What's the Cheapest way to transport a car across country (insurance, best)

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by william1971

The cars in good condition and is an automatic, it's that I just hate to put the extra 2800 mile (or whatever it is) on the car.

What about renting a Van or something from Enterprise and towing my car behind it, can it be done (without telling Enterprise)?

You are thinking like an accountant, not like an engineer. Unlikely the 2800 miles you put on the odometer will make any difference when you sell or trade the car. If you plan to keep it till it's fully depreciated, it won't make any difference.

Now if you had a Jeep, for example, maybe trailering or towing it might make some sense, they generally don't drive well on the Interstate.

But for a garden-variety car, just driving it is going to be your cheapest and most practical option.

You could consider getting it mechanically checked out or check it yourself, pay attention to the cooling system, if your radiator hoses are more than about 4 years old you might want to change them before the trip - likewise if your tires are getting near end of life you might want to replace them before you go, since well-worn tires are easier for debris to puncture - but again your best and most practical option is to drive.

[piyf]

You're worried about putting 2800 miles on your car? You can't be serious? Unless you drive a Lambo or ZR1 I can understand.


And there's no way it only costs 100 bucks to rent it for 4 days and a one way at that. Doing a one way they all bend you over and make you pay more.

[sailordave]

Better off driving. Just did a search and I couldn't find a train service that will transport your vehicle where you need to go. Only car transport by train I found was from DC to Florida and you have to ride the train with the car. Keep a good emergency kit and a CB radio handy. Some places have no cell phone signal but you could pick up a trucker or cop in an emergency with a CB.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by william1971

...I just hate to put the extra 2800 mile ...on the car. Disconnect the speedo (2800 'road-miles' are EZ miles for the car, much better than 2800 city miles, less likely to break down too)

What about renting a Van or something from Enterprise and towing my car behind it, can it be done (without telling Enterprise)?

The rental company will want to know that you are towing and likely have a statement on the contract regarding such.

(They usually require an inspection of the towed equip and require you to use one of their dollies or a trailer.)

Are you shipping your other goods, or just traveling with a suitcase?

Likely best to ship 'stuff' and drive your car. I just drove a moving truck from Seattle to Dallas for a friend. 5 mpg @ $4.39 / gallon will cover some serious shipping expenses.

[43north87west]

Towing the car is a false economy. Shipping or driving are the cheapest ways. Shipping is surprisingly inexpensive.

All you need to compare is the difference between depreciation on your car, to the cost of extra fuel, rental vehicle, tow dolly rental, and extra time needed for towing (possibly an extra night on the road). It's no contest; driving is cheaper. Depreciation in resale value on your car is likely to be less than $300, unless you are driving a brand new car. It may be less than $200.

There is minimal wear and tear for a 2800 mile highway trip, especially compared to 2800 miles of city driving. If your car is in good shape, an oil change is probably all that you will need, and maybe not even that if it was recently done.

In reality, shipping is possibly the cheapest option. No hotels, no gas, no food on the road. But you may be without the car for a while on both ends of the trip.

[william1971]

Originally Posted by M3 Mitch

You are thinking like an accountant, not like an engineer. Unlikely the 2800 miles you put on the odometer will make any difference when you sell or trade the car. If you plan to keep it till it's fully depreciated, it won't make any difference.

Now if you had a Jeep, for example, maybe trailering or towing it might make some sense, they generally don't drive well on the Interstate.

But for a garden-variety car, just driving it is going to be your cheapest and most practical option.

You could consider getting it mechanically checked out or check it yourself, pay attention to the cooling system, if your radiator hoses are more than about 4 years old you might want to change them before the trip - likewise if your tires are getting near end of life you might want to replace them before you go, since well-worn tires are easier for debris to puncture - but again your best and most practical option is to drive.

I'm starting to think that you're right M3 Mitch. The hassle and work into trying to figure out a cheaper way of towing my car to California doesn't seem to be worth it. I was trying to figure out a solution to saving my car the extra 2800 miles but in the long run I'm sure it will be fine.

Great advice M3 Mitch on double checking hoses, tires, and cooling system before I leave!!!

[gpankaj1978]

Can you share with us here the carrier or the company you used ?

Thanks,

Pankaj

Originally Posted by MrRational

We did a smaller car in early 2010 from Ft Myers FL to Fresno CA for about $700.
Rancho Cucamonga would have been the same price.

My sons hatchback Focus.

I googled and got a national company who it turns out are really more like a broker service...
for the several smaller companies which did the actual hauling and where I dropped off and later picked up the car

[blackhemi]

I drove one car from Seattle to Georgia, and shipped one from Seattle to Georgia. Cost of shipping was more, but not by much.

Driving it was actually more fun. I took highways instead of interstates and got to see more of the county. Took me only 4 days with a lot of sightseeing.

[TechGromit]

Originally Posted by william1971

Drover, I called Enterprise rental and they'll rent me a car for 4 days across country for about $100 total!!!! Is it possible to put a hitch behind the rental and tow my car?????

Er I don't know where your getting your information from, but a quick check on the site I come up with $79 a day, total cost $296.67 for an economy car rented from Tampa and returned to LAX. There's no good way to attach a hitch to a car that will be strong enough to tow a car. They do make kits you can attach an after market hitch the underside of a car, but these are meant for small trailers, not towing cars. If you do what will probably end up happening is the car will break free while towing it and it will smash into something. Not to mention damage to the underside of the rental.

You going to need at least a standard 6 cylinder SUV to do any towing and that rental is going to cost you $650 just for the rental. A towing hitch it going to run another $500 and another $30 for a break light kit.

Originally Posted by motormaker

No rental company would approve this. Read this.

Well of course not, he wants to rent the car, drive it over to his house, attach a tow hitch to it, drive it across the country, remove the hitch and return it to the car rental company. But anything less than 6 cylinder SUV or truck will probably be damaged by the tow.

Originally Posted by MrRational

2800 miles @24mpg = 116.7 gallons @ $4.50/ = $525.

This was estimate cost to drive the car, but when towing something heavy like a boat or car, you mpg really suffers. I would guess you be lucky to get half this mileage, when towing something heavy like a 2000 pound car.

[Peerage]

Originally Posted by william1971

I'm looking to move from Florida to California and want to have my car towed out to Los Angeles. I've gotten quotes from moving companies and have called UHAUL but it's rather expensive ($1100-1500).

I've thought about calling Enterprise and renting a car to drive out to Los Angeles and attaching a hitch without telling them and towing my car that way.

Any ideas or suggestions on that. If not any alternative ideas to shipping my car would be appreciated.

Bit confused as to why you would rent a car and attach your own car to it when you can just drive it. Unless, you don't feel this car is reliable for the long trip. Maybe, you should sell it and buy another car when you get to your new home destination.