Need to transport a car: Boston to L.A.

[911pcars]

Does anyone have any connections to a reputable source to transport a car? My new brother-in-law is moving to L.A. from Boston and doesn't want to drive it 3000 mi. It's a Subaru Forester, FWIW.

Some of the companies he has contacted sound a little dubious.

Any ideas about cost and who to contact (recommendations)? Anyone have a race transporter heading to the west coast and wants to take a fuller load/defer some costs?

Thanks,
Sherwood

[TerryH]

Probably cost about twice the value of the Subie.


Fed ex ships cars. Intercity is another major player.

There's auto transport reviews.... http://www.transportreviews.com/

[Rick Lee]

I'm going through this right now with the wife's Mini. This is a business rife with scheisters. They stood my wife up Friday night without calling. And the communication wasn't great before that either. She had to fly to Phoenix Sat. and left a cashier's check with a friend who has the car now. They say it will be tomorrow or Tues. now.

[911pcars]

Hey,
That helps. I'll forward that link to B-I-L.

Sherwood

[TerryH]

Originally Posted by 911pcars

Hey,
That helps. I'll forward that link to B-I-L.

Sherwood

You may want to inform your BIL that many listed transport companies on that site don't own a single truck and serve only as brokers/dispatchers.... and money takers. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but should be aware anyway.

There are big discounts for open trailers and flexible times.

[911pcars]

Much appreciated.

Sherwood

[NICKG]

i had great luck with DAS when i had my 914 shipped out to nj from San diego

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Would he want it driven out? I need to go to LA next week.

should only take 54 hours or so.
54 hours in a 69 E

yes, I'm serious.

[id10t]

DAS and Intercity both have good reps in the 356 world...

[stomachmonkey]

Depending on who he is using to move his furniture and how full the load is he may be able to stick it in the truck.

Some places won't do it. Others will.

FedEx is an option but they are not cheap.

Driving it does not really cost a lot less.

Boston to LA is ~3000 miles.

Assume he gets 25 mpg he'll need 120 gallons. Figure an average cost of $3 per.

Gas and tolls will cost him around $400.

He needs to eat, figure another $50-75.

Unless he drives straight through or sleeps in his car figure another $75-100 for hotels.

Should not have a problem finding an open transport in the $600-800 range.

The diff of a couple hundred is not worth the hassle to drive.

As far as finding someone.

Using a broker will generally get you a lower price but you will have less exposure to what is going on and less control of the pickup dropoff times/locations.

One important question to ask is if the vehicle stays with the same transport from start to finish.

A lot of these guys will pu cars from one area, say Boston, with dropoffs in FL, TX, CA, WA etc...

They run the cars to a depot in someplace like Ohio, unload and reload with cars heading back to the Boston area.

The cars they drop off sit there waiting for a full load to their destination.

Car could get on a truck same day or could sit there for a couple of weeks.

[TerryH]

I'm guessing open carrier for less than $1200 is going to be a bargain. Fuel surcharges must be about $500+ now.

Open transported my SC from Los Angeles to Atlanta last spring and it was $880. Diesel fuel was a buck a gallon cheaper then.

[OnTheRun2]

I'm going through this right now. Just the other direction. DAS is been great to deal with. A quote of $600 from LA area to Boston area, for open trailer.

[Joeaksa]

Rick Lee just had Paul Morgan drive his BMW from VA to Phoenix. I stored the car for him until he got to town.

Just another option to think about...

[The Gaijin]

Wait a sec.

Is this Subie a 49 state EPA spec car? What year is it?

Can it be registered in California even?? Haven't they had their own specs for a number of years? I know New York and a few other states have adopted these more stringent rules - but not until lately...

[TerryH]

Originally Posted by OnTheRun2

I'm going through this right now. Just the other direction. DAS is been great to deal with. A quote of $600 from LA area to Boston area, for open trailer.

Wow, I'm surprised. DAS is well respected, but they start low and any extras, like insurance, can be additional. Did the car actually ship at this price?

[911pcars]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

Would he want it driven out? I need to go to LA next week.

should only take 54 hours or so.
54 hours in a 69 E

yes, I'm serious.

Shaun,
I asked BIL about this option, but he wanted to minimize miles, wear and tear, etc. Otherwise, this would have worked out for you too. Thanks.

Originally Posted by The Gaijin

Wait a sec.

Is this Subie a 49 state EPA spec car? What year is it?

Can it be registered in California even?? Haven't they had their own specs for a number of years? I know New York and a few other states have adopted these more stringent rules - but not until lately...

This may be an issue, but BIL is aware of it and is willing to deal with it.

Good comments from all and helpful for future movers and shakers.

Thanks,
Sherwood

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by 911pcars

Shaun,
I asked BIL about this option, but he wanted to minimize miles, wear and tear, etc. Otherwise, this would have worked out for you too. Thanks.

thanks for checking Sherwood. good luck on the transport! When I had my 84 Targa shipped from San Jose to Boston, it took 6 weeks from the day I called to the day it arrived, they charged a $100 dead battery fee (it was a new battery and started right up pulling it off) and it was $1300 total 4 years ago.

My mistake was using a broker (didn't know they were a broker). Using a name brand will make for a better experience I'm sure.

[Scuba Steve]

I'm moving from WA to TX, and if someone from the company will tell me what carrier they're using to move the cars I'll post here. I'd imagine it'd be a reputable group since the company probably does a lot of business with them.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by The Gaijin

Wait a sec.

Is this Subie a 49 state EPA spec car? What year is it?

Can it be registered in California even?? Haven't they had their own specs for a number of years? I know New York and a few other states have adopted these more stringent rules - but not until lately...

This is only an issue with a low mile, less than 5000 I think. As long as all the stock stuff is in place, it is all good. This is how I registered a '79 Super Beetle in Cali with no cat converter

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Rick Lee just had Paul Morgan drive his BMW from VA to Phoenix. I stored the car for him until he got to town.

Just another option to think about...

I'll do it, but I'll need a trunk full of guns just like last time, enough for a coup d’état.

That's how I ride. Bad Company, I can't deny.