So I'm preparing to return from a 6 month trip to the desert, and I need to have my S moved from Idaho where it is stored to Texas where I am stationed. I am considering having it shipped instead of waiting for spring and then driving it cross country. I was hoping someone on here would have some experience or insider information that they would share with me.

I am debating open trailers vs enclosed. The open trailers are much less expensive, but I'm concerned about theft, vandalism, or road debris(especially since it's winter and there will be extra gravel on the roads up north) on an open trailer. My car is not a show car, but it is black and it gets babied.

If someone has some experience and can educate me as far as what types of questions I should be asking the companies as I'm choosing that would also be helpful. If you have used a company and can provide feedback I would also appreciate it.

 

I'd save the $ spent on shipping and wait a bit and drive it there yourself.
I'm thinking that by the time you hire a company to deliver it it'll probably be at least mid Jan before
it gets to Texas anyhow. What's a few more weeks.
Levi

 

Drive it yourself. Idaho to Texas ain't even that far.
Go get it, have fun. 1100 hundred miles straight, maybe 1500 miles by way of roads. That's only 2 twelve hour days at the most.

 

If you want to ship (I'd rather drive too) and want the best, most secure company, look up Intercity Lines. Not the cheapest by far, but in this case you get what you pay for: Total, 100% peace of mind. I used them earlier this year for a cross country shipment. Flawless in every way.

http://www.intercitylines.com/

 

Sorry, I guess I should have worded this differently. I wasn't asking for people to vote on rather I should or should not ship the car. By the time I pay for my flight up to Idaho, gas, hotel, oil change, etc. It just isn't worth making the trip in order to save a couple hundred bucks. I drove the car up there last spring, and I'm well aware of how far it is. I made the drive because the weather was good and the trip was enjoyable. Anyone that thinks it would be safe for me to drive my car back by mid February has never seen an Idaho winter. It could easily be mid April or even May before the weather cooperates so I can drive the car home through several high mountain passes.

I can't use Intercity, because they don't ship along my route.

If anyone has some helpful information about shipping a car I would love to hear it.

 

I had a good experienced from DAS auto shipper. It was about $1500 coast to coast in an enclosed trailer. It arrived in less than a week. Give them a try...

 

try this: http://www.uship.com/

 

Thanks

 

The shipping industry is about as sleezy as it gets if you're looking for a low price. The brokers get $2-300 for commission. The brokers take your order, put it up on a board for truck drivers to see, if your price is too low nobody picks it up. Then they tell you to raise the price if you want it shipped. In the end you may as well spend the extra money for a dedicated shipping company with their own enclosed trucks (there aren't many in existance if you really do the reaserch, and they're expensive). Otherwise your car can be manhandled by who knows who. Not all of the enclosed trucks are the same, some have vinyl siding and no floor under the car above, making it possible for your car to be leaked on by fluids, especially if you get a vintage American car on top. And do some research on what happens if your car is damaged, the fine print of the paperwork usually takes all responsibility off the broker and trucking company. The more quotes you get the more you'll be hounded in the future. It's a mess.

Drive the car yourself. Use one of the temporary clear-bras for protection.

 

I'd suggest shipping via open trailer if you're trying to save money. You'll be up higher then if you drove it, so less worry about chipping and road debris. You could always get some 2" painters tape and tape off the nose, but I personally wouldn't even do that unless your car was a show car. The money and time you'd save can be spent on a couple track days.

Sorry I don't have suggested carriers. I shipped 2 cars once to Hawaii about 20 years ago. My wife's car they neglected to take off the container ship and it took 40 days for the ship to return from it's Guam-Long Beach rota. Then when my pickup was parked in the shipper's yard in Honolulu, a forklift dropped an empty 4'x8'x8' wood shipping box onto it, damaging every body panel except the tailgate (what was good after the fall was damaged when they dragged it off!). Needless to say I don't recommend Crowne Pacific ;-)