Anyone ever ship a car?

[SuzySunshine]

Has anyone ever shipped a car during their cross country move? We are driving a leisurely pace as a family of 4 (with the dog) in my new car.

We are debating what to do with our 2nd car for the move. We have two options, we either ship it with a car moving company which seems to range from $850 - $1050 or my dad has volunteered to fly out here and drive it back for us which we would of course pay for (or the hospital will if we don't spend all of our moving budget). He just likes to drive, he'd probably drive up through Montana and see a buddy, etc.

Having him do it with one way airfare, 2-3 nights in a hotel, and gas I'm estimating would cost us about $700-800.

I'm leaning towards asking my dad to do it, he volunteered, we trust him and it looks like it will be cheaper. Plus we'd have a lot more flexibility with dates with him, it looks like most auto moving companies give you a window of 2-10 days when they think they can pick it up, that seems like a lot.

But in case we don't go that route, anyone have an auto moving company they've used before?

[oceanchild]

I think you should have your dad do it, but my ILs have used this company twice without problems: http://www.angelstransport.com/ Their website is basically useless, and I don't know how local they are (they're out of Redding, CA).

ETA: They were shipping from Reno to Virginia. And somewhere else I can't remember, haha.

[alison]

Have your dad do it! We looked into it for Chicago-PA, and it was such as hassle in terms of the windows of times they'd give us. You can't bank on when you'll get your car.

[diggitydot]

I used to work in an industry that regularly dealt with vehicle transporters. Avoid them at all costs. They are ridiculously unreliable and tend to be expensive.

[GrayMatterWife]

I've never done it, but I have a friend from Hawaii who had to ship her car to California. Bad, bad experience. If you'd like, I can try and get the name of the company.

[MissCrabette]

The company we used was the only one shipping to our particular island, so we didn't have a choice and an opportunity to compare reputations and things like that. They damaged our car and claimed I'd left it already damaged in their parking lot. I had pictures of the car in perfect condition, but the damage was under the car, and all the oil leaked out. I don't know how the engine was fine after all that. So in light of my experience, I wouldn't do it again. Have your dad do it. You trust him, and he'll get a bit of a vacation in the process.

[SuzySunshine]

Thanks guys, to be honest that is kind of what I was hoping for. I worry about something happening to my dad out there by himself but at the same time I know he's so much more reliable then a moving company and DH LOVES that car, if something happened to it on a trailer he would be crushed and pissed!

[JDAZ11]

We shipped one last summer without much of an issue (they did break the side mirror and DF didn't notice until the next day... $400 oops!). His mom handled the reservation etc, but I don't think it was all that expensive. If you change your mind I'll ask her for the details.

[MrsK]

Our experience shipping a car from Fla to Ohio was so bad that we sold the car rather than send it to ks.

[poky]

We didn't have any trouble with shipping my car from Oregon to Ohio, but I don't remember which company we used. I'd definitely have your dad drive it if it really will work out.

[SuzySunshine]

Well I just talked to my parents and the other option they threw out was towing it ourselves. My new car has a hitch so I'll have to look into a trailer rental. Since DH's car is AWD all 4 wheels would have to be off of the ground which would hurt our gas mileage but still may end up being the cheapest option...

[Deebs]

With gas prices predicted to be $5/gal this summer, I honestly don't know what I'd do. We have a few friends who have shipped cars cross country with no problem and others where it was very inconvenient. If your dad comes, will he road trip with you? It might be kind of fun (in a really sick sense, I guess).

[peggyfromwastate]

I would not tow it. You're going over mountains. Not worth it. Our car is set up for towing too (suburban) but we wouldn't do that. Plus imagine the hassle of parking. Everywhere you go.

[Auspicious]

We used All American Transport last summer and were pleased with them--they did everything as they said they would and behaved professionally.

If you're making a leisurely drive across the country, you'll probably need a friend or family member to act as your proxy either at pickup or at delivery, because your car is likely to make the trip faster than you do and they have to have someone to sign at both ends. We had that problem and ended up driving the car to my parents' in IL (where we were making a stopover anyway) and having it picked up there after we left.

Good luck! Moving sucks, but then it's over!

[Flynn]

We had one car shipped on the hospital's dime. It was super easy and it got there safe and sound. DH didn't start his job for 3 weeks once we started the move so it worked out great.