Shipping a 911

[chervas]

I just purchase a 1988 911 from gentleman in Kansas City,MO and I live in Philly. I have no experience shipping a car. I am trying to decide if I should ship it or should fly and drive the car back. I am a bit skittish about driving 12k miles in a 19 year old car. Any suggestions, past experiences, other?
Thanks

[ipacketeer]

I believe you meant 1200 miles not 12K. I have driven mine (it was 19 years old) 600 miles in one day from northern NJ to Eastern NC with no A/C in the month of August, it was not bad at all. So it will take you about 2 days, stay in a decent hotel (with indoor parking) and you are home the next day. If you don't feel comfortable doing that the only choice you have is to have it shipped. If you do a search here you should be able to get some good advice on shipping.

[jtfreels]

I vote for driving it back! I bought my 82 in Denver last September, drove it back to Memphis, about 1200 miles. A great trip.
I guess you had a pre purchase inspection done? If all appears well I would not hesitate in doing the drive.

Just make sure you let us know your route, for any help you might need unexpectedly.

Jay

[widgeon13]

Find a buddy that will make the trip with you, get some misc parts just to have some back-up and have a cell phone and membership to AAA. Enjoy the drive, you'll be home before you know it.

[onboost]

Originally posted by chervas
I am trying to decide if I should ship it or should fly and drive the car back. I am a bit skittish about driving 12k miles in a 19 year old car. Any suggestions, past experiences, other?
Thanks

chervas,

Funny you should ask, I've done both.. Picked-up my dually tow vehicle while on a business trip a couple of years ago to KC, Mo/KC, KS.. same thing if you're down town on State Line road!

Anyway, drove the custom dually back.. stopped at Indy for the F1, and hit the road again headed East as soon as it was over.

The drive was a blast, I did 85-90-mph just about the whole trip through MO, Indiana, Ohio, and most of W.VA into MD until I hit 270S.. Oh and let me tell you.. the truckers running through those states are no BS, the fast lane is thiers.. they blew by me at 90 mph like I was standing stil!!

Nice drive.. not for the faint of heart..

Earlier this year I bought a car right there in that same area again.... Porsche. This time I had it trucked because I didn't want to run the mileage up and I didn't have time for the flight/drive...

Of course you've got a choice between open and enclosed transport. I went open this time, for this vehicle and was very pleased with the results and the care which the carrier provided.

One of the things I liked best were that thier equipment was up-to-date and fairly new, and they do not "tie down" by frame attachements. They use nylon hoops that cradle the tops of the tire and come down mid way..no damage to wheels etc..

Cost will run you between $750 for open and $1600 for enclosed..that pricing is good for middle of the country KS to the mid-Atlantic region.

Guys I used were:

RGG Transport out of Cheyenne WY..
307-630-3982 = Ron
Tell him that the guy he delivered the Porsche to VA said give him a call!

Paul

[gassy]

Drive it home! It'll be a great experience...as stated, AAA is great advice--make sure you get the 100 mile tow service. My buddy and I triedto take my '70 down to Tail of the Dragon last year but my car broke down in Louisville. We spent the night there drove a rental car home. I flew down a few weeks later and drove home. My point is that it was still a great time and many fun stories...also, there's always a Pelican close no matter where you are.
Christian.

[BrokeMyCar]

I remember being worried about my first long-distance trip with the car. I was apprehensive because if I didn't get back on time, I'd miss a presentation worth 100k of grant money.

What helped me a lot was to put my route into Google Earth and overlay a search for all the German repair shops in the area. Then I asked folks on this board for specific recommendations and overlaid those too. Finally, I made sure there was always one of these shops within 100 miles of any point on my route (as far as AAA-plus will tow). And I recorded all the greyhound routes/times.

In the end: total overkill. These cars are great!

Babak

[Noah930]

When I purchased my car, I drove it the 600-700 miles home. No problems. When I moved a few months later, I drove it the 1100 miles. Also no problem.

However, I have had it shipped once, cross-country. Intercity did a fantastic job; prompt pickup, enclosed trailer the entire way, the driver that picked it up was also the one who drove the entire way and dropped it off, only took a week (whereas other car companies have no estimate or guarantee of anything), etc. The cost was a bit more, but definitely worth it after the problems I've had with other shipping companies.

If you do drive, no matter the condition of the car, just remember that a 20 year-old car is ... well, 20 years-old. I'd second the above recommendations for AAA Plus (not regular AAA), cellphone, basic tools. I'd also bring along some electrical relays (the round red and black things in the front trunk), spare fuses, DME, spare belts, and that issue of Panorama that lists all the local/regional officers and their contact info, lug nut socket. Universal fix-it items like duct tape, coat hangers, fishing line (I used tennis racquet string, once), etc are also invaluable when you need to jury rig a repair. Seems like a headache, but the drive home will be phenomenal. You'll be grinning ear-to-ear the entire time.

[Jetjockey]

I vote for driving the car home. I purchased an 88 targa about a year ago and drove it home from San Jose to Atlanta. I did get a PPI from Jimmy Deering and he said the car should not have any major problems. I started the drive on my birthday and finished after 3 long days of mostly great scenery.

[JeffreyNMemphis]

I bought a 924s in New Hampshire and drove it 1200 miles back to Memphis. If I didn't think the car would drive 1200 miles, I would not have bought it in the first place. If I was knowingly buying a project car, then it would have been a different story.

Please tell us you got a Pre-purchase inspection?

[gestalt1]

i had my car transported by a car hauler service from oregon to chicago. it worked out ok but they put my car on the lower deck and a cutlass on the upper deck and it leaked oil all over it. the whole car smelled like oil for awhile. kansas to philly is'nt a bad drive this time of year.

[gtihop]

If you're unsure about it then ship it. It might cost a bit more but it's better than being stranded somewhere! My recommendation based on experience- don't use Hansen's !!

[Macroni]

I live in Philly it is an easy ride; go for it.

Alternatively, I just shipped a car in from Boulder w/ Intercity. Fast and very professional. The car was babied.

[azasadny]

I just drove my '74 from Detroit to Ft Myers, FL and back (3300 miles) and no problems. Nice trip, really!

[swa911]

Drive it home.
Here is what I'm doing in the next 2 weeks.
flying to NC and driving a 78SC with 170k+ on the clock back to TX then./...

driving my 87 Targa 2300 miles to Oregon

Now that's some driving.