c/car-shipping

Rush shipping a bumper from LA to Austin, 2 carriers dropped it

I needed a replacement bumper for my truck delivered before a road trip, so I booked with a broker who promised 5 day transit. The first carrier picked it up in LA, then canceled after sitting for 2 days because the pallet was too wide. Second carrier took it but went silent for 3 days, no tracking updates at all. I finally called the broker and demanded a refund, then found a local hauler on a FB group who runs that route weekly. Truck arrived in Austin on day 9, $150 extra but at least it showed up in one piece. Anyone else had brokers just ghost you mid-shipment like that?

Switched to enclosed transport after a rock chip on I-80

I always used open carriers until a gravel truck kicked a chip into my client's fender near Salt Lake City, and the $2,800 claim plus the awkward phone call made me realize the extra $400 for enclosed was worth it every time, so has anyone else eaten a damage claim that finally changed their shipping setup?

Door to door beat terminal to terminal for my Chevy, paid the difference twice

Last spring I shipped a 2004 Silverado from Phoenix to Boise. Got quotes for terminal to terminal at $680 and door to door at $920. Everyone on here kept saying terminal is fine and you save money, so I went with it. Big mistake actually. The pickup lot was 45 minutes from my house and the drop lot was half an hour outside Boise. Rented a car one way just to get the truck to the lot, that was $140. Then had to Uber from the drop lot to my buddy's place, another $60. Plus two days of my time driving back and forth. Door to door for the extra $240 would have saved me all of that honestly. I know some folks have good luck with terminal, but for a full size truck it made zero sense. Has anyone else done the math and found door to door worth it for bigger vehicles?

Two weeks of runaround for a missing title in Phoenix

Sold a car to a buyer in Phoenix and the broker swore the title was overnighted, but it sat in limbo for 14 days because their clerk never scanned the barcode. Has anyone else had a shipper blame a scanning error while your buyer's patience runs out?

People keep booking open transport for their classic cars and it makes no sense

I sell a lot of used cars on the side and the last 3 buyers all insisted on open carriers to save $400, then each one had rock chips by the time it hit Ohio. You can buy a roll of plastic wrap for 20 bucks and cover the front bumper yourself, it saves you the hassle of a claim. Why risk a 30k car over a few hundred when enclosed is right there?

Broker vs. direct carrier: my dispatcher buddy flipped my view

I was bashing brokers as middlemen until a dispatcher friend said they eat the deadhead risk so drivers don't have to. He showed me a run where the broker took a $300 cut but saved the carrier $400 in empty miles. Anyone here haul their own loads and skip brokers entirely?

Was dead set against enclosed shipping, now I get it

Tbh I always thought enclosed was a rip-off, like $1,400 extra for a classic car is just padding the quote. Then I shipped my 67 Mustang from Dallas to Phoenix in an open trailer and it came back with a cracked windshield from a kicked-up rock. Has anyone else had an open haul damage that made them switch, or did I just get unlucky?

The 400 mile door ding that cost more than the shipping itself

Last month I shipped a beater Corolla from Phoenix to Tucson, only 112 miles, but the quote came back at $285. I figured fine, short haul, whatever. Then the driver shows up with a flatbed and tells me he's got 3 other cars on the same run, and my car is the last drop. The surprise for me was finding out that roughly 60% of that cost is just the driver's deadhead miles back to their home base. I checked the FMCSA records after, and sure enough, the average empty return leg is 384 miles for these regional guys. So I basically paid for his fuel to go home after my car was already sitting in my driveway. Has anyone else looked into how much of their quote is just the return trip? Feels like the real cargo is the driver's commute.

That broker in Ohio told me transport costs double if you don't plan ahead

I was talking to a car shipping broker from Columbus after I got a $1,200 quote to ship my sedan from Chicago to Denver. He said if I had booked it a month earlier instead of that week, it would have been $750 tops. Has anyone else run into last minute price jumps like that?

The trick about using foam padding instead of straps saved me $150 last month

I was shipping a classic Mustang from Phoenix to Denver and got quoted extra for special strapping. I switched to high density foam between the tie down points and the paint, and the transport guy even said it was smarter. Anyone else stopped paying for those padded strap upgrades?

Why does nobody talk about how carriers handle enclosed shipping on the West Coast?

A guy in Portland told me that enclosed transport to Seattle is always easy, but I booked a carrier off a load board and they showed up with an open trailer. The car got hit by a rock on I-5 just north of Olympia and now I'm dealing with a $600 claim. Has anyone else had luck finding a reliable enclosed carrier for PNW routes?

Customer said my estimates were 'fluff' - that changed how I quote shipping costs

Got stuck paying $400 extra because the broker picked a different terminal than the one I chose

I shipped a car from Houston to Portland last month. I confirmed the terminal on the quote was the one near my house, but when the truck showed up it was an entirely different lot 30 miles away. Broker said "that's just where we had a driver" and charged me $400 for the extra relocation. So is the terminal guarantee on the quote just a suggestion or does anyone actually enforce it? I've had mixed answers from different companies.

Open vs enclosed transport for a 500 mile trip, the cost difference shocked me

I had to ship my 2018 Mustang from Denver to Salt Lake City last month and I compared quotes for open and enclosed trailers. The open trailer was $450 and enclosed was $875, so I almost went with open. But then I thought about all the gravel trucks and bugs on I-70, so I paid extra for enclosed. When the car arrived it was spotless, not a single rock chip or bird dropping anywhere. My buddy did the same route with open and his paint had like 3 tiny chips he had to touch up. Is enclosed really worth double for a short trip or am I overthinking it?

That call with an old hotshot driver changed how I book carriers now

I was on the phone last Tuesday with a guy named Jerry who's been hauling cars since the 80s. He flat out told me that 90% of the brokers he works with don't even check if a truck has working straps before they book a load. That hit different because I realized I've been just looking at price and dates, not the actual condition of the equipment. Anyone else ever get burned by a carrier that showed up looking like it rolled out of a junkyard?

Decided between enclosed and open carrier for my 69 Mustang...

I was shipping my 69 Mustang from Atlanta to Dallas last month and went back and forth on paying $950 for enclosed vs $650 for open transport. Ended up going with the open carrier since it was a sunny week and the trucker had good reviews about covering cars with a tarp. Did anyone else sweat this decision and regret or feel good about it later?

Found out most open carriers limit you to 7 feet of height

I was about to ship my lifted F250 from Dallas to Phoenix and the first quote came back way higher than I expected. I called the company to ask why and they told me anything over 7 feet tall has to go on an enclosed trailer. That added like 400 bucks to the price. I had no idea there was that kind of cutoff, I just assumed any truck could go on an open carrier. Has anyone else run into this when shipping a lifted vehicle?

Changed my mind about enclosed shipping after talking to a classic car guy in Ohio

I always thought open transport was fine for any car, but a guy named Hank who ships old Mustangs told me about a rock chip that ruined a fresh paint job on I-80 last summer. Now I'm wondering if the extra $400 for enclosed is worth it for my restored '66 pickup - has anyone else made that switch and regretted the cost?

Why does nobody talk about how broker bait-and-switch works on cross country moves?

I booked with a broker for shipping my Honda Civic from Denver to Atlanta last month. Paid $950 upfront. The day before pickup they said the driver backed out and the new price was $1,450. I already took time off work so I had to say yes. Then the actual carrier showed up four days late with a beat up open trailer with no tie down straps that looked sketchy. My car arrived with a cracked windshield and a dent on the rear bumper. The broker said it's not their problem because it's the carrier's fault. The carrier insurance said I signed for delivery before inspecting because they rushed me. I lost $1,450 and got $200 back from the insurance after 6 weeks of arguing. Has anyone else gotten stuck in this loop where the broker changes the carrier at the last minute and you have no real recourse?

Old timer at the depot showed me how to strap a car down right

Ngl, I'd been shipping cars for like 2 years and just using the tie-downs however they fit. Then this guy at the lot in Phoenix, maybe 60 years old, walks up and points at my front straps. He says 'son, you're gonna lose that car before mile 50.' He showed me to cross the straps over each tire, not just run them straight back. Took me 10 minutes to redo but the car didn't budge the whole trip. Anyone else get schooled by an old hand like that?

Got a quote to ship my Mustang from Phoenix to Portland and the price dropped $400 after I asked about terminal to terminal

I was set on door to door shipping for my 68 Mustang because I figured thats the only way it would be safe. First quote was $1800. I almost went with it but then I called a second company and the guy asked if I could drop it off at their lot in Phoenix and pick it up at their terminal in Portland. He said it would knock off like $400. I was nervous about leaving it at a lot but I did it and honestly the car was fine. No scratches no issues. Took about 5 days. Has anyone else saved a bunch by going terminal to terminal instead of door to door? Was it worth the hassle for you?

That door to door shipping quote went from $900 to $2200 after they picked up my car

I booked a transporter through a broker for my old Civic from Phoenix to Seattle, they quoted $900 firm. On pickup day the driver showed up and said the broker lied about the route and it was actually $2200 cash or he was leaving my car in the driveway. Has anyone else dealt with a bait and switch like this on a cross country haul?

Switched from covered to open transport and saved $400 on a cross-country move

I was dead set on getting covered transport for my 2018 Honda Accord when I moved from Austin to Portland last month. Everyone on here kept saying covered was safer, so I figured it was the only way to go. But after getting quotes ranging from $1,800 to $2,200, I started second-guessing myself. Then I talked to this older guy at a local car meet who ships project cars all the time. He told me open transport is fine for regular daily drivers, especially if you don't mind a little road grime. I tried it with a company called Montway (not sponsored or anything) and paid $1,350 total. The car arrived with some dust but no scratches or dents, and I saved enough to cover a weekend trip. Has anyone else tried open carrier after thinking you needed covered, or am I the only one who was overthinking this?

Is it better to call a broker yourself or just get quotes online?

My last shipment from Texas to Oregon got delayed twice because the broker kept changing carriers, but my buddy swears by his online quote service and says it saved him $200. What's your take on going direct with a broker versus using those instant comparison sites?

Stumbled across a fact about enclosed vs open transport that floored me

I was looking up shipping quotes for my 1967 Mustang from Dallas to Phoenix last night. Figured I'd just go with open transport since it's cheaper, same as I did with my daily driver last year. But then I found a post on a classic car forum where someone broke down the insurance claim rates. Turns out open transport has about a 2% damage rate overall, while enclosed is only 0.5%. I always thought enclosed was just for peace of mind, not a literal 4x lower chance of something going wrong. That stat really made me rethink my whole budget for this move. Has anyone else run into numbers like that that changed their mind on which way to ship?