I need to ship my daughter’s vehicle (mid-size suv) from mid Atlantic region to Denver in the few weeks. Anyone have experience with car vehicle transport companies and have any tips regarding the process?
Long ago the military used Montway Auto Shipping. A quick Google search shows they are still doing their thing. They were reliable and took good care of the cars. No idea what it cost, since Uncle Sam picked up the tab.
I’ve done it twice with my two government job moves.
My experience was perfectly fine. No issues. I would suggest you do your due diligence as to choosing the transport company. Take a bunch of pictures/videos of the vehicle right before it gets put on the truck. Obviously do a good inspection of the vehicle when you take delivery. When it’s delivered take similar pictures and videos with the driver present.
I asked this question here a year or two ago and Montway was suggested. We went with them and had a great experience.
I used Montway for a similar move to OP and had a miserable experience. Two days before our car was supposed to be picked up they cancelled on us. Thankfully the car was being picked up from my in laws because they lived down the street. However, they didn’t send a replacement truck out for 2+ weeks. Then it took a week+ for them to transport the car itself.
Tried to get a rental car out of them but no luck.
Fuck that company.
All of this. Consider whether you want to do open transport or closed. Open means your car is just sitting on the back of a truck getting dirty, potentially rocks and stuff hitting it, etc. Closed will keep it more protected. I did open and it was fine, but really dirty afterward.
Also understand you may need to take the car somewhere to load; i.e. they probably won’t pick up and drop off at your home.
I’ll look to see if I can find the company that managed mine. They were decent, and helped me keep track all the way through the process.
Thanks all for suggestions so far.
I used Montway to ship a classic car from Arizona to Georgia last year. Everything went smoothly. Good communication and the car was delivered on time with no damage or issues. I would definitely recommend them.
Keep in mind that Montway and companies like it are brokers. The driver hauling your car is a private business. So the quality of the service will have more to do with the hauler. Unfortunately, that’s just the luck of the draw.
Checked my records, and it looks like I used AmeriFreight.
I used one moving from Ohio to Wyoming several years ago. They gave me a hard time because we packed misc household stuff in the car. It was a Subaru Outback. We did the uncovered carry and that was fine. As close as they would get it to Wyoming was Billing MT. So we drove up and met them there. I want to say it was about $1,500.
I have not personally but am a serious car geek so have friends who ship cars somewhat regularly. The one piece of advice I would give is to be very, very certain your vehicle is insured for shipping. I know of one example where two friends lost their cars (2 cars on same trailer) to fire and another who had their vehicle destroyed via the driver’s incompetence. Good luck!
Thanks for advice. I thought maybe the shipping company provided insurance for any damage. Not so? So you are saying we need to ensure we have shipping damage/theft coverage through our own insurance company?
From their experience, most definitely. In one case the shippers insurance didn’t cover the negligent actions of the driver (from what I’ve been told) and so they had to use their own insurance.