Transporting or shipping a vehicle
 

Does anyone have any experience buying a vehicle and having it shipped to you?
I'm looking at buying a TA on the east coast and having it shipped to MN.
Any recommendations?
Experiences?

Thanks!

I did it...it's a scary thing, but worked out fine.
You must really trust the person to send $$ first. I had him email me copy of drivers license, completed bill of sale and title, walk around vids, pics, he even took video of it driving into the transport. Got it in 3 days...whew!

Yeah, I'm contemplating flying there and driving it back. Having it shipped would be easier. What carrier did you use to ship the vehicle? What was the time frame?

TNT Auto Transport
They ship all the snow bird cars to Florida and back where I live

http://www.transportreviews.com/comp...t-services.asp

I forgot this one
http://www.coasttocoastauto.com/

Shipping was cheaper and more convenient for me ($1000). A one-way ticket, hotel, and two days on the road+gas was almost twice that. Plus it only had 15K miles and I didn't want to rack up miles just getting it here (Chicago to S. Florida). And what about rock chips and possible breakdown...just wasn't worth it to me. Took 3 days door to door. Owner arranged shipping, I would have to look up the carrier. Good luck to you.

You NEED to make the effort and do exactly this if humanly possible. Inspect and drive IN PERSON. If the car is very low miles like ragtopz28 above, then maybe. Very few cars are ever represented accurately and you will be able to negotiate further in person or even walk away if the car was misrepresented. You have no idea the horror stories of cars being transported to their new homes in a condition not even remotely close to accurate. Heartache, feelings of being used as a sucker, etc...
I've posted many times of the ultra low mileage Aerocoupe I bought a few years back. After several months of negotiations, photos, conversations and an agreed upon price, I went to get the car 500 miles away with my wife and 4 new tires in tow. Yes, the Aero was sweet BUT the entire a/c was shot, the heater core blew, and the front bumper was messed up from the license plate (photos did not reveal this). While the owner in this case was not trying to pull a fast one he honestly never used the a/c and thought it would be fine. I was going to drive back to NC and just eat the loss of gas and fast food. An 'oh well' moment. The tires could have been returned so no problem there either. However, we negotiated further (cash in hand) and I got another $1,000 or so off the agreed upon price. Imagine if that car showed up in my driveway on a transport truck?? Not only would have I been out the $1,000 plus repairs but another $1,000 for the covered transport. A HUGE swing in price. Maybe that doesn't mean much to some, but it did to me. No ill feelings here and now a car that was just featured here. http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/car-of-the-week/car-week-1

If you end up buying the vehicle, we would love to help you transport it. We have transported a number of cars here on the forums with good feedback. Contact us for a quote :)

I have both bought and shipped and also flown in and picked up.

I bought my 72 C10 on ebay and used Uship to ship it. I lucked out and a transporter was heading my way anyways and it cost me $450 NC to IL.

I bought my SS by flying in and driving it home. I admit there were surprises. No deal breakers, but surprises.

i ship cars all the time. 90% are all wrecked so its not a big deal for me. i rarely run into bad transport companies but there are a few bad ones out there. if your shipping 1 car, its usually cheaper and easier on you to have it shipped. if your buying more than 1, its by far cheaper to pick them all up yourself in one trip.

I had my 02 shipped from Oregon to Kansas and the car arrived completely covered in grime, salt spray and filth. The driver told me he got caught in a snowstorm. Luckily it all washed off, but the front end was full of rock chips. I believe those were caused in the course of driving, not during the transport, even though I had had an LS1tech member inspect and drive the car for me. The chips were never mentioned; probably not noticed. So I had to have the front end refinished.

This was after having flown back to Michigan to purchase a supposedly pristine WS6 and finding it to have been in an accident and then having to buy a plane ticket back on the spot.

So the moral of my stories is what NC01TA says - there's no substitute for being there yourself and inspecting the car.

A couple of thinks to think about.

1. Round trip tickets are not much more than one way. So if you choose to fly down purchase round trip so you can walk away if the deal doesn't go thru.

2. If you ship the car make sure you deal with a company that actually owns trucks. Many companies are brokers. They book the load then find a carrier to haul it. The biggest problem with them is if the car is damaged in shipping it complicates getting a claim paid.

3. Frequently when a car is shipped it does not arrive on the same truck it departed on. It is not uncommon for carrriers that have multiple trucks to have them meet and swap cars to consolidate deliveries. This can increase the risk of damage.

I don't brink these points up to cast aspersions on anyone. They are just the simple facts.

Good Luck
Craig

get an eastern section member near the car to put an eye to it for you.

...not only simple facts but excellent facts! Brokers can be good or the devil from hell. :devil: My elderly car collector neighbor has run the gamut of transporters, from superb carriers like Horseless Carriage to two possible ' illegals' that didn't speak English and trailered an expensive Jaguar behind a pickup truck. The latter was a dealer's 'no worries transport'. :bs: Talk about a livid old man. Holy crap!

Great stuff guys! After receiving many quotes and doing some research I've found out all these contacts I've received are brokers. Enclosed trailer for $1100.
Flight is $210 one way, 1220 miles figuring $200 for gas, two nights hotel $200, and I need to get a ride from BWI to Millsboro. Car rental would be $160, taxi would be more$$$.

The car is in Millsboro Delaware. Any members out that way?

This is the car

http://delaware.craigslist.org/cto/4547220239.html

Edit- pending follow up on vehicle damage

Sounds like a nice car. Ask the seller to meet you near the airport.

Sorry my friend. I would not buy this CL car sight unseen. No way, no chance. Asking another member is just as risky unless you know them personally. Their idea of a 'good' car may be light years from your own opinion. This would be a very risky purchase IMO and I hope you make the right decision, whatever way you choose. The scams and misrepresented cars on CL are legendary. I sure hope you have at least run a Carfax to rule out accidents and title issues. Even that may not be accurate. There is no substitute for driving the car yourself and listening for noises and making sure everything works. Man, these photos are so amateur too. They didn't even take 10 minutes to detail the engine. What else haven't they made the effort on?? This is a lot of $$$. Be smart!