We have a new update on The Future of the Penny Arcade Forums.

Shipping a car (and stuff!) across Canada

PrecursorPrecursor Registered User regular
edited May 2009 in Help / Advice Forum
Just like the title, i need to ship my car across Canada from Alberta to Ontario. What's the best way to do this?

Quashdom.png
Precursor on

Posts

  • wasted pixelswasted pixels Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    You'll want to use a car mover, and this looks like a good place to start getting quotes.

    wasted pixels on
  • BraincowBraincow Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    My girlfriend moved a car from BC to Ontario by rail. I don't remember the company, but it cost her about $900.

    Braincow on
    Brainchow.png
  • PeregrineFalconPeregrineFalcon Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    Braincow wrote: »
    My girlfriend moved a car from BC to Ontario by rail. I don't remember the company, but it cost her about $900.

    Probably Searail - they're pretty good from what I hear. Never used them myself.

    PeregrineFalcon on
    Looking for a DX:HR OnLive code for my kid brother.
    Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
  • vonPoonBurGervonPoonBurGer Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    Braincow wrote: »
    My girlfriend moved a car from BC to Ontario by rail. I don't remember the company, but it cost her about $900.

    Probably Searail - they're pretty good from what I hear. Never used them myself.
    It probably was Searail. I used them to ship my car from Vancouver to Montreal and it all went pretty well. It was a little over a grand, slightly more expensive than BC to Ontario due to the extra distance. I'd definitely recommend them.

    One thing I will warn you about, do not leave anything of value in your car when you ship it by rail. In fact, empty all the compartments (glove box, center console, etc.) of the vehicle and leave them open to indicate that they are in fact empty. Your car will spend a lot of time sitting overnight in large, desolate rail yards. These places are too big to effectively secure, so it's downright likely that someone will hop a fence and cruise the railside vehicle lots looking for stuff to steal. The yards themselves are secured from vehicle theft because they can't drive the car out past the fences and security checkpoints, but anything of value that can be carried back over the fence is liable to be stolen.

    In fact, when I found my car I found it with the doors unlocked. This makes sense if you think about it. If Searail locks the car, a thief will just smash a window to rifle through it. If they leave it unlocked, there's no damage and thus no insurance claim. When I picked up mine, the contents of the glove box were scattered around the interior of the car. Someone had definitely pawed through the car looking for anything of value. Luckily I listened when the Searail people told me not to leave anything valuable in the car, so they didn't bother stealing any of the few things in there.

    vonPoonBurGer on
    Xbox Live:vonPoon | PSN: vonPoon | Steam: vonPoonBurGer
  • PrecursorPrecursor Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    One other question. If i need to ship a couple boxes of stuff, what would be a good company to go with? I'll be shipping a TV along with a few odds and ends. Would it be better to try to sell this stuff than try to ship it?

    Precursor on
    Quashdom.png
  • Kate of LokysKate of Lokys Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    Precursor wrote: »
    One other question. If i need to ship a couple boxes of stuff, what would be a good company to go with? I'll be shipping a TV along with a few odds and ends. Would it be better to try to sell this stuff than try to ship it?
    Unless it's super-valuable or has a ton of sentimental value, you'll definitely be better off selling it. Shipping a TV is a pain in the ass, especially if it's a nice LCD or something. Sell it on Craigslist, buy something similar new or used in Ontario.

    Kate of Lokys on
  • bombardierbombardier Moderator Mod Emeritus
    edited January 2009
    Just so you know, FedEx will not ship personal items and UPS will ship it but will not insure it. Purolator had no problem shipping my 145lb steamer trunk from Ontario to BC and insuring it so I'd suggest them.

    bombardier on
  • CorvusCorvus . VancouverRegistered User regular
    edited January 2009
    I shipped some stuff from Victoria to Halifax and then from Halifax back to Vancouver. I just used good old Canada Post for it and it worked fine.

    However, shipping stuff is, IMO, a colossal pain in the ass. Sell anything you aren't highly attached to and then buy stuff in your new city.


    Is this a permanent move or a temporary relocation for school?

    Corvus on
    :so_raven:
  • PrecursorPrecursor Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    This is going to be a permanent move.

    I was getting estimates from CanadaPost, FedEx, Purolator, UPS, basically everywhere and it's costing as much to ship it as the thing is worth itself. Too bad it's the middle of the damn winter otherwise i could drive everything back home.

    edit: I just did an estimate from CanadaPost for my LCD TV. It's only going to be $46 with a $800 coverage. I still have the original box and styrofoam and everything. Is there a reason i should not do this?

    Precursor on
    Quashdom.png
  • GrimmyTOAGrimmyTOA Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    If it's non-fragile stuff, you can ship via Greyhound. It's slow, and depending on the destination you might have to pick your stuff up at a bus station -- but it's cheap. I wouldn't recommend trying it with a TV, but general household effects should be fine.

    GrimmyTOA on
This discussion has been closed.