Auto Shipping - Brokers vs. Trucking Company direct

[cmccuist]

I'm having a horrible time getting someone to move my '82 930 from New Hampshire to Texas. I contacted several companies and received quotes all over the map. Everywhere from $875 to $2,300.

It turns out, the companies that give you a quote on-line are all brokers. They quote you a price and then get some trucking company to agree to the price. I've read some bad reviews, but it is really the trucking company, not the broker, who is directly responsible for the quality of the service.

I used the J and S Transportation web site to get a quote and then someone from J and S called and told me there was a glitch in the software and the price would be a lot higher - whatever.

I'm trying to get this done as the seller (who is a great Pelican - jrottn) wants that part of his shop back. The car doesn't have an engine or tranny which makes it harder.

Does anyone have any experience with a trucking company/car mover as opposed to a broker?

[stomachmonkey]

Brokers are scary. As you noted you never know what you'll get.

I had a guy move a few cars from LI to TX for me. $600 per car. He did the run once a week but it was a) an open trailer, b) car needed to run.

I used Horseless Carriage for the 190sl. Great service.

Your problem is you need door to door due to no motor which will cost you more regardless.

Whatever you do make sure the vehicle stays on the transport the whole way.

Some of these outfits operate like Fedex, they run to a central depot, offload, then shuffle cars back onto trailers depending on destination.

Problem with that is a car can sit at the depot waiting for a load to its destination. Could sit there for days or weeks.

[Laneco]

When you are shipping a non-op car, make sure you tell the shipper that the BRAKES including the PARKING brake work, the car rolls freely, and that the STEERING works.

You can also go depot to depot (rather than door to door). Have a local tow truck flatbed the vehicle from your place to the depot, and another at the other end.

Just a couple of ideas.

angela

[cmccuist]

How do I find out where the depots are? I could get the seller to bring the car to a depot as he has a car trailer. And I can pick it up at the depot in Houston.

Where are the depots located?

[widebody911]

I've been through this before. There's a couple of issues at play here. The broker pulls a number out of their ass based on some arbitrary formula and then hopes they can find a guy with a rig who is willing to do the job for that, minus the broker's commission, of course. If nobody wants to do it, your job will languish, all the while they will tell you the guy will be there next week to pick up the car. Secondly, if you're a bit off the beaten path, it will be harder to find a jobber. The "New Hampshire to Texas" bit isn't as important as where in New Hampshire and where in Texas.

I had a VW bus shipped from ABQ to Sacramento, and it took 3 months and 3 different borkers [sic] to get someone to take on the job.

[fintstone]

I have used a broker a couple of times (enclosed and nonenclosed)...and it went flawlessly each time. The price was quite reasonable. The broker I used was Bluestar.

[cmccuist]

This is exactly what I'm finding out. the broker gives a ridiculously low number, so no one wants to do the job unless they were going that way anyway. Hampstead, NH is rural, so no one is passing through very often.

Plus it makes it more difficult as the car has no engine! It's been three weeks and I still can't find anyone who wants this job. I may need to get it trucked to a central location for pickup. then I can pick it up in Houston no problem.

[javadog]

Never use a broker. You won't get to pick the transporter and there are way more bad ones than good ones. I've seen people that lost their cars and never saw them again. Even seen people on Pelican have that experience...

Contact Intercity, Passport/Fedex and make the arrangements. If you are flexible on the pick-up and delivery dates, and you let them know it, you'll get a better price.

I'd avoid Horseless Carriage like a case of the clap.

JR

[cmccuist]

Passport/FedEx came back with a quote of $2,300, but that's for fully enclosed door-to-door. Intercity was $1,650 which is what I would have paid the con man errrrrr broker for who knows what kind of service.

Wish I would have found out about Intercity 3 weeks ago.

[maxamillion]

Originally Posted by cmccuist

I'm having a horrible time getting someone to move my '82 930 from New Hampshire to Texas. I contacted several companies and received quotes all over the map. Everywhere from $875 to $2,300.

It turns out, the companies that give you a quote on-line are all brokers. They quote you a price and then get some trucking company to agree to the price. I've read some bad reviews, but it is really the trucking company, not the broker, who is directly responsible for the quality of the service.

I used the J and S Transportation web site to get a quote and then someone from J and S called and told me there was a glitch in the software and the price would be a lot higher - whatever.

I'm trying to get this done as the seller (who is a great Pelican - jrottn) wants that part of his shop back. The car doesn't have an engine or tranny which makes it harder.

Does anyone have any experience with a trucking company/car mover as opposed to a broker?

I've had similar experiences in the past... Brokers are all over the map with pricing depending on how much profit they want to make. Check this out Auto Transport Quote I've used this service in the past, you can sign up to receive the price the truck drivers are actually accepting to ship cars of the same size on a similar route. It's pretty interesting to see what prices drivers are actually taking. I saved about $150 and I had peace of mind that I was getting a good deal. At the very least this information will let you know which brokers are simply trying to rip you off, OR even worse the ones that take a deposit and never can get your car shipped because they gave you a price so low that no trucks want to pick up your car. Good luck with getting your car shipped.