Recommend an auto transport company.

[JustinH]

Can someone on here recommend an Auto Transport company to me?

I have posted a listing on USHIP, moving a 2010 Toyota Rav4 Sport from Lockport, NY to Round Rock, TX.

Instantly a bunch of brokers bid on the listing, and a few companies.

Who are the big boys in this industry, and who is reliable?

I think that a bunch of places just act as brokers and farm the work out to someone who will work for cheap.

About 10 years ago I had a thunderbird shipped from Hutto, TX to Buffalo, NY for about $700.

$1100-$1300 sounds reasonable in todays dollars for a small SUV.

Thanks,

JH

 

[dishdude]

I've used DAS twice, with good luck both times. Expect it to take a couple days longer than anticipated.

 

[CT8]

Shipped on a truck or using a drive away company?

 

[dishdude]

I assumed truck shipping which is what my suggestion is for.

 

[Mr Nice]

I would like to drive it, its been a while I've driven cross country.

 

[mattwithcats]

I used Montway Auto transport, based in Chicago, to ship a car to Chicago from Virginia.

Got $100 off by paying cash.

Hint- have the pick up and drop off points be large parking lots near highways, I had them pick up at a Wal-Mart, and drop off in a Football stadium (car went to my niece at School, Graduation gift of Grandpas old car)


http://www.montway.com/

 

[JustinH]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
I would like to drive it, its been a while I've driven cross country.


We crunched that data, and could not make it worthwhile. It is a 24 hour drive from Western NY to Central Texas.

My wife and I flying to NY would be $300 at least for 2 one way tickets.

2 Hotel Room nights at $100 each.

Eating 2 meals a day in a restaurant $$$

Plus gas, plus whatever my time is worth (assuming nothing.

Plus the fact that I would take off work and burn PTO time to make the drive, when I should be using PTO to relax.

Every way I figure it, it comes up to be at LEAST $1000 doing it myself, and that is if nothing goes wrong (Repairs, flat tire, etc).

I'd like to have the vehicle put on a car hauler and be done with it. Fully insured, and I don't have to take any time off work.

When I moved to Texas, I drove my Grand Marquis down with my brother. It was a great bonding experience. We took three days to do it, and stayed in $20 hotel rooms. Seen great parts of the country, and some scary parts. We were not rushing though because I didn't stat my new job for another couple weeks.

 

[JustinH]

Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
I used Montway Auto transport, based in Chicago, to ship a car to Chicago from Virginia.

Got $100 off by paying cash.

Hint- have the pick up and drop off points be large parking lots near highways, I had them pick up at a Wal-Mart, and drop off in a Football stadium (car went to my niece at School, Graduation gift of Grandpas old car)



http://www.montway.com/


Thank you. They did make me an offer on USHIP.

I went to their website and going through their website is about $100 cheaper than the USHIP offering, and $200 cheaper if I pay them cash.

They came in right around $1100.

I will wait for other bids to come in, but Montway looks decent for right now. I feel fine paying $1100 for the service.

 

[joaks]

My wife used DAS coast to coast and it was a disaster. Most people seem to have good luck with them though.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Be careful with u ship as I don't think there are any requirements (insurance , operating authority ) required. I could attach a harbor freight utility trailer to my car and do u ship

 

[Hokiefyd]

I went through Ship A Car Direct for someone to carry my 2009 Ridgeline from Arizona to North Carolina. $225 deposit to SACD once they assign you to a carrier. Then the carrier gets cash on delivery. My job is $1,250 cash on delivery, which I think is reasonable for hauling a 4,500# vehicle coast to coast. And they're doing it in three days (picked it up yesterday from my brother's driveway and delivering to my driveway on Saturday afternoon).

The carrier is Lazi Automotive Corporation, and they have an enclosed hauler. I didn't pay extra for an enclosed hauler, but that's what I got by the luck of the draw. The guy's hauling a pair (or more) of new Teslas, so I think he's trustworthy...

 

[Yognoff]

I'd say that's a pretty fair price. It sounds like you've done a bit of legwork already, but if you're interested in finding a baseline price for comparison, or need a recommendation, the A-1 Auto Transport quote calculator is a good resource. It explains what goes into the cost and they'll also give you a firm quote for free if you decide you want to use them. You're dealing with the right companies already by the sound of it, but I've had good luck with A-1 & would recommend them to others as well.

 

[Astro14]

I used Passport to ship my Packard from CT to CO, then again from CO to VT.

But they're very high end. Totally enclosed trailer. Careful handling. My Packard was on a truck with an E-type, Ferrari, '46 Lincoln, Bentley, all collector cars. And I paid about $1,500 to move it.

Some things to consider: schedules are "Windows" of a few days on either end. You've got to have some schedule flexibility. The trailers are quite big/long. They need a place to load/unload that doesn't require turning around.

Further, Vermont DOT wouldn't allow that trailer on any state highways, so we had to unload the Packard as close to I-89 as possible (we chose the Waterbury State Police facility by exit 9...huge parking lot... which allowed the truck to pull in/out easily). So, you might check on local considerations/restrictions. The shipping company should know that stuff, but I got a call from the driver the day before drop off explaining the problem.