Anyone ship an auto lately ? (Austin, Atlanta: sale, movers, brokers)

[MIKEDATIGER]

Shipping a car in the near future and there sure seems to be lots of shady, bordering on scam companies.

Can anyone help ?

[texastrigirl]

We had a corporate move and it was through Allied and they booked it all for us so I don't know the name of who they subcontracted with anymore. One word of caution...the bummer is you have 24 hours to ascertain if your car has any damage after it's delivered. Ours looked fine and seemed to drive fine...but we found out months later when we had it inspected to sell it that the exhaust system had been totally screwed up when they were backing it off the truck. It's such a weird angle coming off the truck and the mechanic said he sees it all the time for people who had their cars delivered during a move that it's torqued and bent out of alignment. It was $800 to repair it on a relatively brand new Infiniti G35.

[tiffngio]

We shipped two cars this summer. One driver was great - the other we got fired. Shady SOB. Determined that my car was to full and wanted an extra $80. Lost the decal on the front of my suburban. The final straw...claimed we would need to meet him outside of Austin since there are too many short trees here that would scratch the cars. He said this in Washington and argued with us when we told him there would be no trees above the roads. Still would not drive into our neighborhood. Good luck!

[Unclemeat]

I went the discount route recently on the recommendation of several people. Used these guys

Car Shipping | Auto Transport | Free Vehicle Shipping Quotes - Dependable Auto Shippers

You have to drop off/pick up the car at their locations, which is auto shops that are in their network. On the Austin end, the pickup spot was near the airport. Car arrived on schedule and with no excess mileage or any damage. Cost ~$550 to go from Milwaukee to Austin.

[gcrissman]

Thanks, I'll have to check them out. We have 3 cars, well 2 and a Jeep. I am not sure if I want to drive the Jeep from VA to TX, it's lifted with off-road tires so the gas mileage sucks!

Originally Posted by Unclemeat

I went the discount route recently on the recommendation of several people. Used these guys

Car Shipping | Auto Transport | Free Vehicle Shipping Quotes - Dependable Auto Shippers

You have to drop off/pick up the car at their locations, which is auto shops that are in their network. On the Austin end, the pickup spot was near the airport. Car arrived on schedule and with no excess mileage or any damage. Cost ~$550 to go from Milwaukee to Austin.

[SickOfCalifornia]

You have to be very careful with this. A lot of the online companies are really just brokers who book the middlemen. Before I moved, I got a few quotes for $300. Then my mover with Mayflower said I was asking for a problem if I paid that little. Often the cars can get delayed, misrouted, and finally end up somewhat far from you. Make sure the company the picks up the car is the same that delivers it, and that they will deliver it to your home. IMO, it's worth the extra money for the peace of mind. I've had some experience with the nightmare moves you always read about, and having been through it, the extra money paid upfront to avoid that calamity would have been worth every penny.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by gcrissman

Thanks, I'll have to check them out. We have 3 cars, well 2 and a Jeep. I am not sure if I want to drive the Jeep from VA to TX, it's lifted with off-road tires so the gas mileage sucks!

Yep, you're looking at $300 minimum, just for petrol, to make the drive. Not to mention the uncertain weather if you make that trip during the next 6 weeks or so. Never mind the 'dis' comfort of driving that rig for such a distance. Our neighbors make the trip to/from Norfolk a couple of times a year and shortly after making the 1000 mile drive out from Atlanta, we took a 'vacation' back to Raleigh/Smithfield(ended up being almost 4000 miles round trip! ) And that was in a new Volvo wagon that got 24mpg(petrol was closer to $4/gal that summer!). I don't envy the person driving, if that's the plan.

If I may tell a story, housemates were having a garage sale prior to moving from ATL to Palm Desert. Had planned to ship one vehicle with the movers, but didn't know who was going to drive the other such a long distance. Early in the garage sale, with the autos parked on the street to allow access to the sale goodies, a couple walked up and asked, "How much for the Galant?". About an hour later, they didn't have to worry about shipping or driving that car. Bought a new(used) car when they got out west! Funny how things work out!

[gcrissman]

We are not moving till the summer and if we move between when our niece graduates in May and starts work in July she will help drive the cars. I'd like to sale the 3rd car but since I off-road the Jeep my wife likes having the extra car in case I beat up the Jeep some and I need a week to "fix" a shimmy or something. Plus its easier to haul the dogs in the 3rd car (MDX) than the Jeep or other car.

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Yep, you're looking at $300 minimum, just for petrol, to make the drive. Not to mention the uncertain weather if you make that trip during the next 6 weeks or so.

[sliverbox]

We shipped a car from PA to CA about 3 years ago. The car arrived safely and it cost us about $700 all told, which honestly I didn't think was that bad. I dread the day we have to move ALL of our vehicles from Cali to wherever. We have 3. We'll probably drive one, ship the other 2.

[bpvarian]

I need to have a car shipped from CA to Austin. I called to get some quotes, filled out some online forms... those people are like roaches - won't leave you alone! I am concerned about the whole process as well...