Shipping: California to West Virginia

fourfords

fourfords

Senior Member
Looking for a shipper who is reasonable, Southern California to West Virginia.
 

Attachments

  • 1929 Ford Roadster 1.jpg
    1929 Ford Roadster 1.jpg
    155.5 KB · Views: 10
Lots of horror stories. Bite the bullet and DO NOT shop price. Go with a big name like Reliable or Passport.
Read this Jalopy Journal post - https://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=66133

Common Auto Transport Nightmares
    • Freight Fraud and Car Hijacking: Scammers pose as legitimate transport companies or use central dispatch systems to intercept cars. In some cases, vehicles are held hostage over payment disputes or rerouted into overseas shipping containers.
    • Transit Damage and Bouncing Cars: Improper lashing on open or enclosed trailers can cause vehicles to break loose, bash into front vehicles, strip paint to the bare metal, or shatter windshields and headlights. When multiple subcontractors are involved (such as military or cross-country moves), getting anyone to claim responsibility can become nearly impossible.
    • Broker Bait-and-Switch: Low-ball online quotes are used to lock in customers, followed by sudden price hikes, communication blackouts, or complete "no-shows" when no real carrier wants to pick up the load at the initial cheap rate. [
    • Vanishing Trucks and Hostage Cars: Vehicles have gone missing for over a year after rogue drivers held them off-grid due to internal fee disputes with dispatchers.

Tips to Avoid a Disaster
    • Avoid Picking the Cheapest Broker: Most customer consensus on platforms like Reddit AutoTransport warns that automatically chasing the lowest bid attracts unreliable or fraudulent carriers.
    • Vetting and Direct Verification: Double-check motor carrier (MC) and USDOT numbers, review the exact pickup/delivery addresses on the bill of lading, and verify who is actually putting the car on the truck.
    • Document Everything: Take high-resolution photos and notes of your vehicle's mileage, interior, and exterior right before it is loaded onto the transport.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gz
open transport will save about 40%. expect around 2500 plus. much easier to just buy a car local. there are plenty of them.

14 yrs ago I shipped a phaeton Cali to NJ and the bill was 900. I used the likes of Montco where they bid for your business.
 
Sadly, price is not the only issue. There are so many "transport brokers" out there who will promise all sorts of things but fail to deliver. The issue with them is they do not have their own trucks and when you ask for a shipping quote, they put out a request for any trucker who is willing to respond. Seldom, if ever, does the quote match the actual price charged by the trucking company. Reliability is also a huge problem. Not showing up when scheduled, changing the price at the time of pickup, etc., etc...
When I had my vehicle shipped from SC to NV, I went directly with a carrier. $1800 in an enclosed big-rig trailer - but that was before diesel prices skyrocketed so I am sure the same cost today would be much higher. By the way, i do not recommend shipping a roadster in an open carrier over that distance for obvious reasons.
 
OK, Now I know what NOT to do. I'm hoping someone has a legitimate suggestion of who they might trust. I have a total of three vehicles to transport. Unless the whole industry is a scam?

Thank you
 
Go with the large companies which are Reliable, Passport and Intercity. Quality service, REAL insurance, tracking, they do what they say to do. Enclosed new semi-trailers and trucks. These companies are great and amazing. They work with you and work for you. Higher price? Yes and a great value. You want cheap? You should get the cheapest you can. You get what you pay for.
 
fourfords said:
OK, Now I know what NOT to do. I'm hoping someone has a legitimate suggestion of who they might trust. I have a total of three vehicles to transport. Unless the whole industry is a scam?

Thank you
Click to expand...
I have used Passport dozens of times with great results. Price will be more reasonable if you do not require an exact date(s). I used Blue Highways once. A complete horror story.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gz
OMG!!! PLEASE do as Kube suggested just pay up for quality use like Reliable or Passport Transport.

I used Blue Highways. Once. WHAT A DISASTER I think they finally went out of business at least I hope so. They really bent me over it was ugly,,, if you don't mind getting your car months late and in PARTS??? With a '48 Lincoln parked on top and hydraulic fluid leaking all over YOUR car.

Terrible service worst I ever encountered!! The West Virginia State Police eventually told me 'You are one of the lucky ones. At least you got a 'car' or what was left of it!!"
 
easier said then done Jeff. if you dont use transporters often- how the heck do you know whos good or bad?

secondly the costs have become ridiculous, so if buying a car and shipping, try to buy local. 3-4k to send a car across the US is nutz unless you have a 50k car. most model As are NOT that.
 
Who is good? The large companies that have been in this business for decades-Passport, Intercity, Reliable, Horseless Carriage. I ship a lot of cars for people and these companies are the only choices for us. We can sleep at night.
 
Sent two model As from va to Maryland last year $600. Arrived in 4 hrs.
Sent a 31 slant windshield car from VA to Texas $1,100 arrived in 3 days. That was a month ago. Both were Hot shot drivers.
No problems with either one. ( I don't have their contact information) I have had Hot Shot drivers deliver a mini excavator, trailer, a car to my home,no problems and only takes a couple of days.
 
fourfords said:
Looking at Bills Auto Works, not clear as to what they do. No phone number.
Click to expand...

Hello Sir,

My phone number is in every one of my ads here on the Barn. I offer single car personalized (mostly enclosed these days) service. I have transported probably 500 or more cars for barn members over the decades, however last weeks trip out to Los Angeles, Montana, Iowa & Ohio was my last trip across the Rocky Mountain Passes for this year. Also being single car, I am much more expensive than multi-car carriers, but just like everything else...You get what you pay for.

Please keep me in mind for the future

God Bless
Bill Squires(owner)
Bill's Auto Works
www.jalopyjournal.com

Nationwide Single Car Transport/Hauling Open or Enclosed

***************** IMPORTANT PLEASE READ************************* ONLY MY INITIAL POST IS FROM 2011! ALL SUBSEQUENT POSTS ARE FROM CUSTOMERS LEAVING...
www.jalopyjournal.com www.jalopyjournal.com
20260920_085608 (800x600).jpg
 
gz said:
REAL insurance,
Click to expand...

This, and willingness to pay claims.

Being a large carrier isn't an absolute guarantee. I won't name which of the positivity mentioned ones above, but at least two cars arrived at the recent auction here with noticeable damage.

One had fluids from the car above that may have ruined the paint (it wasn't clear at the time whether or not it was fixable), and I forget what the other was.

(and then there was one I was sent to drive for pickup whose hood was damaged after it went across the block; someone forced it. Fortunately, I'd taken a picture for my wife [she likes seeing what I'm up to] before I touched it; in hindsight it showed the misalignment that it hadn't arrived with [actually, the mechanic sent to evaluate was quite grateful I had that shot!])

Also, having your own insurance on it before shipping is a good idea. It will probably be quicker with a checkbook, and will deal with the slow behavior of the carrier's insurance. [My brother was one of the folks burned out in the Pasadena fire a couple of years ago. He noticed a huge difference in how insurance companies treated them. He had USAA, which was great, and even told him that they could activate the additional coverage his wife had asked to add but hadn't been completed--he just had to pay the extra premium. Whereas a major company or two you would all recognize was lowballing and looking for reasons to deny claims!

Better yet, buy an f-150 and a trailer and haul it yourself. 🤪
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top