Steve,
Ironic that this was just asked over on the Studebakers Drivers Forum.
I'll cut and paste my post here. While it doesn't answer your question...,
it does bring up things you should be aware of. - Tom
>>>I would just be cautious about ANY transport company. I'm not saying they
>>>are all bad, but when I was looking into transporting a car I opted to
>>>fly to the location and rent a truck/trailer based on the horror stories
>>>I read.
First, a lot of car transports are simply "brokers." They own no trucks and
likely work out of their home. They just contract with a shipper (acting as
a middle man if you will). They will offer a price, but it is based on a
shipper being willing to move the item - at that price. Typically you are
obligated by contract for 30 day. So, your car can sit, and sit, and sit if
no one is willing to move it at the price the broker is offering. Then they
call you and say they can get your car moving - at a higher price.
They will charge extra for "inaccessible areas," which the don't confirm
until they arrive. They charge something like $150 extra if the car doesn't
start - per event (all they have to do is leave a light on and claim the
battery is dead). This can really add up because a car may be on/off a
number of different trucks until it reaches your destination. This is
because some companies (or brokers) contract multiple shippers to take your
car to various locations to their logistical advantage. I've also heard of
cars getting half the distance and then sitting in a storage yard because no
shipper will take the rest of the journey. Then the storage yard charges you
because it's your car sitting there. I've heard of fees going so high it
wasn't worth the cost to get the car released.
Now, I have never personally experienced this, but in my search for a
shipper there were enough horror stories that I did opt to get the car
myself. The pain was lessened because the seller worked for Southwest and
gave me a free "Buddy Pass" for the flight. Most purchases typically don't
have a pleasant surprise though.
So, if you do ship choose a reputable shipper who will honestly guarantee
the price. Otherwise, in the end it may be better (and cheaper) to just go
get it yourself.
Tom (Almost been there, almost done that) <<<
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