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Shipping a car cross-country

SteevLSteevL What can I do for you?Registered User regular
edited July 2017 in Help / Advice Forum
Next month my wife and I are moving from Illinois to California. We're dealing with a lot of things with this move, but one thing I'm working on dealing with alone is shipping my car over there. We each have a Toyota Corolla; mine is a 2004 model with standard transmission, while hers is an automatic from 2007. We've decided it would be easiest to make the 2000-mile drive in the 2007 vehicle since it's newer and she's more comfortable driving automatic.

I briefly considered selling my car here before moving and buying a new (or used) car out there, but honestly, I don't want to deal with the hassle. It's been a pretty reliable car. And so I've decided to try and ship it out west!

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions for finding a company to ship my car? I've gotten one quote from a company so far, and it was pretty expensive, but also about what I expected it would cost (roughly $1300). Or any other suggestions/ideas you can think of.

edit: update 7/13/2017:
All right, starting to lean towards selling my car now that I spent a few days visiting the place we're going to be living through next June, and it kind of cleared my head a bit. The problem is I need my car up to the week we're planning on making the move. Pretty tight schedule! I will try friends/coworkers first before trying something like Craigslist. There's also a Carmax about an hour away, so I might make a trek out to them to get a quote which will probably be trash.

SteevL on

Posts

  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    What are you moving your stuff with? UHaul has a trailer you can tow your car behind the truck.

  • SteevLSteevL What can I do for you? Registered User regular
    zepherin wrote: »
    What are you moving your stuff with? UHaul has a trailer you can tow your car behind the truck.

    We're moving our stuff in a UPack relocube, so basically we're shipping our stuff. We didn't want to deal with a moving truck on a 30-hour journey. The goal is for the trip to be just one car with my wife and I, our two cats with their chorus of sorrow, and whatever stuff we can fit in there (PCs, food, disposable litter boxes, etc.).

  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    we did it a long time ago and that number seems about right. I think we had the option to have it home delivered or for cheaper pick it up at a depot type place which is what we went for.

    make sure you get the car cleaned before you drop it off and note any and all dings/scratches etc. if its dirty they will use that as an excuse to say it was there before us but we couldn't see it.
    you also can pack some stuff in the trunk, but weren';t allowed to have stuff in the seats etc.

    camo_sig.png
  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    SteevL wrote: »
    zepherin wrote: »
    What are you moving your stuff with? UHaul has a trailer you can tow your car behind the truck.

    We're moving our stuff in a UPack relocube, so basically we're shipping our stuff. We didn't want to deal with a moving truck on a 30-hour journey. The goal is for the trip to be just one car with my wife and I, our two cats with their chorus of sorrow, and whatever stuff we can fit in there (PCs, food, disposable litter boxes, etc.).

    Do you have a trailer hitch on your car?

  • SteevLSteevL What can I do for you? Registered User regular
    mts wrote: »
    we did it a long time ago and that number seems about right. I think we had the option to have it home delivered or for cheaper pick it up at a depot type place which is what we went for.

    make sure you get the car cleaned before you drop it off and note any and all dings/scratches etc. if its dirty they will use that as an excuse to say it was there before us but we couldn't see it.
    you also can pack some stuff in the trunk, but weren';t allowed to have stuff in the seats etc.

    Good call. From what I have read about shipping cars these days, they want the car to be completely empty of personal effects and to have the gas tank down to about 1/4th a tank to keep the weight low.
    zepherin wrote: »
    SteevL wrote: »
    zepherin wrote: »
    What are you moving your stuff with? UHaul has a trailer you can tow your car behind the truck.

    We're moving our stuff in a UPack relocube, so basically we're shipping our stuff. We didn't want to deal with a moving truck on a 30-hour journey. The goal is for the trip to be just one car with my wife and I, our two cats with their chorus of sorrow, and whatever stuff we can fit in there (PCs, food, disposable litter boxes, etc.).

    Do you have a trailer hitch on your car?

    Nah, neither the car we're driving west nor the one that I'm planning on shipping there has a hitch.

  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    SteevL wrote: »
    mts wrote: »
    we did it a long time ago and that number seems about right. I think we had the option to have it home delivered or for cheaper pick it up at a depot type place which is what we went for.

    make sure you get the car cleaned before you drop it off and note any and all dings/scratches etc. if its dirty they will use that as an excuse to say it was there before us but we couldn't see it.
    you also can pack some stuff in the trunk, but weren';t allowed to have stuff in the seats etc.

    Good call. From what I have read about shipping cars these days, they want the car to be completely empty of personal effects and to have the gas tank down to about 1/4th a tank to keep the weight low.
    zepherin wrote: »
    SteevL wrote: »
    zepherin wrote: »
    What are you moving your stuff with? UHaul has a trailer you can tow your car behind the truck.

    We're moving our stuff in a UPack relocube, so basically we're shipping our stuff. We didn't want to deal with a moving truck on a 30-hour journey. The goal is for the trip to be just one car with my wife and I, our two cats with their chorus of sorrow, and whatever stuff we can fit in there (PCs, food, disposable litter boxes, etc.).

    Do you have a trailer hitch on your car?

    Nah, neither the car we're driving west nor the one that I'm planning on shipping there has a hitch.

    plus it's a corolla. that ain't towing shit. Though a roof rack and box is not out of the question.

    camo_sig.png
  • SteevLSteevL What can I do for you? Registered User regular
    Also, we're not too worried about cramming the car with stuff for the move. The place we're moving into is pre-furnished and some of our pots and pans are going to get there before us via our future part-time roommate. Long story!

    I've used UPack before for shipping my stuff and was pretty happy with them. The less I have to worry about my stuff and the more I can concentrate on our poor feline friends, the better.

  • VishNubVishNub Registered User regular
    Basically you post on one of the many websites that start this process then you get spammed by 10-20 companies.

    Pretty much just pick one. There's a bunch of middlemen between you and the truck, and My experience was that they all have awful reviews. On the other hand, I've done it twice and it was fine both times. I basically went with the intermediate cost option, because the cheapest options seemed sketchy.

    All of that said, 1300 is pretty high. We did LA to dallas for 600 and GA to CA for 700, I think.

    It's best if you, or someone you trust, can be there to drop off and pick up the car at the end.

  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    i feel like this is one of those things where you don't take the lowest offer

    camo_sig.png
  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    It's a shame you cant pay a buddy 500 bucks and a train ticket.

  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    zepherin wrote: »
    It's a shame you cant pay a buddy 500 bucks and a train ticket.

    Also hotel for at least one night but probably two if you want them to not kill themselves driving. Then food for the two/three days of driving and the 50 hours on the train ride back. Also gas for the two thousand miles of driving to be done.

    $500 is real low and you could easily spend half of that on expenses of the trip. You'd quickly be paying them less than minimum wage for the pleasure of taking a week to do you a favor and that's if you just count driving time.

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • BrainleechBrainleech 機知に富んだコメントはここにあります Registered User regular
    Really because of the questionable prices of cars here I have been looking online for one
    But the fact some of the sellers refuse to ship a car or use a certain service does raise a lot of questions I don't know how to look up

  • mRahmanimRahmani DetroitRegistered User regular
    Seems to me like the cheapest/easiest thing would be to each drive a car. Plot out a couple of interesting destinations on the way and make a fun road trip out of it. It also means you've got a backup car right there if you have a breakdown in the middle of nowhere.

    Grab a set of walkie talkies if you take that suggestion, fun to use and a lot faster for "hey I need gas this exit" than a cell phone.

  • SteevLSteevL What can I do for you? Registered User regular
    mRahmani wrote: »
    Seems to me like the cheapest/easiest thing would be to each drive a car. Plot out a couple of interesting destinations on the way and make a fun road trip out of it. It also means you've got a backup car right there if you have a breakdown in the middle of nowhere.

    Grab a set of walkie talkies if you take that suggestion, fun to use and a lot faster for "hey I need gas this exit" than a cell phone.

    If we didn't have the cats, we'd definitely be taking a more leisurely ride across the country. We want to preserve their sanity and get them to our new home ASAP, though.

    Back when I was first thinking about the trip, I considered two-carring it and also thought of the walkie-talkie bit. The downside is that it puts each of us behind a wheel for The whole journey. I'd prefer to be able to swap off every 2-4 hours. Not completely ruling it out, but it's looking less likely.

  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    1300 sounds very high

    i cant remember the name of the website but I looked into this once and found a place that just bids it out, because this is a fairly common thing for shipping antiques and show cars, so basically you can just hitch a ride on a trailer that's already going

    from FL to IL was like... maybe 300?

  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    zepherin wrote: »
    It's a shame you cant pay a buddy 500 bucks and a train ticket.

    Also hotel for at least one night but probably two if you want them to not kill themselves driving. Then food for the two/three days of driving and the 50 hours on the train ride back. Also gas for the two thousand miles of driving to be done.

    $500 is real low and you could easily spend half of that on expenses of the trip. You'd quickly be paying them less than minimum wage for the pleasure of taking a week to do you a favor and that's if you just count driving time.
    I mean I have friends who'd help me with it for 500 bones, but they'd crash in our hotel and ask for gas, but honestly I'd just sell the car and buy a new one there.

  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    Keep in mind the cost is by mile and gas. East coast to west is two mountain ranges that will guzzle gas so it will cost more

    camo_sig.png
  • tinwhiskerstinwhiskers Registered User regular
    You are spending 1/3 to 1/2 the vehicle's value just to ship it. Even if you don't get screwed by one of the transport companies, it's just a waste of money. Just sell the car and buy a different used car in California, where the roads don't spend a third of the year caked with salt.

    6ylyzxlir2dz.png
  • KetarKetar Come on upstairs we're having a partyRegistered User regular
    I've shipped a car from Illinois to California (and then on a ship to Hawaii) and another car back a year later. I wish I could recall who we used, but in both instances it was the preferred company for my wife's employers who paid for the moves. The price you're quoting seems pretty comparable to what I recall for the IL-CA portion - maybe a little bit more, but the return trip for us was about 4 years ago so not terribly surprising that prices might be a bit higher.

    Fwiw, we had no problems with either transport. Not even a scratch on either vehicle. I would gladly opt to do so again over trying to take two vehicles on that drive.

  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    How are you shipping it? Autotrain from FL to Maine is like 200 bucks. Shipping in a truck is way more expensive.

  • DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    Enc wrote: »
    How are you shipping it? Autotrain from FL to Maine is like 200 bucks. Shipping in a truck is way more expensive.

    Auto train travels from Florida to DC only.

    What is this I don't even.
  • SteevLSteevL What can I do for you? Registered User regular
    Enc wrote: »
    How are you shipping it? Autotrain from FL to Maine is like 200 bucks. Shipping in a truck is way more expensive.

    I hadn't even thought of this as an option. Seems neat, but quick googling seems to indicate that this service is only available on the east coast.

    Selling the car is definitely an option, but that's something I've never done before and the process sounds like a pain.

  • StraygatsbyStraygatsby Registered User regular
    We had exactly this problem moving from SoCal to Seattle. Weirdly, we also have two Corollas.

    I ended up driving the first up, loaded with everything we weren't able to ship or could fit in the car. I then took a standby flight back south and all of us (2 people + 2 cats) crammed into the 2nd Corolla for a much more leisurely drive.

    It turned out to be really relaxing, and it let us focus on the health and sanity of our cats (and ourselves) on the way up during the 2nd trip.

  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    funny enough the car we shipped was a corolla

    camo_sig.png
  • dispatch.odispatch.o Registered User regular
    SteevL wrote: »
    Enc wrote: »
    How are you shipping it? Autotrain from FL to Maine is like 200 bucks. Shipping in a truck is way more expensive.

    I hadn't even thought of this as an option. Seems neat, but quick googling seems to indicate that this service is only available on the east coast.

    Selling the car is definitely an option, but that's something I've never done before and the process sounds like a pain.

    I've known people to load one car up and go. Then on their first visit back, get one way tickets and do the drive again. It does mean you have to have a place to store the car and I don't know I'd want to do Illinois to California in the late fall or winter to finish off a vacation.

  • BrainleechBrainleech 機知に富んだコメントはここにあります Registered User regular
    Some of the questions I have are what do I need to pick up the vehicle?
    Where do you dump it off? as I guess it's one of the many car haulers I see parked in the lot at work.
    These are just some of the questions I have for the companies that haul cars I see people on ebay or other car online things use

  • SteevLSteevL What can I do for you? Registered User regular
    All right, starting to lean towards selling my car now that I spent a few days visiting the place we're going to be living through next June, and it kind of cleared my head a bit. The problem is I need my car up to the week we're planning on making the move. Pretty tight schedule! I will try friends/coworkers first before trying something like Craigslist. There's also a Carmax about an hour away, so I might make a trek out to them to get a quote which will probably be trash.

  • SteevLSteevL What can I do for you? Registered User regular
    I ended up bringing my car over to Carmax. I was expecting an offer around $500-750 at the most, but to my surprise they offered $1200! I have a week to decide to sell it to them. I think I'll try putting up a flyer in the breakroom at work on the off chance that someone there would be interested in paying a little over that.

    Funny how this thread changed from "I need to ship my car" to "I'm going to sell my car" but I guess that's H/A for you!

  • Jebus314Jebus314 Registered User regular
    SteevL wrote: »
    I ended up bringing my car over to Carmax. I was expecting an offer around $500-750 at the most, but to my surprise they offered $1200! I have a week to decide to sell it to them. I think I'll try putting up a flyer in the breakroom at work on the off chance that someone there would be interested in paying a little over that.

    Funny how this thread changed from "I need to ship my car" to "I'm going to sell my car" but I guess that's H/A for you!

    I mean, telling someone that it's time to break up is like the default H/A response. Seriously, dump her (the car) already. It's time to move on.

    "The world is a mess, and I just need to rule it" - Dr Horrible
  • spool32spool32 Contrary Library Registered User regular
    Jebus314 wrote: »
    SteevL wrote: »
    I ended up bringing my car over to Carmax. I was expecting an offer around $500-750 at the most, but to my surprise they offered $1200! I have a week to decide to sell it to them. I think I'll try putting up a flyer in the breakroom at work on the off chance that someone there would be interested in paying a little over that.

    Funny how this thread changed from "I need to ship my car" to "I'm going to sell my car" but I guess that's H/A for you!

    I mean, telling someone that it's time to break up is like the default H/A response. Seriously, dump her (the car) already. It's time to move on.

    Don't forget to delete your car's facebook

  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    spool32 wrote: »
    Jebus314 wrote: »
    SteevL wrote: »
    I ended up bringing my car over to Carmax. I was expecting an offer around $500-750 at the most, but to my surprise they offered $1200! I have a week to decide to sell it to them. I think I'll try putting up a flyer in the breakroom at work on the off chance that someone there would be interested in paying a little over that.

    Funny how this thread changed from "I need to ship my car" to "I'm going to sell my car" but I guess that's H/A for you!

    I mean, telling someone that it's time to break up is like the default H/A response. Seriously, dump her (the car) already. It's time to move on.

    Don't forget to delete your car's facebook
    And your car isn't pregnant.

  • DjeetDjeet Registered User regular
    I've only gotten crap wholesale offers from carmax. On one they offered $6K (got $9K private party) and on another they offered $7K (got $11K private party). Both got sold through craigslist, but I was willing to list it for about 6 weeks. You'll get a lot of lookie lous and BS phonecalls.

    If the carmax quote sounds good to you I'd list it on CL for a bit more and indicate that it's a no dicker price. You might be able to get more, but you've got the carmax offer to backstop if it doesn't move this week.

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