To everyone,

I hope this post finds you all in good spirits and enjoying the holidays. In anycase, I need to ship my car from Los Angeles to New Orleans, and need to do it relatively soon. Thus, I was hoping some of you might have had some experience or recomendations that might be able to help me out. Thanks again.

Best,

EUA Addict

While i can't recommend a specific company, I would recommend one that trucks it instead of one that drives it. In college my roomates and I made many trips down and back to Fla driving cars for the companies that drive your car, and I would never recommend that as a way to transport a car. We weren't the most gentle on them.

Call Reindeer Auto Relocation at 800-428-0589. They'll be able to take care of you.

I had my car driven from Chicago to LA about 3 years ago (don't recall the company who did it) however it was nothing short of a total nightmare. If I have to do it again I'll have it shipped on a truck.

In August, we shipped my son's Explorer from NJ to Orange, CA. It took 6 days and was a hassle-free transaction, except that I had to have a bank check for the pickup, and could not put the balance on my credit card (to get those FF miles).

Use autoshipping.com; you fill out one application and get five quotes from five different companies. Most of these people simply pick up the trip, and then in turn contract it out to individual shippers.

For the record, Reindeer does not drive your car from A to B. They use professional auto transporters, either multi-car semis or enclosed trucks, to move your vehicle. They handle auto relocation for lots of celebrities, pro athletes, government officials, and regular folks too. They will work with you to get your arrangments made on short notice and have very flexible options for pickup/dropoff locations, times, etc. You won't be disappointed in the least. They are the best company in this field, period.

Do these places actually guarantee that the car will be picked up on the date specified and will be delivered on the date specified?

I ask this because a friend of my father's arranged to have her car shipped to Florida from NJ. The company never showed up on the date. When she called them, they were flippant and said something to the effect of "hey lady, if you don't like it, too bad. We'll send your deposit back". Apparently other companies were booked solidly so she just accepted this company's shoddy service. They arrived 3 days late and delivered her car 4 days late. Is this typical?

I used Hallmark Transport about a year ago. Decent service, no car damage. However, I just searched it on the internet and there are bad reports and reports that it went out of business. So beware!

I tend to think you get what you pay for. My brother initially went with a lower-cost auto delivery company and got the same nasty treatment you describe, although even worse. After a month of them telling them it was coming that week, it still had not been put on the truck. It took a lengthy battle to get his money back and he eventually went with another company that delivered as promised.

My husband and I also had a car shipped about six months ago and were pretty pleased. We delivered it to their garage and they gave us an estimate of when they would have a full truckload of vehicles coming to the Bay Area. They basically gave us about a seven-day range on when the car would arrive. That was fine with us. I know there's a thread on this, probably in Omni, where I did write the name of a company not to use (my brother's first one). I could likely find the name of the one I used if you're interested.

You get what you pay for. There was no downside to them being days late, they still got the job, so they don't care. There are companies though that will do a better job of guaranteeing the delivery and pickup.

You might want to check out movingscam.com

On the discussion boards, several people have asked questions about shipping cars.

I have no idea what my father's friend paid but I tend to think you are right.

I had a 99 Chrysler Concorde moved from Cambridge, MA to Berkeley, CA early this year using a moving company that loaded the car in an open rack carrier for $800. My daughter who needed the car did the search on the Internet and came up with the company. I don't remember the name of the company but they insisted being paid with a credit card or a certified check.
The car was delivered to a pick-up point in Boston area and it was picked-up near the Oakland area within a day of their promised date. My daughter said the car was very dirty on the outside but otherwise it was in good condition when she got it.

HJ

To Everyone,

I just wanted to thank you all for your help. I ended up calling AAA, and they recommended a broker called Consumer Relocation Services. In turn, they brokered the shipment via a company called DAS (Dependable Auto Shippers). Ultimately, they gave me the lowest price, and though I tend to agree on that "you get what you pay for," my student budget told me to go with them and hope for the best. So thanks for all of your help, and keep your fingers crossed for me.

Best,

EUA Addict