Car Hauling Question
 

It seems I'm asking a lot of questions these days...

Can anyone recommend the names of honest car hauling companies? I will need to have three, perhaps four cars moved from Florida to Iowa. The vehicles are:

83 911SC
83 944
86 944
03 Saturn Vue (may or may not need to be hauled)

Also - do you know if anyone gives volume discounts for that many cars?

And yes - we're planning to move to Iowa. There. I said it.

My boss recently bought a (second) BMW M3 that he had shipped from FL. It was literally only two weeks ago; IIRC he paid something like $900 from FL to CA and it was a fully-enclosed trailer. Good company, driver was a good respectable guy who called with periodic position/ETA updates, etc. I'll get the name for you.

Thanks Jeff - I would appreciate that.

Mitch

Intercity has a good rep in the 356 world. I've never needed 'em for mine - the AAA flatbed trailer on the other hand.... :)

Thanks for the tip on Intercity - I just emailed them for a quote.

Mitch

Intercity is a big outfit. I recently had my C4S transported from Naples to New York by www.roadscholar.com.

I used a broker. www.countrywideautotransport.com They were fantastic and got me a great rate. They set me up with roadscholar. Not sure if you'll get a better rate direct or thru the broker. Also used enclosed. They arrived a day early too.

Here's a hint....call FAR in advance of when you need to get them picked up.

Best,
J

Make sure they COVER your car during transport. Make sure they do not use it for a backup transport if their main transport breaks down. Make sure they are responsible for any, and I mean any, damage during transit. Most of all make sure they have been in buisness for at least 5 or more years and have a fixed address that you can file suit with.

I'm guessing Intercity would be twice what Jeff's boss paid.

Ask if they will run without a full load. If the car stays on the truck from a-b or if they use transfer stations. Some of these guys do it like FedEx, run to a central location, unload and reload. Bad for two reasons, risk of damage and the possibility that the car sits in a transfer station for days or weeks.

Tampa Bay -> Iowa. Prepare to be rich my friend. Gotta love cheap midwest living, even if the scenery sucks.:)

Where in Iowa? I grew up about 100 miles north of Des Moines. Recent life events may have us moving back to Iowa in about 5 years too.

JrDavid - we purchased a house in a very small town (2,500 people) just west of Iowa City. But it's still a functioning town - a couple of diners, pizza parlor, ice cream shop, etc. No fast food (a plus) but that kind of stuff is out near the freeway about six miles away. We'er both originally from Minnesota so the weather won't be a shock - at least not after we get used to it again.

We bought our house here in Tampa Bay just as the market peaked - we knew the market was going to fall but thought we'd weather it out (it's waterfront - big bucks). But we don't want to anymore. It seems our lives are in a rush 24/7 and we're tired of it. As onewhippedpuppy alluded to, our mortgage will be decreased by nearly 90% - our income should remain the same minus now having to pay state income tax.

Unfortunately, we'll probably have to sell a bit short - hopefully it won't be too painful but at what we're shelling out per month here, we have incentive to price it right and move it as quickly as possible.

As for the scenery - we're trading the blue water for a sea of green corn. It's not such a bad trade. And - we can walk to a town park, the ice cream shop or the newly built grocery store.

Thanks again for the replies - I've gotten a few quotes.

Mitch

Iowa is a beautiful, clean state. I'd live there over Florida in a heartbeat, but then I think that Fla. is a swamp.

It is beautiful - and has a stable, well education population. People, by and large, are friendly. It used to be that way (friendly) on the Gulf coast of Florida, too - but that has dimished greatly - at least where I'm at.

It's also the only state I've seen that offers free WIFI in freeway rest areas.

I guess you get used to the smell of pig crap