What Do We Know About Automobile Shipping?

Dave Coleman of the late great SportCompactCar once wrote about medulla badidea. Car guys have a particularly enlarged one in which we fantasize, conceptualize, and in very bad cases, act on what could best be described as bench racing. You've built entire cars in your head because of it.

I really want that 39 Ford in Dallas. Its got a running flattie. But it would be a 1,000 mile adventure. Not one I'm prepared to do in winter.

So, automobile shipping. I know there are bigtime carriers. What is a cheaper way to do it. Any personal experiences? Even if they could only get it half way, it would be an improvement.

This is the next logical step in a fully actualized Medulla Badidea.

A friend of mine has used a broker called easy auto ship a couple of times recently (one actually in progress right now) and they've been super easy to deal with and pretty reasonably priced. Can set it up over the phone or totally through email if you want. A couple of months ago enclosed trailer shipping from texas to ohio was a little over $1000 IIRC, TX to IL would probably be about the same I'd guess. Open trailer would be cheaper of course.

In reply to dps214 :

Thank you.

Appleseed said:

Dave Coleman of the late great SportCompactCar once wrote about medulla badidea. Car guys have a particularly enlarged one in which we fantasize, conceptualize, and in very bad cases, act on what could best be described as bench racing.

You mean like taking a tape measure and deciding that a WRX drivetrain should fit in an R53 Mini chassis?

Srsly go for it.

I've used the brokers twice; once to ship a race car from Michgan to Vegas and once to ship my mothers car from Florida to Vegas. This way seems to be the cheapest. The race car went in an enclosed hauler, that was $1300. My moms car went on an open carrier and that was $1000. Note we just had her car shipped back in October so that price is current.

I have shipped I don't know how many cars over the years...it has to be at least 25.  In fact, in my current fleet 4 of them were shipped in.  I've never had a bad experience with UShip.  They are a broker who puts your shipment up for bid, almost Ebay style.  Carriers bid on it and you pick who you want.  

Recently, I've started working with Tempus Logix directly instead of through UShip.  They are fabulous.  Great communication, good prices and very quick.

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

I couldn't remember the name but Uship was the one I used.

Following.   I received a quote from Mercury Auto Transport today that seemed pretty reasonable ($500 for 600 miles) considering the cost of fuel these days.  1200 miles in a borrowed or rented pickup would probably cost me $400.

I suspect the price may go up once i start getting specific about pickup dates, but at least it's a reasonable starting point. 

EDIT: maybe that price is a little too good to be true...U-ship included quotes that were $728 + service fees to $900 w service fees.

John Welsh to the courtesy phone...

Uship all day for best pricing. 

But lower your expectations, now wait a bi, then lower them some more. Car transport even in the exotic world is just horrible unless you want to pay 2.5x the uship rate.  

It was $800 to ship a car from Chiba Japan to the port of Baltimore.  I paid slightly more for enclosed shipping of my Lotus from FL to PA.  It was not a 'brand name' carrier but he had the same kind of truck.  

I can't count how many cars I've had shipped, it's a ton....as recently as a week and a half ago.  uShip is great.  Put a listing on there and see what happens.  You'll get the carriers competing with each other.  All of my experiences have been great, except one.  SGT Auto Transport royally screwed one up.  Otherwise, great service.  Tempus Logix and Montway have done very solid jobs for me recently.

In reply to Hoondavan :

Your quote of $500 for 600 miles is .83 cents per mile.  I figure that is for open trailer.  From 2015-2018 I shipped many car and could get (with some effort) prices of 50c per mile on 1000 routes.  In these modern time I'd bet that's now more like 75c per mile.  So, 83c per miles is a pretty good deal.  

U-ship is a shell of what it once was.  It used to be a place where independent owners went to find work.  The intention was that the website served as a virtual broker.  Now, Uship is stuffed full of real brokers.  They quickly reply back to you with giant prices.  The goal of the broker is to get you to say yes at $xxx and then AFTER you say yes, they try to find a independent owner to do it for $xx.  The difference in those prices, $X, is how the broker makes profit.   

All of this still doesn't mean that this company, Mercury, is not a broker too they just might not be the most exorbitantly priced broker.  Paying the broker a higher rate doesn't guarantee that you'll get a higher quality driver.  Regardless of what you pay the broker, the broker will still seek out th cheapest driver he can find.    This is what Weary is eluding to in his comments of low expectations.  

John Welsh said:

In reply to Hoondavan :

Your quote of $500 for 600 miles is .83 cents per mile.  I figure that is for open trailer.  From 2015-2018 I shipped many car and could get (with some effort) prices of 50c per mile on 1000 routes.  In these modern time I'd bet that's now more like 75c per mile.  So, 83c per miles is a pretty good deal.  

U-ship is a shell of what it once was.  It used to be a place where independent owners went to find work.  The intention was that the website served as a virtual broker.  Now, Uship is stuffed full of real brokers.  They quickly reply back to you with giant prices.  The goal of the broker is to get you to say yes at $xxx and then AFTER you say yes, they try to find a independent owner to do it for $xx.  The difference in those prices, $X, is how the broker makes profit.   

All of this still doesn't mean that this company, Mercury, is not a broker too they just might not be the most exorbitantly priced broker.  Paying the broker a higher rate doesn't guarantee that you'll get a higher quality driver.  Regardless of what you pay the broker, the broker will still seek out th cheapest driver he can find.    This is what Weary is eluding to in his comments of low expectations.  

John, you're spot-on.  In their follow-up email they indicated they were a broker and that the actual prices would be dependent on what the carriers are willing to complete the job.  The quote they provided is just a rough estimate and the actual cost would depend on how quickly I need it shipped, and if a carrier is willing to do it at a price I'm willing to accept (and include the broker's margin).  

Ah, a different approach.  Like I laid out for Uship, those brokers gets your commitment at a high price.   

Your contact seems to want to get your commitment at a low price with the understanding that the price could (very likely would) be higher.  

I recommend that you try a Uship listing.  But read all my words in this thread and the thread linked within it.  

I would also throw a Airtag tracker in your car before it starts your journey , 

I almost lost a car because the Uship shipper decided he did not want to go cross country and put it in a local storage unit at my cost , 

for a week or two I had no idea where my car was !