WV car is that it might not be on snows and based on the current weather, no way in hell I would drive to MN on summers.

[rlee6462]

A plane ticket to WV is $400 plus and has 2 layovers from MN for a total of a 10 hour flight, plus the gas for the 1000 mile trip back, food, I'm guessing stop in Chicago for a night out on the town, so that's another couple hundred. The quote I got was from Phoenix Auto Transport for $600. That's cheaper than flying out and driving it home. I'm going to look into Intercity.

P.S. The car has brand new all season tires, so driving in MN will not be a problem especially with the AWD.

[atbroome]

2 years ago intercity was ~$1k for FL to NJ.

[ieatfishburitos]

A plane ticket to WV ...

WV? Do people in WV know how to drive anything other than a pickup truck?

[rlee6462]

haha!! I guess so or I got real luck with this guy.

[Siena]

Personally, I'd drive it back myself, even if it equalled, or exceeded shipping in terms of costs.

I'm no stranger to driving long distances - I've driven to Dover, UK, crossed over on the train to Calais, France, driven through to Britanny, which is a 6-hour drive (420 miles).

Slept at a cheap hotel, carried on the next morning, off through paris and Southern France, ended up in Spain 14 hours later.

This was just a holiday, so I made the same trip back a fortnight later. It's a fun way to get to know your car, I just couldn't buy a car based on pictures and a carfax report.

[rlee6462]

I have driven an S4 before so i know the car. I do not however know the car that I'm buying, but if its close to what I drove before then we are in business!

[WantAvant]

pm me, I just had my Avant shipped my New York to Iowa and it only took 5 days, cost me $750 bucks but the car was perfect. My buddy ships cars for a living, hit me up and I will get you his info