Have you ever had a car shipped across the country?

[shopmore]

I need to look into this,but before starting I was wondering if anyone has any tips, tricks, or recommendations for reliable companies. It would also be nice to know which ones to avoid too.

[audette]

I would avoid any company that might be associated with International Auto Logistics. They hold the current contract for shipping vehicles for military members moving overseas. And they are doing such a poor job of it that some servicemembers have started a class action lawsuit against them. (late shipments, inaccurate information on the location of vehicles, damage to vehicles, etc)

[CallingAllAngels]

Aug 29, 2014 7:53:01 GMT -5 RockNVoll said:

Yep, from CA to MA. That was eight years ago but all the research I did at the time consistently brought up one company: Dependable Auto Shippers (DAS).  We did the depot-to-depot option rather than door-to-door to save some money and it worked out great. 

We used DAS to ship our car from CA to SC 8 years ago.  We had a fantastic experience. 

[FishChicks]

Our two cars were shipped from Los Angeles to Minnesota last fall. My employer used Reindeer Relocation and they did a great job. There was a miscommunication on arrival so the cars were dropped at my hotel before my flight landed, but that worked out great for me because I had spare keys with me and could go do errands as soon as I arrived.

[y4m]

I had a great experience with All American Transport from CA to DC

[tealblue]

I used Dependable Auto Shippers as well. It was 7 years ago but I didn't have any problems. Car was inspected at delivery and then my husband met up at the dropoff point a few days later. It was reasonably priced as well.

[marclovesme]

I got bids through a quote site first, then went through reviews of the companies with the most competitive quotes here: www.transportreviews.com/.

I spoke at length with two of the companies and was told (by both) that these companies use "an auction system" where they post a job at $x and wait for a driver to pick it up. I waited nearly two months before my car shipped out because the quote was pretty low, but I wasn't in a hurry. I can't stress enough looking at reviews and talking to the companies if you go through a process like I did - also use a "junk" email because I was inundated for a few days.

[shopmore]

Aug 29, 2014 7:53:01 GMT -5 RockNVoll said:

Yep, from CA to MA. That was eight years ago but all the research I did at the time consistently brought up one company: Dependable Auto Shippers (DAS).  We did the depot-to-depot option rather than door-to-door to save some money and it worked out great.  At most I think I had a tiny ding on my Civic and DH's Jetta was a beater anyway, but nothing you wouldn't expect from transporting your car >3000 miles on the open road.  I would definitely use them again.

You can look up general moving tips (cars and otherwise) on the boards and articles at www.movingscam.com.  Based on the advice there, I remember dropping--I think it was our collision insurance--to a super low amount for the time they were going to be in possession of the car and that saved us some more money.

Thanks for the website info. I'll check it out. It looks like there are great tips to be had there.

[shopmore]

Aug 29, 2014 8:25:20 GMT -5 audette said:

I would avoid any company that might be associated with International Auto Logistics. They hold the current contract for shipping vehicles for military members moving overseas. And they are doing such a poor job of it that some servicemembers have started a class action lawsuit against them. (late shipments, inaccurate information on the location of vehicles, damage to vehicles, etc)

Thanks for letting me know what to avoid. I Googled the whole auto transport this morning and if I would've seen that this company worked with the military I would've assumed it was pretty good.

[shopmore]

Aug 29, 2014 9:39:01 GMT -5 marclovesme said:

I got bids through a quote site first, then went through reviews of the companies with the most competitive quotes here: www.transportreviews.com/.

I spoke at length with two of the companies and was told (by both) that these companies use "an auction system" where they post a job at $x and wait for a driver to pick it up. I waited nearly two months before my car shipped out because the quote was pretty low, but I wasn't in a hurry. I can't stress enough looking at reviews and talking to the companies if you go through a process like I did - also use a "junk" email because I was inundated for a few days.

Thanks for the website.  I'm combing through it now.  There are so many to go through.

[dr.girlfriend]

My parents shipped their old car to us (Texas to PA). Don't remember the company, sadly, but it worked out great. It was about $1500 IIRC.

[shopmore]

Aug 30, 2014 6:04:00 GMT -5 melmaria said:

Yes, I had my car shipped from CA to DC in 2008, but for the life of me I can't remember the company. I do know that I used a bid website and then looked up reviews of each of the companies. They delivered my car right to my then-townhouse (much to all of my neighbors' chagrin). I think it cost just under $1000.

Aug 30, 2014 7:52:29 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

My parents shipped their old car to us (Texas to PA). Don't remember the company, sadly, but it worked out great. It was about $1500 IIRC.

Ahh, I wish I knew those companies too.  Mine would be from FL to IL.

[VillainV]

Aug 29, 2014 11:59:37 GMT -5 shopmore said:

Aug 29, 2014 8:25:20 GMT -5 audette said:

I would avoid any company that might be associated with International Auto Logistics. They hold the current contract for shipping vehicles for military members moving overseas. And they are doing such a poor job of it that some servicemembers have started a class action lawsuit against them. (late shipments, inaccurate information on the location of vehicles, damage to vehicles, etc)

Thanks for letting me know what to avoid. I Googled the whole auto transport this morning and if I would've seen that this company worked with the military I would've assumed it was pretty good.

They might not be awful, but they definitely are overwhelmed right now from taking over the contract at the beginning of summer, which is the busiest time for military moves.   It seems like they just didn't have all of their infrastructure in place to handle so much business...but that's all the more reason to avoid them.  They have their hands full right now with military customers.

Having said this, they have my car right now because I had no choice.   

[audette]

Aug 30, 2014 21:20:23 GMT -5 VillainV said:

Aug 29, 2014 11:59:37 GMT -5 shopmore said:

Thanks for letting me know what to avoid. I Googled the whole auto transport this morning and if I would've seen that this company worked with the military I would've assumed it was pretty good.

They might not be awful, but they definitely are overwhelmed right now from taking over the contract at the beginning of summer, which is the busiest time for military moves.   It seems like they just didn't have all of their infrastructure in place to handle so much business...but that's all the more reason to avoid them.  They have their hands full right now with military customers.

Having said this, they have my car right now because I had no choice.   

Ah, man... I hope you get your car delivered on time (or reasonably close to on time...)

[FrozenSunshine]

Dependable Auto shippers is who H's company contracts with. They've got my vehicle from Alaska to Washington as scheduled and from Washington to Illinois 3 days early.

[VillainV]

Aug 31, 2014 1:19:50 GMT -5 audette said:

Aug 30, 2014 21:20:23 GMT -5 VillainV said:

They might not be awful, but they definitely are overwhelmed right now from taking over the contract at the beginning of summer, which is the busiest time for military moves.   It seems like they just didn't have all of their infrastructure in place to handle so much business...but that's all the more reason to avoid them.  They have their hands full right now with military customers.

Having said this, they have my car right now because I had no choice.   

Ah, man... I hope you get your car delivered on time (or reasonably close to on time...)

Fortunately we had another car shipped privately (through Volvo), and have a third car that my parents kept for us while we were overseas.  The one being shipped is an older Prius that we're just going to sell when it gets here, so we can get by okay without it for a while.  In fact, if it somehow rolls off the ship, or gets lost forever, we won't be crushed....I'd kind of rather get the insurance money for it (though I'm sure the claims process with IAL would be a huge pain).

[midnightmare81]

Aug 29, 2014 9:39:01 GMT -5 marclovesme said:

I got bids through a quote site first, then went through reviews of the companies with the most competitive quotes here: www.transportreviews.com/.

I spoke at length with two of the companies and was told (by both) that these companies use "an auction system" where they post a job at $x and wait for a driver to pick it up. I waited nearly two months before my car shipped out because the quote was pretty low, but I wasn't in a hurry. I can't stress enough looking at reviews and talking to the companies if you go through a process like I did - also use a "junk" email because I was inundated for a few days.

This exactly.

I shipped a car from NJ to the port in Seattle to ship to AK. I told them what I wanted to pay and they posted it. Then an individual who owned a truck came to get it. I wasn't in a rush so I got a better price. I'm sure my car was picked up as a "fill the last spot on the load".

The only downside is because it went through a third party communication was more difficult as to when they were coming and so forth. They got delayed a few times and it was a challenge to figure out when to expect them since the shipper didn't communicate great with the company. I finally demanded the shippers direct #. It did help some but sadly he spoke little english so not as much as I had hoped.

My car arrived DISGUSTING (1 inch of solid mud) but otherwise fine. I don't know how much of the mud was from the cross country haul and how much was from the barge ride. It was an older model Jeep so I honestly wouldn't have noticed a few extra light scratches.

[amaristella]

Aug 29, 2014 8:25:20 GMT -5 audette said:

I would avoid any company that might be associated with International Auto Logistics. They hold the current contract for shipping vehicles for military members moving overseas. And they are doing such a poor job of it that some servicemembers have started a class action lawsuit against them. (late shipments, inaccurate information on the location of vehicles, damage to vehicles, etc)

I was coming here to say that. I think one of the most important things is to be standing next to the person who inspects your vehicle. Make sure they note every dent, scratch and ding on the proper form so that absolutely any damage they cause is their liability. Do lookout for companies that subcontract part of the job. If you're looking for door to door some companies may only have centers in major cities and subcontract the parts from your door to their shipping center. Vehicles are more likely to get left in random places for weeks/months at a time that way.

[amaristella]

Aug 29, 2014 11:59:37 GMT -5 shopmore said:

Aug 29, 2014 8:25:20 GMT -5 audette said:

I would avoid any company that might be associated with International Auto Logistics. They hold the current contract for shipping vehicles for military members moving overseas. And they are doing such a poor job of it that some servicemembers have started a class action lawsuit against them. (late shipments, inaccurate information on the location of vehicles, damage to vehicles, etc)

Thanks for letting me know what to avoid. I Googled the whole auto transport this morning and if I would've seen that this company worked with the military I would've assumed it was pretty good.

Yeah. You would think. But they only got the contract recently and it seems like they were not at all ready for the volume of business, among other things. I live in Hawaii where nearly every inbound family brings a vehicle and I cannot even tell you the volume of bitching I have seen about the new company.