Auto transport service recommendation?

[rustbucket]

I'm thinking of buying a Ti that is 500 miles distant from me and need to have it shipped.I would appreciate input from anyone who has had a car shipped lately as to costs and service(companies to avoid).I'm in Lancaster,Penna. and car is in Indiana.Thanks.

[M-technik-3]

Amtrack or Bus out to it. Sleep the ride. Drive it home save you the agravation. How I picked up mine.

[96cali]

I believe one of the sponsors on bf.c is a transporter. Must be OK or at least easy to check feedback. IIRC Sk8nmidget transported his red clubsport and had some recommendations on not getting locked into a transporters schedule and waiting forever till they get another car coming your way.

[dahamler]

http://www.dasautoshippers.com/

[aceyx]

Where in Indiana? I'm going out for the MotoGP race mid-sept. You can hitch a ride and drive it back if you want.

[zboot]

I drove my car about 1500 miles back home when I got it - also was a pretty good way to learn to drive a stick

[rustbucket]

Thanks for all the replies but I guess I should have provided more details,I work 6 days a week and don't have any vacation time left so I kinda need the car to come to me.

[cooljess76]

Okay here's the deal. Understanding that you have a heavy work schedule, a six day work week leaves you one day. It's possible to drive 1000+ miles in one day however getting out there would be the limiting factor. The obvious benefit of picking the car up in person would be the ability to check it over before you hand someone the money. With all the scams and shady deals going on these days, there's no way I'd buy a car without seeing it in person and driving it for a while first.

That being said, I would think most employers would be willing to let you take a sick day or perhaps leave early the day before, or schedule your day off at the end of one week and the beginning of the next so you'ld have two days in a row considering the circumstances. However if taking a little time off to make a purchase of this nature is out of the question, perhaps you'ld be interested in this other option:

I bought a motorcycle on ebay a couple of years ago for 500 bucks. I knew it wasn't running, but the seller had a clean title and provided very detailed photos upon my request. The bike was overall in excellent shape for it's age so I decided to go through with the transaction. Now my dilemma was how was I going to get it from upstate NY to SoCal for a reasonable cost. Since I only paid 500 bucks for the bike, I couldn't justify spending more on shipping than the bike itself. I did some research and found a site called "uship.com". Basically the site works just like ebay. You list your freight and transportation companies bid on it. There are major carriers as well as smaller independent carriers registered on the site.

I was looking for a smaller carrier to help keep the cost down since I really wasn't risking much. A 318ti is much different than a '73 honda cb350. Anyway, there's two listing options. One is a normal auction style and the other is called "Book it Now". You could see the similarity with ebay. I used the book it now feature which required me to list a price that I'd be willing to pay. By doing so, I agreed to accept the first offer that met my requirements. My asking price was 400 bucks and the very next day, I received an email from a small company located in Tenino, WA. It's a husband and wife team, the wife books the freigt from home while the husband is on the road.

We spoke on the phone and she informed me that her husband was in the northeast part of the country and would be willing to transport my bike back. I paid her via PayPal and 3 days later my motorcycle arrived at my doorstep. The awesome thing was that the seller turned out to be a dick and went fishing the day the carrier was supposed to pick up the bike. The carrier was so cool, he camped out in the guys driveway for 6 hours until the seller returned home! Then when he got to Cali, I was out of town at Laguna Seca Raceway watching MotoGP! Luckily my dad was home and signed on my behalf. Of course my dad gave the guy a generous tip for his troubles which I later reimbursed.

Sorry for the long story, but I just thought I'd share my experience with you because I was really impressed with this company's service and it might prove useful to you. FWIW, I feel lucky to have even stumbled across uship.com as I didn't even know it existed. If you want you could skip them and go directly through the company that helped me. Their name is Jade Auto Services(Auto & RV Transport) (360)264-5474 and they operate with a big ass dually pickup w/fifthwheel and a trailer. IIRC my dad said they had two cars, my motorcycle and a couple engines in the bed of the truck.

[L84THSKY]

Funny.....I used uship to transport a 55" DLP Loewe TV from Cali to NY. The shipping was $600.00. I don't wanna know what a car would cost.

[zboot]

Well, uship is essentially an auction site where people bid for your transportation business. So, prices will vary.

[pnosker]

I live in NJ and just bought my ti from Ohio, flew one-way and drove the 500 miles back.

[americanautomoving]

rustbucket, if you are still looking for someone to ship you car, check out our website. We are American Auto Moving and we would be more than happy to ship your car. Request a quote from our site! www.americanautomoving.com