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Shipping Prius CA to NY - Transport Company Recommedations?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by stream, Oct 26, 2011.

  1. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    It's 3,000 miles, so at 70 MPH ave. it's 43 hours of driving. Sounds more like 4 long days to me--not for me.
     
  2. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

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    17+32=49 hours the way I read the post. That being said, I would still want to drive it. Just returned yesterday from a cross country trip to Ohio and Michigan. I-70 going east, I-40 coming back. I've made this trip multiple times, and usually make about 700 miles each day, but have done as much as 800. Total of approx. 2200 miles, about 34 hours driving time via Denver to Cincinatti.
    I briefly thought of buying and shipping a car to Ohio from Carson Toyota through Dianne Whitmire, and she advised it would cost around $900-1000 to do so. I went online to one site, and got a whole bunch of responses from eight different brokers, both by email and phone calls. Persistent bunch! Dianne warned that if somebody offers a low price, the car might sit for weeks before the broker finds a truck operator willing to take it on.
    Good luck to you.
     
  3. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Its 3-4 days of driving, and any able bodied person should be able to do it. 60-65 through the passes. 75mph speed limit 85-90mph speeds until you get to Illinois then 65-70 with speeds still close to 85mph.
     
  4. deunan

    deunan Junior Member

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    I drove from Wa to NC and took me 5 days(stop @ yellowstone), including 2 days at a hotel. and I ship other car and only cost me $800 and 5-6 days.
     
  5. 3prongpaul

    3prongpaul Hybrid Shop Owner, worked on 100's of Prius's

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    You can post your car move on http://www.uship.com/vehicles/ for free...companies and individuals will bid on moving it for you...

    If you are not in a hurry you may get a great deal since sooner or later someone will be going your route with space to fill on their truck.

    Another option is DAS Terminal to Terminal service....cheaper than door to door if they have a terminal near your origin/destination. How We Ship And What To Expect For Your Auto Transport
     
  6. easted

    easted Junior Member

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    I know you got a negative from cmrj in his post about Dependable Auto Shippers, But my experience was just the opposite. I had a prius shipped from Houston TX. to Pa. in 2008, By DAS. And had no problems whatsoever, and they were the least expensive of the four national shippers I checked then.
     
  7. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    DAS shipped 2 of my cars a few years ago (they had a corporate account with my employer), and even though I was designated as a VIP, they damaged my Porsche. One issue with them is they use a "terminal" shipping approach so your car doesn't stay on the same truck for the entire trip (it's on at least 3 different trucks, and every time it's moved on/off a truck is an opportunity for damage). Fortunately I had the weight of one of their largest corporate customers behind me when it came time to repair my car.

    Out of curiosity, I also got a quote from them, and they're in the same ballpark as the majority of bids I received when you include the door-to-door service.
     
  8. cmrj

    cmrj Junior Member

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    I'm glad you did not have any problems. But based on my experience and the negative reviews on the website I referred to, if you do incur any damage on a vehicle you ship with DAS, you are screwed. By the way I paid extra for their damage insurance.
     
  9. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    My car arrived in NY, so I thought I'd follow up and let everybody know about my experience.

    The auto transport industry consists primarily of brokers (who act as the middle man between customers and trucking companies) and trucking companies/drivers.

    The broker I used was Direct Express Auto Transport ( Auto Transport | Car Shipping | 800-600-3750 Instant Online Quotes ), based on reviews I read on:
    Direct Express Auto Transport - 5 Stars out of 5 - Transport Reviews.com - Your Auto Transport Information Source. View Reviews, Ratings and Rankings of Auto Transporters.

    The cost was $1,009, of which $159 went to the broker and $850 to the trucking company. I got a bunch of "low ball" quotes, a few really high ones, and the rest were within $50 - $100 of each other. I decided to go with a price slightly higher than average to ensure my car was picked up promptly (generally speaking, the higher the price you offer, the quicker your car gets picked up).

    The car was picked up on the day I designated as the "available day" (they said it typically takes 1 - 7 days from available day) and delivered 11 days later.

    The broker was very good. The trucking company (Quality Transport LLC), while delivering the car undamaged, was horrible in the communication department. I called them on the first day to see what day they planned on picking up the car, and the dispatcher said the truck was on the way and would be there in 2 hours, so I had to run around like an idiot preparing. The estimated delivery day was 7 days later and came and went with no word from the trucker, so I had to call them several times over a few days to get an estimated drop off date/time.