Shipping a car

[Messerschmitts]

Hey everyone, I live in California and I'll be attending the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in August. I want to ship my car there. Does anyone have any experience with this? I'd like a ballpark figure on the cost. I went online and asked for quotes, but they all haven't gotten back to me, or they tell me that it's too early in advance to give me an accurate quote (I won't be shipping it until early August, obviously).

Also if anyone recommends a particular company that they had a good experience with, that'd also be great.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Flopotomist]

Why not just drive? However much it costs to ship will be far more than just driving it yourself.

 

[Messerschmitts]

Why not just drive? However much it costs to ship will be far more than just driving it yourself.

See, I didn't know that. In fact no one will even give me even a ballpark estimate. But I think driving it there might be way too exhausting. It will be several days on unfamiliar roads, with hotel and food expenses, and will add thousands of miles to my car's odometer.

 

[DrBowtie]

See, I didn't know that. In fact no one will even give me even a ballpark estimate. But I think driving it there might be way too exhausting. It will be several days on unfamiliar roads, with hotel and food expenses, and will add thousands of miles to my car's odometer.

vs. a probably $400 plane ticket?

 

[LT2]

hey fellow ucsd "pooler". i'm shipping my car (although i'd be driving somewhat farther than you). i was initially planning to drive and take a bit of time going across the country, seeing some things along the way (ie. yellowstone, mt rushmore). however, i did a cost analysis of shipping vs driving and it came out to be about even. with the cost of gas and hotels and the time i'd save, i chose to ship it. i've looked at a couple of shippers, das auto shippers seem to be a common choice for people. i've been looking at shipmycars.com. they've got a good rating with the better business bureau (das has an ok rating with them). good luck with your shipment!

you should take a look at airline ticket prices soon though as they'll only go up in price and you'll be looking at buying a one-way ticket.

 

[Messerschmitts]

hey fellow ucsd "pooler". i'm shipping my car (although i'd be driving somewhat farther than you). i was initially planning to drive and take a bit of time going across the country, seeing some things along the way (ie. yellowstone, mt rushmore). however, i did a cost analysis of shipping vs driving and it came out to be about even. with the cost of gas and hotels and the time i'd save, i chose to ship it. i've looked at a couple of shippers, das auto shippers seem to be a common choice for people. i've been looking at shipmycars.com. they've got a good rating with the better business bureau (das has an ok rating with them). good luck with your shipment!

Thanks, can you give me a ballpark figure? In the hundreds? Low thousands? Somebody please tell me something!

 

[LT2]

Thanks, can you give me a ballpark figure? In the hundreds? Low thousands? Somebody please tell me something!

hey, i think das gives instant quotes. try them. i think they offered $950 to ship from coast to coast...

 

[Mike59]

I sold a car one time and had it shipped to the seller, it's a very straightforward process. The cost of gas driving there and hotels would add up to probably the same or more than the cost of shipping, not to mention all the wear and tear on your car.

Find a reliable company, get adequate insurance coverage and make it happen!

Try ebay-motors and see who they recommend for shipping, that's probably a reliable bet.

 

[Scottish Chap]

Hey everyone, I live in California and I'll be attending the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in August. I want to ship my car there. Does anyone have any experience with this? I'd like a ballpark figure on the cost. I went online and asked for quotes, but they all haven't gotten back to me, or they tell me that it's too early in advance to give me an accurate quote (I won't be shipping it until early August, obviously).

Also if anyone recommends a particular company that they had a good experience with, that'd also be great.

Keep in mind that if you choose to use an auto driveaway agency, not only will it be expensive, but many of the people doing the shipping are internationals and students who just turn up and take the car one day. A few years ago I did this with two friends. We ended up driving a brand new Audi from Ohio to California, only paying for the gas. It handled quite well in the Utah desert at 125mph. We were young and irresponsible. It was a good deal for us but, since we usually drive on the left, I'm not sure how thrilled the owner would be if they found out. I hope that doesn't scare you too much, but do ask who will be doing the driving.

 

[jllander]

Hey! I shipped my car from California to North Carolina using Tn'T shipping. http://www.tnt-inc.com/ They were really awesome and I think it cost just about $1000. For me personally, I graduated June 11 and orientation started July 25. I didn't want to waste the few days I had with my family driving across the country. PM me if you have more questions. Good luck.

 

[Flopotomist]

When I priced it, it was around $1,200 (plus the $500 plane ticket for me). The other thing is there could be nothing left in the car, so I would have had to arrange to ship all the stuff I was going to load into my car (another few hundred dollars). Plus, you may not get your car for a few months after you ship it (they wait until the transport truck is full before it moves).

I don't mind driving long distances - you get audio books from your local library (mail them back when you arrive). They make the time fly.

 

[mjl1717]

That reminds me, seriously. Anyone have any idea how much it is and how long it takes to ship a car from Sweden to New York? Anyone have any info on this??

 

[tacrum43]

When I priced it, it was around $1,200 (plus the $500 plane ticket for me). The other thing is there could be nothing left in the car, so I would have had to arrange to ship all the stuff I was going to load into my car (another few hundred dollars). Plus, you may not get your car for a few months after you ship it (they wait until the transport truck is full before it moves).

I don't mind driving long distances - you get audio books from your local library (mail them back when you arrive). They make the time fly.

A few months??? No, it should be there in two weeks at the most.

 

[mjl1717]

Keep in mind that if you choose to use an auto driveaway agency, not only will it be expensive, but many of the people doing the shipping are internationals and students who just turn up and take the car one day. A few years ago I did this with two friends. We ended up driving a brand new Audi from Ohio to California, only paying for the gas. It handled quite well in the Utah desert at 125mph. We were young and irresponsible. It was a good deal for us but, since we usually drive on the left, I'm not sure how thrilled the owner would be if they found out.

A few years ago I did this with a friend form New York to Houston. We were going to med school in Mexico at the time. We only paid for gas. I can not say we were young and irresponsible, but I didnt realize this actually cost the service buyer more!

 

[Flopotomist]

A few months??? No, it should be there in two weeks at the most.

Read the fine print on the shipping contract. If you are using a reputable car shipping company (that actually puts your car on a truck as opposed to hiring somebody to drive it), the fine print will say something to the effect of "transport times may vary depending on shipping volumes." In other words - the truck doesn't leave until it is full.

 

[nycballet]

I recently shipped my car from Connecticut to California. I used North American Auto Transport (www.naatransport.com). They picked up my car, loaded it onto a truck and once the truck was full, they brought it to my house in CA, delivering cars on the way in order of drop-off points. It took them two weeks to deliver my car. It cost me $950. My car was fairly new and it arrived in perfect condition. I hate driving long distances and didn't even consider driving across the country. Yeah, maybe with some friends it would have been fun, but by myself I would have gone crazy. Plus, with the high price of gas, the hastle of having to find a place to sleep every night, and the possibility of accidents, I highly recommend shipping rather than driving. So, that's my experience. Hope that helps some.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

My mom shipped her minivan from Central California to Atlanta for $800 back in 2002. I imagine the price has gone up since then. I can ask her who she used for shipping if you would like.

 

[Frijolero]

That reminds me, seriously. Anyone have any idea how much it is and how long it takes to ship a car from Sweden to New York? Anyone have any info on this??

I shipped a classic car to Belgium a few months ago from the port in Baltimore and the buyer was able to pick it up about a week later. Once you find a company you want to deal with you can find out when they have ships leaving port. Add a day or two on the other end for dealing with customs. Cost was around 1000 euro, IIRC. If you can get hooked up by a military member abroad it's far cheaper, but you'll have to do some finagling. Wish I hadn't sold it....

 

[Dr.Who?]

Thanks, can you give me a ballpark figure? In the hundreds? Low thousands? Somebody please tell me something!

why don't you try calling the companies instead? DAS has a customer service line. and the only reason why they won't give you a quote for august is that they don't know if things will change and have to jack up the price to ship your car. the quotes you get now are only guaranteed for a week or so.

I shipped last october for $800 with DAS. (SoCal to KY) about 2 hours from Cincinatti.

and FYI some of the different websites are all affilitated with DAS, so you might just want to go through DAS directly.

when i returned back to socal, I think the price went up to $850...but i ended up driving back, gas was about 250 (avg 30 mpg) ...4 nights at hotels was about $300...however i caravan'd w/ someone else and my actual hotel cost was cheaper.

you can do the trip in 4 days of about 8-10 hours driving...we extended it longer than we really needed to, just to soak in some of the sights along the way.

 

[Messerschmitts]

Thank you to everyone who pitched it their advice! I'm going to ponder at my options some more before I make a final decision.

 

[mjl1717]

delete

 

[mjl1717]

I shipped a classic car to Belgium a few months ago from the port in Baltimore and the buyer was able to pick it up about a week later. Once you find a company you want to deal with you can find out when they have ships leaving port. Add a day or two on the other end for dealing with customs. Cost was around 1000 euro, IIRC. If you can get hooked up by a military member abroad it's far cheaper, but you'll have to do some finagling. Wish I hadn't sold it....

what does 1000 euro, IIRC = in dollars. im in the U.S.

 

[Scottish Chap]

what does 1000 euro, IIRC = in dollars. im in the U.S.

At today's exchange rate: 1000 euro=1,250.65 USD

 

[ablumoon]

Okay, before you go and take a company, go to www.transportreviews.com. It gives a list of all the auto shipping companies out there and reviews of them, given my customers. I chose 1st class auto haul (www.1stcallautohaul.com.) because the guy was very professional and had my car picked up the next day and delivered only 6 days later from Los Angeles to Baltimore, MD. It cost $1100 for last-minute service, and I think a bit less if you book in advance. Be sure to check out the first website though, I found it extremely useful (I'd also double check with the BBB, but sometimes its hard to find with national shipping companies).

I had my car shipped twice, once in 2003 and then again now, and the difference in price was about $200-300.

 

[Flopotomist]

what does 1000 euro, IIRC = in dollars. im in the U.S.

I gotta say, this is a great use of SDN. I mean, Google, Yahoo, Ask.com- no search engine could POSSIBLY help you find an exchange rate. Better to just post on SDN and pray that a total stranger looks up the current info for you, and then posts it.

 

[SoCuteMD]

If all of you CA people got together and planned to ship from the same place with the same company, that would help the truck fill faster.

Just a thought .

 

[alpenglow]

look up Auto Driveaway
they drove my car from Iowa to California
and a friend's car from California to Massachusetts with no problems...and cheap! ($500 for me, $300 for my friend)