I recently made a trip to California…and unexpectedly wound up with a car.
Not just any car either, a vintage air-cooled Porsche 911 gifted to me by a beloved relative. Though it was a good runner, I didn’t want to risk a cross-country drive in a new-to-me classic—I needed to find a trusted, reliable shipping service to bring the old German home to Ohio.
I’m familiar with shipping cars short distances within my town, but I have never been in a situation where I needed to ship one across the continental United States.
…I needed to make some smart decisions, fast.
As you’d imagine, by research began on the internet. Problem was, it wasn’t much help because there are just so many car transport services advertised online—and many of those services weren’t always relevant to the type of vehicle transports I was looking for.
No offense here, but strapping down a vintage German sports car is a tad different than, say, a late model commuter.
I then shifted to Plan B: the trusty “Phone-a-Friend.”
Thankfully, I had a colleague who’d shipped cars like this before. He advised to avoid “no name” shippers and any service that would send the job off to an independent broker—who would then send a truck to get your car. (You may not know what trucking service is used or what route the truck will take.)
You really want to avoid these shippers if you have a car that is valuable—especially if it can be quickly stripped down for parts.
In fact, my buddy recounted an awful experience he had with a driver that didn’t want to drop off his vehicle…because he was never paid for the run to begin with! My friend had paid the broker, but the broker left the driver hanging. My friend was lucky and the driver did eventually unload his classic truck, but as you can see, there’s a big potential for nightmares.
Not to humblebrag, but the Porsche I was shipping had plenty of value—both monetarily and sentimental, as it was a gift from a relative. So I followed my friend’s advice and solicited quotes from a few well-known shipping companies. The quotes I got back ranged from a little over $1,000 for an open trailer to almost $3,000 for a fully-enclosed trailer.
Curiously, one company that had shipped some Summit Racing show cars in the past didn’t immediately respond to my online request, so I picked up the phone and, sure enough, they quoted me number for an enclosed trailer that was right in the middle of that range. Given my familiarity with that particular shipper, we agreed to terms and began making arrangements.
I would recommend calling in and explaining your situation. If you are not in a hurry, you can find better rates with even the top shippers. In fact, in my case the gentleman I spoke with on the phone turned out to be the CEO of the company—he was a very hands-on company leader, which was reassuring.
Moral of the Story: Call instead of relying solely on an online quote tool.
The pickup was about two weeks after I called. Since I was back in Ohio by then, I had someone go to our home in San Diego and open it up so the truck driver could pick up the car.
As it turned out, having the car way out in the southwest corner of the country allowed us to have a bit of wiggle room on the departure time, because my car was one of the first scheduled pickups. If you’re in a more central part of the U.S.A., you may have a limited pickup window as the transport truck moves along its cross-country route.
The driver arrived, loaded the car very profssionaly, and then proceeded Glendale, Arizona for his next pickup. I got constant route notifications over the next seven days, with updates from Amarillo, Texas, then St. Louis, Missouri, and then finally Columbus, Ohio.
Next stop, nearby Canton, Ohio—my home—just an hour or so away.
With the Homecoming day finally here, the driver kept me updated with his precise arrival time. We made arrangements to meet where he could get the truck in with room for the ramp. This allowed him to avoid weaving through the tight residential roads of my neighborhood.
We went to watch as he unloaded the car—and to scope-out some of the other exotics in the truck. (There really was a nice Carrera Turbo S Heritage Convertible above my car.) Once it was on Terra Firma, I just had to sign a computer tablet to acknowledge receipt and the shipping documents were sent to my supplied E-mail address for safekeeping.
Then I tipped the driver(!) as a thank you for keeping me well informed during the entire trip.
After that, I got in the car, dropped the clutch, and began the two-minute drive to the 911’s new home.
With the journey finally over, would I have done anything differently? At this point no. The shipper was great, and they were a big help.
I had daily updates on the car’s whereabouts and when I did call the company, I was always able to speak to the owner—or someone in the ownership family—despite it being a rather large shipping company.
Now although my Porsche was a finished driver, I would’ve still probably opted for an enclosed truck if the car had been a roller project too—the shipping quotes I got for both open- and enclosed-trailer options weren’t that far off from each other. From a security and a financial standpoint, going the covered trailer route just made sense.
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8 Tips for Shipping Your Classic or Exotic Car
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1. Know who you are shipping with
Make sure the car is not passed on by a broker to an unknown shipper. In many cases, if you are dealing with an unknown shipping company, they may rely on drivers that get paid upon delivery.
2. Do not put personal items in the vehicle.
Most carriers won’t take them. Some will, but they typically say they’re not responsible for items lost or damaged during transport—their shipping insurance only covers the car.
3. Take Pictures.
Take photos of every panel of the car with your phone, and make sure they’re dated! Don’t forget to photograph the interior as well.
I was reassured that my particular shipping company took plenty of their own snapshots and created an illustrated diagram to indicate any pre-existing blemishes on the car.
4. Guard Against Drips.
Make sure the shipper uses covers or panels to prevent drips on the cars on the lower level of the trailer—surprisingly, not all transport companies do this. A quality body protective film applique can help.
5. Change the Title Beforehand!
If you’re moving a newly-acquired vehicle across state lines, make sure to change the title to your name before you leave. I actually applied for and received a California title in my name before the car departed—even though it I knew I was getting an Ohio title for it the minute it arrived here.
Changing an out-of-state title without your name on it is far more complex than simply swapping one state title for another. In other words, I didn’t want the title clerks scratching their heads when I presented them with my paperwork.
6. Get Car Insurance
I made sure that the car carried insurance before it went onto the trailer. It’s also a good idea to contact your insurance company and see if there’s any extra, temporary coverage that may help during transport.
You hope you’ll never need it, but you’ll be glad to have if, if you do.
7. Know Who You’re Talking To
When contacting a transport service that you’ve found on the web, make sure the number you are calling is the shipper you really want. Too often, the web will direct you to another shipper with the clever use of search advertising.
8. Wash The Vehicle Soon Afterwards
Even on an enclosed trailer, shifting dust and grit from the other vehicles in the truck mean your once-shiny ride may arrive with a layer of grime on the body. No worries, more often than not, a simple car wash is all it takes to remedy the issue—but you don’t want any unknown gunk sitting on your finish longer than it has to.
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I know I still made some mistakes here but for the first effort I was satisfied with the results on a fast-learning curve. Now that it’s in the Buckeye State, I’ve begun to fix a few minor issues with the car and get it ready for the summer cruising season.
This was by no means a comprehensive guide, but I hope this gives you some help if you should ever need to ship a car long distances.
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