So you want to transport your car...

[Toddasaurus]

On February 25th, 2019 I officially purchased my 2019 Genesis G70 from a dealership in the suburbs of Detroit Michigan. Problem is, I live in Portland, Oregon. The reason why I went halfway across the country to buy my car is because I'm stubborn, evidently. Long story short, my local dealerships were unable to get the exact car (ie color, trim) that I wanted, so I ended up looking at other dealerships. Low and behold, with help from a certain few members on this forum, I was able to locate my exact car.

Now, considering the fact that I didn't want to drive it all the way home (primarily due to time constraints, also I wasn't excited about driving over a thousand miles, much of it through ice/snow with summer only tires and very little sleep) I decided that I should ship my car back home. I assumed my dealer would do everything for me as long as I paid, but instead they offered me quotes from a number of companies and left it up to me to decide on which company and method to do it. This was a very stressful process, as I tend to overthink things, but in the end I learned a lot about how trucking companies ship cars all across the continental US. Here are the basics...

Automotive shipping companies, the ones that you can find via Google and whatnot, are actually the middle men of the auto shipping industry. That is, they don't actually own any of the trucks that do the shipping. Instead, these companies act as brokers, and set up contracts where automotive shipping groups will sort of accept these contracts or bids. This means you are actually dealing with two different companies when you ship a car. To illustrate, the companies I was given quotes from were Easy Auto Ship, AmeriFreight Car Shipping, Get it Done Transportation, and Auto Shipping Group. Each company gave me a price quote (except for one, the lady was a total a*****e), along with a rough estimate on when they'd be able to pick up the car. The thing is though, is that their 'quotes' and estimates are based on a potential contract that the company would make up, and the actual shipping companies could see these over a sort of switchboard, then bid on them. There are several contractors, if you will, that are able to bid on these contracts; but each company that you are working with has a slightly different list of approved contractors that they are willing to work with, most of which is based on customer feedback. That said, cheaper quotes might end up with somewhat more shady contractors doing the shipping. Cheaper quotes are also usually a little less specific on pick up dates and transport times (ie you may get a more broad range of potential dates). Generally speaking, more expensive quotes will potentially get you contractors that have a relatively better reputation, and are able to be more specific on times and dates.

After a couple days of stressing out and reading Google reviews on the 4 different auto shipping companies I finally understood the above information. I ended up using Get It Done Transportation to generate my quote. The actual auto shippers that did the transportation was called NAO Auto. After Get It Done accepted their bid, they gave me NAO Auto's contact information, along with the estimated pick up date, transport time, and actual total cost. I paid my "deposit" (which I'm pretty sure is just the actual broker fee) and the rest would be paid either in cash, money order, or cashier's check to the actual shipper. Anyway, NAO Auto ended up picking up my car about 2 days after their initial estimated pick up date. This wasn't a big surprise to me, as the liaison from Get It Done told me there usually is a 2-3 day variability. Anyway, my salesman kept me in the loop and sent me a picture of the truck as it was leaving...

(Hint, it's that goofy blue and white trailer looking thing in the background)





Transport time would take anywhere from 5 to 12 days! So I had to just wait. After 6 days went by, I decided to call NAO Auto directly, to see if I could get a better estimate. They told me that it would most likely be the upcoming Saturday, but that the driver will contact me 24hrs before delivery. On Friday night the driver called and told me he'd be there on Sunday. He called me again on Saturday to confirm he'd be there on Sunday, and that he'd be there right around 10am, and then asked about possible places he could park and unload my car. He was a good guy. Anyway, sure enough, Sunday at 10:30am I get a call from the driver stating that he's at the designated drop off area and that my car is ready to go!

And boy, was it a sight for sore eyes.....




The trucker took really good care of my car. Upon arrival he did an inspection and noticed a tiny scratch on the front bumper where it meets the hood. He notified the dealership, and they let me know about it. Other than this the car was in perfect condition and I can finally rest easy knowing my brand new car is okay.

After this experience I can't help but ask myself - would I do it again? The answer is probably no, not unless I had to. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret my decision to have my car shipped the way I did, because it was the safer way to go. But, there are just so many unknowns... You don't know which transport group will ship your car until you've already paid a deposit, and these truckers are usually so loaded with cars that it's hard to get specific time frames on everything, unless you want to pay a ton of money. The brokers/middlemen are also equally tasked with all these crazy bids going all over the country, and they simply don't have time to stay on top of every detail of every shipment with every customer. Weather and road conditions are also a major factor, along with potential random hardware and truck problems. Accidents happen, and although there is insurance (provided by the truckers themselves), you're still taking a gamble. In the end it's all kind of a clusterf*ck if you think about it.

Let me know if you have any questions about this process! I know my explanation is a bit jumbled and sloppy, and I'm sure I missed some important details; but, hopefully this helps those of you considering shipping your car!

 

[Beefer]

^ glad it all worked out!!! Enjoy your sexy ride.

Do you mind sharing the transport cost?

 

[EdP]

On February 25th, 2019 I officially purchased my 2019 Genesis G70 from a dealership in the suburbs of Detroit Michigan. Problem is, I live in Portland, Oregon.
After a couple days of stressing out and reading Google reviews on the 4 different auto shipping companies I finally understood the above information.

After this experience I can't help but ask myself - would I do it again? The answer is probably no, not unless I had to. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret my decision to have my car shipped the way I did, because it was the safer way to go.

Good information to know. First, congrats on getting the car you want and not settling for "close enough". I'm sure others will benefit from your experience.

 

[Mr. Incredible]

sounds way to stressful. I would never do it, CA has some stupid rules about importing vehicles, even 50 state vehicles. Not worth the hassle.

 

[COToad]

Great summation of the experience. After being in the car business for several years I will add my thoughts.

The shipper should do a thorough walk around of the car before picking it up, documenting any imperfections, scratches, chips, etc. Have your dealership send a copy to you before the car leaves the lot. You will get a carbon copy from the driver. There should be nothing to note on a new car being shipped, if there is you can discuss with your dealer how repairs will be handled.

Once the car is delivered, sign nothing until you look over the whole car inside and out. Inside for dirt/grease stains, cuts in upholstery, outside for scratches (especially underneath), for hydraulic fluid damage on the paint, chips, etc. Be ready to spray off the car if you didn't use covered transport so you can see if there are any defects under the dirt. Once you sign off, you have no recourse to get anything fixed by the dealer/transport company. Make sure the driver signs off on any items you find. The dealer and transport company will deny any claim made that is not documented.

I have seen a large number of transported cars get damage on the underside of the front end. The approach angle on many of the trucks is steep and the metal ramps are unforgiving. If your car is on a multilevel truck, hydraulic fluid and fluid from other vehicles transported with yours can cause paint damage. Many cars get interior damage as well, truck drivers get into your car several times to drive your car on and off the truck depending on where your car is placed in relation to other cars being delivered/picked up before and after yours. They are not always clean and don't always put protective covers in the car, be diligent in walking your vehicle.

 

[Rmsanger]

Wow thanks for your informative post!

Did you fly to the dealer to test drive it and do an inspection there?

 

[Toddasaurus]

^ glad it all worked out!!! Enjoy your sexy ride.

Do you mind sharing the transport cost?

Transport cost me $1,850 - I paid more by opting for an "enclosed container" instead of just an open transport truck. I could have gone cheaper with an open transport, but it would have been more risky!

 

[Toddasaurus]

Wow thanks for your informative post!

Did you fly to the dealer to test drive it and do an inspection there?

I sure did! Test drove it and looked it over before signing everything.

 

[ctrcbob]

I know you said you did not have time, but I would have driven it cross country.

Matter of fact, I did that a few years ago. Purchased a car in Denver in December. Because there was ice storms in Oklahoma, I decided to go to myRoswell NM location for a couple days before I continued home to Florida. Great trip.

 

[Van_Nik_75]

The trucker took really good care of my car. Upon arrival he did an inspection and noticed a tiny scratch on the front bumper where it meets the hood. He notified the dealership, and they let me know about it. Other than this the car was in perfect condition and I can finally rest easy knowing my brand new car is okay.

The only thing that I would be thinking about if I were in your situation was the scene from Ferris Beuller's Day Off where they leave the Ferrari in the parking garage and which gets taken on a joy ride by the parking guys.

Nonetheless, glad to hear that it all worked out.

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[canucklehead604]

I know you said you did not have time, but I would have driven it cross country.

Matter of fact, I did that a few years ago. Purchased a car in Denver in December. Because there was ice storms in Oklahoma, I decided to go to myRoswell NM location for a couple days before I continued home to Florida. Great trip.

^ this was talked about in a different thread, but for several reasons driving back does not make sense for many people:

• travel costs, including flights, meals, lodgings, fuel, etc
• seasonal driving conditions depending on the pickup point and route home
• improper tires being fitted, if OP had winters at home but car came with summer rubber
• cost of the OP's time for the trip duration
• OP's schedule availability to be able to take the time when needed
• potential for damage/rock chips or wear and tear driving home through winter conditions
• to a lesser extent, 'unnecessary' mileage for the transport drive back home. instead of getting a '0' mile car back home, he'd be getting a car with 1000's of miles. not as big of a deal, but still.

i'm sure there are other reasons too, but the above rationale also contributed to why i shipped a car 5000kms from MD to BC Canada many years ago. sure, there are some risks to shipping a car sight unseen. but there are greater risks for him to drive it home on his own through winter conditions.

 

[JawaNyx]

I totally agree with you on this. Driving back might not make sense for many people due to the various factors you mentioned.

 

[Volfy]

I must not have gotten that memo... Fly-n-Rides made some of my most memorable road trips.

I did two in Spring of 2018. A short one from Edmund, OK on a BMW K1600GT, and a longish one from Denver, CO on a VFR1200F. The Denver ride was in mid-March and the bike bought on a whim during an afterwork visit to a local dealer. I ended up having to buy some riding gear right there in Denver and bought other stuff online expedited to our Denver office. A snow storm had just blanketed the mile-high city when I flew in earlier that week, and when I rode off from Denver, there was still snow piled up on some road shoulders.

Not only was it still very cold (morning started around 25F gradually warning up to 55F the first day), the cross wind on I-20 was horrendous. Between Colorado Springs and Trinidad, CO, I was basically leaned over into the wind like I was carving a turn, but actually going dead straight down the hwy. Blown-over semis and trailers littered both sides of the interstate. It was at once terrifying and exhilarating.

Stayed the night in Amarillo, TX. The next day was much less eventful. By the time I got close to DFW, temp has risen to 90deg and I had the opposite problem of trying to stay cool. Rush hour traffic slowed my roll, and I ended up chillin' in a McDonalds for an hour or so. By the time I pulled into my driveway, it was early evening after dark. Tired, of course, but almost felt sad the journey had ended.


I've also done it with cars. Bought my '09 Genesis 3.8 sedan from a dealer in Greenville, NC. Closest airport was Raleigh-Durham but the dealer was nice enough to drive 1.5hrs to pick me up. 2day drive was drama-free but fun nevertheless.

 

[EdP]

• to a lesser extent, 'unnecessary' mileage for the transport drive back home. instead of getting a '0' mile car back home, he'd be getting a car with 1000's of miles. not as big of a deal, but still.

i'm sure there are other reasons too, but the above rationale also contributed to why i shipped a car 5000kms from MD to BC Canada many years ago. sure, there are some risks to shipping a car sight unseen. but there are greater risks for him to drive it home on his own through winter conditions.

I can agree with some of them, but the last one makes no sense to me. He got the car with 0 miles and should have enjoyed putting on the miles to home. To me, that would be a fun adventure.

 

[Volfy]

I can agree with some of them, but the last one makes no sense to me. He got the car with 0 miles and should have enjoyed putting on the miles to home. To me, that would be a fun adventure.

I agree... with a caveat.

0 miles on the odo mean the car is completely green and requires breaking-in. Most mfrs have basic recommendations like taking it easy for the first xxx miles and not exceed xxxx RPM. They also recommend varying the speed of the car and the RPM of the engine. This last one takes a bit of work to do correctly. Not that big of a hassle, but it does mean not setting the cruise control at xxx mph and run at that same speed/RPM for 100's of miles.

Every time you let off the gas to slow down, the engine gets a rush of lubricating oil pressure at close to no load, cooling any hot spots that tend to form over bearing surfaces that have not completed bedded in. Varying piston speeds also changes the ring slap at TDC ever so slightly, so it doesn't form a hard crown (edge) that could be slammed into when you do increase RPM (piston speed) later.

When I drove our G70 back from Weatherford, TX, I stayed off cruise control the entire trip and varied speed between 50-70mph. My son followed me in the Stinger and had to slinky right along with me for the entire 300 mile drive. Not a big deal to us. He understood why we did it, and we had walkie talkies so we don't have to stay too close. Also, we allowed ourselves plenty of time to make it into a fun relaxing road trip... with a shiny new car no less. But... I can imagine some folks might not care for that.

 

[WenSamya]

Hey there! Transporting your car can be quite an adventure! Have you considered enclosed auto shipping?

 

[mnboost]

I paid about $1100 a few months ago to ship my G70 from Raleigh, NC to Minneapolis, MN, Enclosed trailer

 

[Volfy]

I paid about $1100 a few months ago to ship my G70 from Raleigh, NC to Minneapolis, MN, Enclosed trailer

Man... I would've taken a couple of days off before a weekend, buy a cheap one way ticket, pick up the car in person, head on over to the Smoky Mountains to have some fun at spots like the Tail of the Dragon, before taking the scenic route back.

 

[mnboost]

Man... I would've taken a couple of days off before a weekend, buy a cheap one way ticket, pick up the car in person, head on over to the Smoky Mountains to have some fun at spots like the Tail of the Dragon, before taking the scenic route back.

I was strongly considering driving the g70 back and making a fun little trip out of it.. but plane tickets were like $400 to $500 one-way at the time plus uber so i figured ill just pay to get it shipped.

 

[Volfy]

I was strongly considering driving the g70 back and making a fun little trip out of it.. but plane tickets were like $400 to $500 one-way at the time plus uber so i figured ill just pay to get it shipped.

Understand. Sometimes the logistics just don't work out.

I find that if I plan it out, it isn't difficult to get a cheap 1-way ticket, as long as origin and destination are both somewhat close to large metro airports. Dealerships prefer delivery within 2-3wks. Shipping pickup can sometimes take that long to arrange, so dealers are used to working with out-of-state buyers on scheduling. Most have no problem with courtesy airport pickup, especially if they are somewhat close to the terminal. Some I dealt with even offered to deliver the car to the airport. Never hurt to ask.

FWIW, after I picked up the '09 Genesis to drive back from Greenville, NC, I actually drove right by Hyundai's then almost brand new HMMA plant in Montgomery, Alabama. I would've stopped by for a free tour, but it was on a Saturday. I remember seeing all manners of auto parts suppliers and plants along the interstate nearby. Amazes me to think what Hyundai/Kia/Genesis has achieved in the 12yrs since.