Central US and shippng (transport company, rent, car insurance)

[maui-intoxicated]

I am in the process of getting auto transport quotes from Minnesota. The first quote was $9,500.

The second quote was for 2835 that's from MN to Long Beach Port, and then Port to Maui. It does seem crazy that it costs almost 3k to ship a truck from the middle of the country to the pacific... but I suppose if that's what it costs.

My employer is paying with a maximum $ so I do need to be a little savvy so I don't go over.


This wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't planning on shipping a POD which was quoted at like $5,300 and I need to be ready to unload the POD in maui.

At that price I think a container might be cheaper.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I hope you are not finished price checking, because that all sounds high to me.

Of course, with the inflation that the government insists is not happening, the dollar buys less and less. So maybe the dollar has lost so much value that that is what it costs now.

[maui-intoxicated]

You better believe I am getting more quotes. I know it takes me roughly 3 tanks of gas at $90 to drive my own truck to Long Beach.

Double what it would cost me to drive seems like a reasonable rate so I am willing to pay up to 1,000 to get it to the Long Beach port.

[maui-intoxicated]

I have a question as well. Do I need to do anything specific process-wise at the Long beach port, or can the ground transport company handle the ground to port transfer.

I am presuming this is already a streamlined process.

Also, is there a specific insurance I should be getting for this transport?

[maui-intoxicated]

I will answer my own question. Once you have setup a Matson Long Beach Port to Maui transport, matson provides a shipment number. The continental auto transport company will be able to complete the transfer to Port of Long Beach with that shipment number.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by maui-intoxicated

Also, is there a specific insurance I should be getting for this transport?

I suggest that you contact your car insurance agent. We didn't used a transporter when we shipped our car, we drove it to Long Beach ourselves. So I can't give you a specific answer, but I do know that we did not need additional insurance.

[hotzcatz]

A lot of mainland car insurance may not work in Hawaii, you may want to check that. And once your truck gets here, you're supposed to get a tax sticker on the bumper that says it's paid the road tax or whatever tax it is. You can keep your out of state license plates if you have the tax sticker. It will probably need a safety inspection, too, come to think of it.

[maui-intoxicated]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

A lot of mainland car insurance may not work in Hawaii, you may want to check that. And once your truck gets here, you're supposed to get a tax sticker on the bumper that says it's paid the road tax or whatever tax it is. You can keep your out of state license plates if you have the tax sticker. It will probably need a safety inspection, too, come to think of it.

Thanks for the info. I have done some reading on the vehicle inspections threads as well.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by maui-intoxicated

I am in the process of getting auto transport quotes from Minnesota. The first quote was $9,500.

The second quote was for 2835 that's from MN to Long Beach Port, and then Port to Maui. It does seem crazy that it costs almost 3k to ship a truck from the middle of the country to the pacific... but I suppose if that's what it costs.

My employer is paying with a maximum $ so I do need to be a little savvy so I don't go over.


This wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't planning on shipping a POD which was quoted at like $5,300 and I need to be ready to unload the POD in maui.

At that price I think a container might be cheaper.

Have you thought about driving to California? I've never driven to southern California from the twin cities, but the Google search look like it takes about 28 to 32 hours, which would be about 3 days. It's about the same distance from the Minneapolis to Key West, FL, about 1900 miles. I've driven that trip 3 times, each time it took 3 days each way. The airfare would be cheaper from LA to Maui than from Minneapolis, so that might wash out most of the motel, meal, and fuel costs.

Another alternative might be to have someone drive the car to California for you. I don't know how much that costs or anything the risks and liability involved.

To me, driving long distances is a big hassle, and is sometimes a lot of stress. I think I would drive to Florida or southern California when I'm retired and have a lot of spare time, rather than fly and rent a car for extended snowbird stays. However, in your situation, if you have the 3 days, that might be worth it to save $1,500 to $1,800 depending on the driving verses car shipping and flying cost differences.

[TwoByFour]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Of course, with the inflation that the government insists is not happening, the dollar buys less and less.

Not sure what you are talking about. Here are the inflation numbers published by the US Gov:
Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Looks to me like they are saying there is inflation.