Auto Transport Options
When moving from LA to Seattle, Ponzi and I drove the PCH with Wicket and Pixie in the back seat of my Acura (her, driving alone in the BMW Z4). We could have flown, but transporting cars isn’t exactly cheap over such a great distance.
When we were planning on moving from Seattle to back to LA, we had virtually no choice but to transport our vehicles and fly coach (with Wicket and Pixie in cargo). Otherwise, we would’ve driven with them (again) in unpredictable weather – or go out of our way to clock 2,000 miles in two separate cars. No way, no how.
I thought I remembered Ponzi telling me that it was going to cost us thousands of dollars to do it before (LA to Seattle). So, I figured I’d try the Internets to see if I could get companies to bid against one another. I found AutoGain.Net through a Google ad – and it was pretty much what I wanted.
“We understand how valuable your time is!� Simply fill out our easy quote form, then sit back and relax a little. Our system will locate 5 certified auto transporters that best fit your needs. Your information will then be securely submitted to these companies, and a representative will respond ASAP. “We understand how valuable your belongings are to you!� AutoGain.net only partners with certified and reputable auto transport companies. When you hire a quality auto transporter it means your estimate will be accurate, your vehicle will be kept safe, and your shipment will arrive on time.
Didn’t cost a thing to do. True to their word, I received five bids within a 24-hour period. Of course, their form was restricted to a single vehicle – but I could at least get an idea about how much a second vehicle transport might cost us (based on the bid). Best rate was from Abby Auto Transport, by the way – but your mileage may vary. Pun intended.
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18 Comments
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February 4th, 2008
at 2:07am
Live Tech Support</a> | <a href=”http://media.pirillo.com/”>Video Help</a> | <a href=”http://feeds.pirillo.com/ChrisPirilloShow”>Add to iTunes</a> Related Content: Auto Insurance Billy Joel at the Super BowlAuto Transport OptionsNew GnomeTomes! Diet and Weight Loss Tips?
Bessed
January 16th, 2007
at 2:39am
Auto Transport is Easy and Safe – This article give tips on shipping your vehicle. (ezinearticles.com) 5. Hauling Depot – Get a free quote on car shipping from up to 5 companies from Hauling Depot. (www.haulingdepot.com) 6. Auto Transport Options – November 14, 2006 blog entry from Chris Pirillo about his car shipping experiences. (chris.pirillo.com)
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March 11th, 2008
at 5:00pm
Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video: Chris | Live Tech Support | Video Help | Add to iTunes Related Content: Auto Insurance Billy Joel at the Super BowlAuto Transport OptionsNew GnomeTomes! Diet and Weight Loss Tips?
John
November 15th, 2006
at 9:53am
Chris, I had excewllent reswultsw form Specialty Mobile Systems, an auto trq
Raf
November 15th, 2006
at 9:54am
Check out this site for reviews of transport companies before you plunk down your change: http://www.transportreviews.com/
We used it to decide which company was going to ship my BMW from PA to CA about 2 months ago. We paid $1100 for it, BTW.
Lisa Lee
November 15th, 2006
at 5:52pm
I’ve seen UHauls with a car being carried in the back. I’ve thought of doing that (driving the UHaul w/ all my stuff and having my car carried in the back of it) for if I move from L.A to Colorado. I know it’s not as nice or convenient as flying it, but it’s the poor man’s way to do it.. maybe? I havent checked into the price yet.
Markus Diersbock
November 18th, 2006
at 12:36pm
Advantage Auto Transport has been my client for 12yrs, and they’ve
been in business since 1979.
I can’t get you a multi-car discount, and they have their OWN trucks,
have their own zero deducable insurance.
Many other companies just broker and have no insurance.
AutoGain.com is run by a former employee.
Try them out, Chris:
http://www.carmoves.com
Francis
November 28th, 2006
at 11:25am
Definitely look at http://www.transportreviews.com/ as mentioned above. I’m actually looking to ship a car from roughly LA to Seattle as well, and my best rate so far from a 5-star rated (from Transport Reviews) company is $655 from Monstar Auto Transport (http://monstarautotransport.com/).
I’ve had other quotes lower ($565) but the peace of mind that comes with other people’s good experiences are worth the extra cost in my opinion.
Maria
February 24th, 2007
at 1:27am
STAY AWAY from Autotrail Transport / A Eastern Connection! Check all the negative reviews under both company names! http://www.transportreviews.com/company/autotrail.asp
There are numerous complaints on the BBB site as well.
They are extremely sneaky and trick customers into their lies and unfair business practice. They charge you all sorts of fees, yell at you if you have to deal with them, make you feel guilty, and hang up on you! STAY AWAY from this headache! Companies like these should not be allowed to lie to people and cash in millions of dollars from unsuspecting customers.
If you are another unfortunate victim of this company, post your reviews, file a complaint on BBB’s site, contact FMCSA, do whatever it takes! Your time and effort will be much appreciated if it can prevent others from falling into the traps of this aweful company. I don’t know all the laws but I certainly think that this type of business practice is illegal. Cheating and lyeing should not be tolerated and Autotrail/A Eastern should not be in business!
Lisa Bass
May 13th, 2007
at 8:28pm
Hi Y’all,
A few months ago I moved from Breckenridge to Boston for graduate school. At the time, the drive would have been too time consuming and the fuel really expensive. I had looked around the internet & via the BBB, but as someone mentioned before, http://www.transportreviews.com/ is the best place to find reputable auto transporters. I settled on 1st Call Auto Haul http://www.1stcallautohaul.com/ because of their reviews and because they own their own trucks. Eric Sailer was extremely helpful and my car arrived 4 days after it was picked up. Total professional- Hope this helps.
Pam
August 22nd, 2007
at 1:57am
I would not personally use VIP Auto Transportation EVER again. They are only a broker, and I finally got my car after 6 weeks, and then the driver informed me that I owed him MORE than the quoted price. They also have several complaints with the BBB. Look them up before you place an order!!
Lee
August 24th, 2007
at 12:43pm
In my honest opinion, and some experience in the auto transport industry. I believe the reason behind all this bad service in the auto transport industry, is that of too much competition. Everyone knows gas prices has gone up since the beginning of the new century. What you the consumers do not know is that the average price for you consumers to move your vehicles has not gone up these past 20 years. In fact, the price has gone down. Considering inflation, cost of living, the weakened American dollar and the fact that diesel fuel is about 2.5 times more expensive now than it was 20 years ago. Add the extra competition between all these auto transport brokers.
What you get is a lot of overworked truck drivers that is underpaid, forced to drive longer and further in their old trucks which will break down, because there is no time to keep the trucks properly maintained. And on the auto transport broker side, most of them are understaffed and forced to work more hours dealing with unhappy customers more often because these trucks are breaking down.
Let me give you and example, if I was a truck driver and I can carry 8 mid sized sedan across country and I get paid $700 for each car, moving them from coast to coast, I’ll be making $5,600. Yet it’ll cost me between $3,000.00 to $3,500.00 one way. Subtract the net profit with fuel cost and I’ll be making 2,100 to 2,600 one way. Now during these transports there is a chance I might damage your vehicle. From my experience the average cost is about 600 to 900 dollars for repairs. Now a lot of these drivers will likely have a family and bills to go with them. So the drivers are basically bringing home $11,200.00 a month. Now lets subtract cost. 30% tax for being self-employed so from $11,200.00 which comes out to $7,870.00. $6,000.00 for gas, maybe $800.00 to repair any damages to a customers vehicle, God knows how much to maintain the truck and the trailer. A measley $1840.00 after driving cross country and back.
From what I’ve seen these auto tranport brokers come and goes because they are quoting you consumers a too low of a price. And so these auto transport brokers have to close business due to no profits.
The average lifespan for a newly opened restaurant is 2 to 3 years. Only a small percentage of all the new restaurants opened stays in business beyond the average lifespan. I’m seeing the same thing with these auto transport brokers. The best ones in my opinion are the ones that are ran by ex-truck drivers and have been around for quite some time. Remember the old adage, “you get what you paid for”.
Jennifer
November 9th, 2007
at 12:35pm
I absolutely agree with Maria – post Feb 2007. Stay away from Autotrail Transpoter / An Eastern Connection. I needed a car moved and did the research. I was fooled into thinking this was an honest company. I was assured my car would be picked up by May 15th. It wasn’t. Every time I called I got a new excuse. I can’t tell you how many other people have contacted me saying they were told the truck broke down. When I reached them on my last day before moving, I was yelled at, hung up on twice and told I would be met in court for cancelling the order. I was told that apparently I was stupid because I hadn’t read the contract which says they don’t have to pick the car up at all. I later discovered that this company is only a broker and they have stiffed so many truckers that the truckers will not do business with AEC. I immediately disputed the charges with my credit card company and luckily won. In June, a man from this company called me up and harrassed me. He claimed he was a lawyer and my credit card was being investigated. I asked for his name, he would not give it to me. I asked for his phone number and he gave me the AEC 800 number. This is the worst company I have ever encountered and I am very suprised that they have been allowed to remain in business after all these years of swindling the public. Apparently writting to BBB and NY State does not matter. It is sad that anyone else should ever have to go through the torture that so many already have.
Frank Johnson
November 10th, 2007
at 12:23pm
As with any service business, you have to do your homework. I got quotes from a number of sources and the lowest price wasn’t the best deal. The low bidder had a very long pickup window which meant that they might pick up my car any time during a two-week period. I couldn’t live with that. For about $75 more I got a guaranteed pickup appointment on the day I wanted and it was well worth it. I dealt with AA Automovers in NJ http://www.aa-automovers.com and they did a fine job. I’m sure there are other companies that do equally well, but I also spoke to some that were unpleasant and didn’t seem to care about what I needed. I picked AA primarily because of the pickup window issue, but a friendly salesperson helped.
JoAnne Bennett
September 8th, 2008
at 7:30am
A very interesting post, I too was faced with the delima on how to get my car across the county. I was told about Paramount Transportation Services, by a friend of mine who is a car collector, That they specilized in VIP’s, that they transported the Movie Stars cars…..and I thought what the heck, I know that they will be expense, but lets see what the high end would be. I got there rate, called 12 others, (Some were brokers) I can’t believe the rates that I recieved……I went with Paramount Transportation Services, The rate was BETTER than all the others, the customer service was great, There driver treated my car as if it was his, I got to track my car on there web site. There person on the phone who I talked to never mislead me, and even called 24 hours before my car was delivered, and then 3 days after to make sure I was happy. I would recommend them to everyone. Here is there website http://www.paramount-transportation.com
Jacob Puleo
September 29th, 2008
at 7:27pm
Good article. If you want good information on auto transport, you should check out http://www.shipride.com... they have a lot of articles and tips and helped me out in my search for a shipper.
Jeff Caldwell
November 1st, 2008
at 12:36pm
Nice blog…I just moved my 2008 Mustang from NYC to Las Vegas, Nv and used Paramount Transportation Services…you know the movie companys transport division, I wanted my baby transported in a closed trailer (yeah I know the factory shipped it in a open trailer) so nothing happened in transit. I did a search on line and got hundredes of links, and like all of you I found out they were brokers with no trucks. I was told that Paramount would be my best bet. I was so happy with there customer service, tracking, and there 5 star fleet driver I had to pass it on. If you are looking to ship your Baby, look them up. http://www.paramount-transportation.com
Bill Bacer
December 20th, 2008
at 8:23pm
So, I called 7 Brokers on Dec 15th to get 4 cars picked up and delivered to a collector who bought them for his kids for Cristmas, Now, I got some good rates, some of them TO GOOD if you know what I mean!!!, but all of them told me that 99% of the car carriers were shut down for the holidays, 3 of them told me that they would send a “Wrecker” to pick them up and store them until after the 1st of the year???? What a joke they were, they just did not get it I guess. Then, I found PARAMOUNT’S info right here on this page. I called PARAMOUNT and talked to WONDERFUL lady (Teresa) in the vehicle transportation dept, she gave me a good rate, I said “lets do it, when can you have them picked up and delivered to Dallas?” She put me on hold, came back and said after we get some paperwork done that I can have a truck there is 2-3 days and deliver before Christmas eve. GREAT just what i needed!! the next day there driver called and said that he would be here tomorrow, and thats just what happened, This fine driver showed up during a MAJOR SNOW STORM, just as promised, loaded all the cars with care and concern in 16 degrees and a howling wind, He was perfect! I recieved a call today (Dec 20th) from the buyer, he was so pleased and happy (just as I am) with the service that I got from PARAMOUNT!!! A word of advise…..Don’t call anyone but PARAMOUNT.
THANK YOU TO THE WHOLE CREW AT PARAMOUNT!!!!!!!