Fly and drive or ship?

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my5thmopar

my5thmopar

Life Long MOPAR Owner
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I've been looking at a truck out in AZ. It would be 1600 miles. Just looking for a ballpark figure so I can decide if I want to pursue purchasing it. The cost to get it here could be the deciding factor. The truck runs and drives but, I'm not sure if I would want to fly and drive. The longest drive I've ever taken was 1200 miles and it took two days. Thanks Craig
 
I have had three cars sipped to my house New Orleans. None costed much more than $500. The cars came from Oregon, California an N. Carolina. All cars were running well, and that saved money I also did a lot of shopping around, so I may have not have had the best quality shipping, but I did not have any complaints either,

Also, those cars were shipped 5, 7 and 10 years ago, so offers may have expired :)
 
1600 miles in a "new to you" used car would be nerve wracking to say the least. Especially a truck. look into shipping it. Figure 16 mpg, that 100 Gallons at ~4/gal. plus a motel room or two at $50. If its a fairly new truck, might be worth driving and sleeping it off at a rest stop. Not knowing the truck, can only speculate.
 
Is 3-4 days of your time (to fly out and drive back) plus gas and room and food worth more than the cost to ship? (Add to that the stress of 'what was that noise' and possible delay due to breakdown, tow charge, repair charge, more delay).
 
64DartGTinAZ said:
Is 3-4 days of your time (to fly out and drive back) plus gas and room and food worth more than the cost to ship? (Add to that the stress of 'what was that noise' and possible delay due to breakdown, tow charge, repair charge, more delay).
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I think it would cost less to ship it- time is money also- plus the liability during transit is the shipper companies
I shipped by 65 Signet from AZ to MD 10 years ago- took 6 weeks- was "lost" for 5 days- but arrived safe and sound- 6 different businesses were involved....
 
I drove my 340dart home from tucson az to milan oh 28 yrs. Ago. Just take a tool box with you.
 
For me it would be a time thing. IF I had the time, the finances etc, I would drive it. Think of it as an adventure. If you have a week to just "have fun", go drive it home.

Have tools handy, some cash in pocket and have a blast.
 
I would say get it shipped, nothing worse than getting stuck. Bought a Fairlane years ago from a guy in Venice CA. Lived in Mesa, just outside Phoenix. Was prior to owning a truck/trailer. Guy told me it was a daily driver. Flew out. Front end was loose so freeway speeds were entertaining to say the least. Bigger problem was when I was climbing the hills near Palm Springs and it started popping thru the carb. Made it up the hills. This was in January, which out in the desert at night can be a bit chilly...especially with 0 heat...and me in shorts & t shirt. Never mind my nightmare, can you afford to get stuck with it half way?
 
You could trailer it back also, then you don't need to worry about it breaking down.
 
Last truck I bought in Ontario ca I rode my bike out put the bike in the back drove home
 
Bad Sport said:
For me it would be a time thing. IF I had the time, the finances etc, I would drive it. Think of it as an adventure. If you have a week to just "have fun", go drive it home.
Have tools handy, some cash in pocket and have a blast.
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I bought my 68 cuda off e-bay. (first ever purchase there). Car in San Jose, me in Ohio.
1. Scariest moments. clicking the mouse and sniping it with 5 seconds to go.
2. Was out there for Spring Fling anyway. My return flight was Tuesday and I was busy working on it at Max's house when that point-of-no-return came and went.

Literally only had a handful of tools that I carried on the plane. Spent 3-1/2 days working on the car just to get it drivable before getting it aligned and leaving for home late Thursday afternoon. (list of things wrong was something like 32 items long) Had apparent overheating issue just East of Sacramento. (fixed in parking lot of car parts store.) Had charging problem in western Nevada. Had a primitive analog cell phone with no way to car charge and roaming charges. Got pulled over by 3 cops in 3 different states 3 days in a row. (no harm no foul) Was Easter weekend so that threw another wrench in the mechanism. Heater did not work, radio did not work, top speed was limited to 62 MPH because of vibration (bad shock in rear that I did not catch. My major credit card was turned off by them because purchases looked kinda fishy. (nice pun there) Slept in car 2 nights in rest areas and 2 nights in the cheapest motels I could find. (hey that's why the back seat folds down) Almost called it quits when I hit the wall late Monday afternoon in Indianapolis inching along through a huge construction zone. Got home Monday night at 11 PM. 2800(?) miles and I'm the only one who knows the whole story until I write the book. It's not just a car it's an adventure.

I'd do it again tomorrow.
 
im with bad sport....it's an adventure,you never know what might happen also you get to see parts of the country you might have never seen.

mike bee
 
KosmicKuda said:
I bought my 68 cuda off e-bay. (first ever purchase there). Car in San Jose, me in Ohio.
1. Scariest moments. clicking the mouse and sniping it with 5 seconds to go.
2. Was out there for Spring Fling anyway. My return flight was Tuesday and I was busy working on it at Max's house when that point-of-no-return came and went.

Literally only had a handful of tools that I carried on the plane. Spent 3-1/2 days working on the car just to get it drivable before getting it aligned and leaving for home late Thursday afternoon. (list of things wrong was something like 32 items long) Had apparent overheating issue just East of Sacramento. (fixed in parking lot of car parts store.) Had charging problem in western Nevada. Had a primitive analog cell phone with no way to car charge and roaming charges. Got pulled over by 3 cops in 3 different states 3 days in a row. (no harm no foul) Was Easter weekend so that threw another wrench in the mechanism. Heater did not work, radio did not work, top speed was limited to 62 MPH because of vibration (bad shock in rear that I did not catch. My major credit card was turned off by them because purchases looked kinda fishy. (nice pun there) Slept in car 2 nights in rest areas and 2 nights in the cheapest motels I could find. (hey that's why the back seat folds down) Almost called it quits when I hit the wall late Monday afternoon in Indianapolis inching along through a huge construction zone. Got home Monday night at 11 PM. 2800(?) miles and I'm the only one who knows the whole story until I write the book. It's not just a car it's an adventure.

I'd do it again tomorrow.
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That's what I'm talking about right there. It's something that you never forget, especially if you keep the car for a lifetime.
 
I looked at shipping many cars before ultimately finding one 100 miles away. I like the idea of an adventure, but that comes down to finances. Is it worth the adventure and the risk. If it is strictly about getting it home at the lowest cost, ship it. Flight($100), gas($400), food on the road and a hotel($100) will cost you close to what shipping can be had for. The first time you call a tow truck, stay an extra night, or have to buy a part; I guarantee you will run over shipping cost. Before you buy, go to uship.com. Put the shipping up for bid. It is very easy. Select a wider range for available pickup and delivery dates to get the best price. It will give you options for open trailer, closed trailer, etc. Within 24 hours you will have multiple bids and you can see their insurance, history, references, feedback and so on. A free and fast way to see what your looking at. Just do the bidders a favor and cancel the bidding if you don't go that way. Some of them might email you asking specific info to get you a better price. You can also set a max price and see if its worth someones time. A lot a times guys are making a long haul trip and are just looking for one more car to get a full load. They are then willing to go cheaper to get on the road. Good luck
 
I got several bids from 1235.00 all the way to 1400.00. I really had no idea it was that expensive to ship a vehicle. I'm still thinking about this one.
 
my5thmopar said:
I got several bids from 1235.00 all the way to 1400.00. I really had no idea it was that expensive to ship a vehicle. I'm still thinking about this one.
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Seems like you should be able to get to, or just under $1,000. Were those covered/enclosed or open trailers? Closed usually runs considerably more.
 
call a rail shipper , depot to depot should be well under 1000 bucks , you just need to get the seller to drop it off for you , they will pick it up at his place but that costs extra , usually a couple of hundred bucks extra , same goes on your end if you pick it up at the rail depot it will save you a couple of hundred as well . I use Livingston International here in Canada but as the name suggests they do US shipping as well . Try Google .
 
I use four corners transport, Out of Washington. (Broker) My Demon from San Fransisco to Omaha was 694.00 Dollars a month ago. Google them, Ellen will answer the phone. 360-210-7665
 
LIME TWIST DART said:
Seems like you should be able to get to, or just under $1,000. Were those covered/enclosed or open trailers? Closed usually runs considerably more.
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in April 2013 shipped my D100 from San Diego to Houston for $700 on dependable auto shippers (das.com or something like that)
took like 2-3 days for it to get to me
 
All the quotes were for open transport. Thanks for the leads.
 
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