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Thread: Shipping a car East to West coast

  1. #1
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    Shipping a car East to West coast

    Since I have no personal experience with this, I thought I would ask the collective wisdom of the forum for some help. My oldest son, who is active duty Navy is being transferred from Mayport, FL to Monterrey, CA. His wife and newborn will be flying, and he will be driving one of their vehicles to CA. That leaves him with another vehicle that needs to get across the country.

    I was wondering what any of you might have done shipping wise for your vehicles, and perhaps some general price guidelines so I can set his expectations. This will be coming out of his pocket, so keeping costs down are a significant concern!

    If I have left out any significant details, just let me know. Thanks in advance for any information you all might have!

    Regards,

    Steve

  2. #2
    RBachman's Avatar
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    When I was active duty (USAF) they shipped cars for us with a permeant change of station. He may want to check on base and see if he can get the Navy to move it for him.

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  4. #3
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    RB-

    Thanks for reaching out. I thought a PCS move -- especially a cross country move, would trigger them to handle shipping your car too. The word I got is that they will pay for him to drive one POV, but the other one is his responsibility. I was disappointed to learn this myself.

    Thanks for your response!

    Regards,

    Steve

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    Depending on the car, and open or closed trailer. From $900 to 1500
    Factory Five Racing Roadster MKIV -- #9196 -- 347ci, 475 HP, 5 Speed, Plymouth Prowler Orange Metallic

  6. #5
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    Would towing the second vehicle be an option? (since he's making the drive anyway)

    I would think $0.75/mile may be a good estimate. www.uship.com
    Dave
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  7. #6
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    RAMRob-

    Thanks for the estimate of pricing. So far, he has been getting numbers that are twice those figures. He has one quote that is in the range you describe, but he is still gathering info.

    Dave-

    My first suggestion was towing his other car with the Durango. However, it is a 1999 with 250K + miles, so I am not sure the old girl could handle the trip, especially with the added weight of the trailer and car. I would hate to see him stranded in the middle of nowhere, and have to figure out how to deal with a broken SUV and a trailer that has to be returned; all while having a fairly strict report date. I do like the idea, and if things were a bit different, it would make the most sense!

    Thanks for the link. I will have him check it out to see if it makes sense!

    Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to respond! I am grateful for all the feedback and ideas. I will post what the final decision is, as soon as he sorts everything out.

    Regards,

    Steve

  8. #7
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    I was in the auto transport business for a couple years. If he knows anyone that has a Central Dispatch account (dealers etc) that is where most of the cars ship through. In any event he should be able to ship on an open carrier for the .75 per mile or even less.

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    AZRealtor-

    Thanks for the response. I don't think he knows anyone with a Central Dispatch Account, but I will check with him. $.75 per mile or perhaps a bit less will be a good reference to share, and affirms what Dave posted above.

    Thanks again for your feedback!

    Regards,

    Steve

  10. #9
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    Cost on those UShip type sites are mostly densest on timing the longer you give them, the cheaper it is.

    I gave up on shipping from Texas to Arizona. I rented a I haul pickup and trailer and picked it up myself.
    Factory Five Racing Roadster MKIV -- #9196 -- 347ci, 475 HP, 5 Speed, Plymouth Prowler Orange Metallic

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  12. #10
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    Hi Steve,

    I had a car shipped from Palm Springs to Columbus in 2012 and it cost me about $990. When I shipped my donor from NY, I used the same guy. You can try Tige Yeargin of the Auto Shipping Group at 602-428-6882. Great customer service and he'll search for a good rate for you. If I had to ship a car again, he is who I would call first.

    Good Luck,
    Anthony

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  14. #11
    Not a waxer Jeff Kleiner's Avatar
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    Drive car #1 east to west...buy one way plane ticket back east...drive car #2 east to west. Lots of driving but probably the least costly option.

    OR

    Sell the old Durango in Florida and replace it with a similar beater once they get to California. Is it really worth the expense of having it transported?

    Jeff

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Kleiner View Post

    Sell the old Durango in Florida and replace it with a similar beater once they get to California.

    Jeff
    And there is your answer.

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  18. #13
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    RamRob-

    Thank you for your additional reply. He now has his eye on that site, and we will see how things go as he gets closer to decision time.

    Anthony-

    Thank you for the recommendation. I have passed the information along to him, so he can look into them. It is always great to have a first hand recommendation, and I appreciate it very much!

    Jeff-

    Thank you again for the additional thoughts. The various options of driving then flying/driving again, etc. have been tossed about. Ultimately, it will come down to flight costs added together with estimated gas/lodging/food etc vs. shipping. We even discussed me following him and making a father/son road trip out of it. All of these options are on the table until we see how they compare to cost of shipping.

    I think you and I talked about selling current car in FL and buying similar replacement in CA; still a serious contender in this process!

    We are still holding out hope that Uncle Sam will ship the car for him. When I was in (a hundred years ago), I recall it being standard practice depending on distance, family status, etc. So far he has been told no, but he has been searching for the person who says yes! I will post a follow-up to let everyone know how it turns out.

    A sincere thank you to everyone who has taken the time to respond! Your experiences and opinions have been helpful as he works through this process; y'all are terrific!

    Regards,

    Steve

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    I'd first check and see if the military might pay for it. They might not since it's personal and not related to a change of station, but you never know. Failing that, I might look at companies that move cars and offer military discounts. Not sure how many are out there, but I know that A-1 Auto Transport, Inc. does have one and every little bit you can save will help. It is not cheap to have a car shipped across the country! I've done it twice and it definitely made me question how badly I wanted to keep the car. Of course I did in both cases.

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