Hi everybody - sorry if this post is too off-topic. I'm considering buying a car off Bring-a-Trailer and I'd need to ship it from California to Illinois. Shipping quote from their internal company seems really high. Anyone have experience with reputable companies that may be cheaper?

Thanks!

 

When I bought my Bentley, this was a total P.I.T.A.

Some quick advice: if it's from a populous area going to a populous area, it's cheaper and easier, but if it's small-town California and small-town Illinois, then it's harder.

The brokerage system is totally screwy. It's a big message board type of thing that you're not invited to be on, you have to be a broker or driver. Basically, you post what you're willing to pay and the acceptable dates/criteria and maybe someone going that direction will pick it up. You can get a great deal for just a couple hundred bucks if there is a car carrier already going that way that just adds your car on, with the dates matching up. If it's weird and out of the way, you'll get a guy with a pickup truck and a two-car flatbed making a special run just for you (that's how I got my GT from Pennsylvania to Chicago).

The biggest problem is doing it all remotely. I bought mine from a dealer, so they were well-versed in how it all worked and they were open six days a week, long hours. But private entities may not be home for the pickup and schedules may not match which is a total pain.

Same with delivery, if you work, you're going to have to be able to leave at the beck-and-call of the delivery, which never comes when expected, they're going to be early or late. Mine showed up at 10:00 pm in the rain, it was a nice pickup with a flatbed.

Some carriers won't take "specialty" cars, not worth it if someone accuses them of scratching. My guy was fanatically careful.

The online "ship your car for cheap" websites are all just brokers who are going to type your info into the message board. They will draw you in with cheap guesses on what it will cost, but one they post the low-ball offer by you to transport, nobody will pick it up.

This is one of those things where you get what you pay for, if you have a guaranteed service that will guarantee pickup times and deliveries and aren't fly-by-night random meth-heads with cheap trailers, you might be better off paying the exorbitant price.

Below is the price I paid "Amerifreight" who did a nice job. $1,000 once you add in the $100 tip I gave the guy for navigating in the rain and being so careful.

And note the "cash when delivered", they were all like this, have the bills ready, they don't take Venmo.

 

Thanks, British - yeah that sounds more complicated than I'd like, so I went with the BAT transporters. Bought a 2009 Cayenne Turbo S as my daily driver Phaeton is pretty worn out.

 

What did it cost?

 

Ugh - it was $3200 for enclosed.

 

I just transported 2 cars from Westchester NY to Jupiter FL - About 1250mi. I used Horseless Carriage which was recently acquired by McAllister's, now one of the biggest players in the vehicle transport industry, they also operate Mecum Transport. They charged me $2000 per car, $4000 total ($1.60 Mile / Car) for enclosed transport and did a really good job.

Since Covid and the fuel cost increases, vehicle transport prices have gone through the roof. I have been moving cars between FL and NY for 8 years and used to pay $1250 per car ($1.00 / Mile). Those days are long gone. If you have a valuable car that you don't want damaged, stick with one of the big players (McAllister, Intercity, Reliable, Plycar, etc) and stay away from independent truckers and brokers. I have learned that lesson with 2 cars damaged during transloading. Rarely, if ever, will any company transport your vehicle on the same trailer in the same position as they picked it up with. Usually they pick it up and bring it to a terminal / yard where it sits until they have a full load going in the direction of your destination. Then they load vehicles going to that direction / destination in the reverse order they will be unloaded in and head out for your destination in a different truck / driver combination.

 

Thanks Mr. Horsepower. I'll be moving a couple of cars to SC over the summer from Chicago so I'll keep those companies in mind.

 

Once other thing, take detailed pictures and a video of the vehicle, just before it gets loaded. By detailed I mean every panel of the vehicle as well as interior. This will be your proof if something gets damaged and they attempt to deny the damage.

 

I've used Movewheels iaai car shipping to get a quote on shipping a vehicle. I was pretty impressed with the service. It was easy to use, and I got multiple quotes from different companies within a few hours. I was able to compare the quotes and choose the company that best met my needs.

 

Others don't seem to agree.

https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/green-cv-spgs/profile/vehicle-transport/bwt-group-llc-dba-movewheelscom-0403-235966321/complaints

 

Uship is another one to avoid . Same shuffle as above. The side shuffle is a broker quotes a price....their take. Then the actual shipping fee is charged when the vehicle is moved (not stated by the broker). On the front end there is the appearance of inexpensive car transport.

 

I'm willing to pay the "current fair price", and my expectations are:
1) The agreed pickup window is met.
2) The agreed delivery window is met.
3) There is good communication during the entire process.
4) There is zero damage to my vehicle.

In the past 15 years, I have shipped vehicles 10 times, out of those, I have had vehicles damaged 2 times by very reputable companies.

 

Give The Car Carriage based out of Texas a try. I've always shipped enclosed with them and they've never disappointed.

 

When I transported my vintage car from a small town in Texas to California, I faced a similar problem. The carrier had a temper: he came with an old flatbed that looked like it had seen better days! But fortunately, he was very careful.

 

I shipped my classic Mustang a while back, I had a similar experience. I learned that timing is everything, especially if you're dealing with small towns. I had to coordinate with the carrier and the seller, and let's just say my schedule took a bit of a hit!