Philip J. Fry

I'm fulfilling a life-long dream and am in the process of purchasing my first Porsche. Car is coming from Michigan, and I'm purchasing it sight unseen after having a Porsche specialist perform a PPI.

For those of you that have purchased cars and arranged for shipping, I'm looking for some advice/feedback.

-Did you insure your car immediately following purchase? Or did you buy shipping insurance and wait until vehicle was in your possession/being registered to insure it with an auto policy? I'm leaning toward the former.

-Any shippers you guys would recommend for enclosed shipment? Michigan to Pennsylvania is the route. I've placed a listing on UShip.com - not sure if any of you have used them to facilitate a shipper.

Thanks in advance! Very excited to see the car in person.

HelpMeHelpU

Perhaps not what you want to hear, but MI to PA--go get it and drive it back. It'll be your best drive.

When using UShip, check out the interesting phenomenon of actual shippers using other shippers as subcontractors and go after the subcontractors, who, apparently the real guys use and respect.

tbill

Purchased a non-running 911 in Illinois, shipping to NC in an enclosed tractor trailer (using rollbacks-to get onto and off of tractor trailer). I did purchase full coverage insurance prior to the transport.
Call Tony Griffith, owner of Broadway Express for a quote. 800-962-8863.

Philip J. Fry

Original plan was to fly out and drive it home. PPI discovered the rear brake calipers are dragging. The shop didn't recommend a 600mi+ road trip before getting that addressed. I'm bummed to be missing out on the go out and bring it home experience, but it is what it is.

Thanks! I'll give them a call.

09mageec

Congrats on the dream-purchase!! Good luck with the route you choose.

Philip J. Fry

Thank you! Car needs some work right out the gate, but I've been told to strap in - as constant maintenance is part of the ownership experience with these.

It's an '86 Carrera Coupe. About to turn 69k miles. Meteor Gray with black interior. Wide body rear (slant nose style vents and scallops) and whale tail. Coming outfitted with some BBS Mahle wheels.

theiceman

Sorry but I wholeheartedly do NOT agree with that statement. Sure I had to do a lot of deferred maintenance when I first got it. But since then it has been change the oil couple times a year and put gas in it. I can only speak for myself I guess but it has been an amazingly robust car for a 38 y/o car.

Philip J. Fry

I sincerely hope my experience mirrors yours, but I won't know till I start to dig in.

I should say that my P-car circle of friends is fairly small. As such, I've relied on the advice I've received from them along with the wealth of information available online from places like this and Pelican.

One of my best friends has an immaculately self-built 944 Turbo (951) with a GT3076. He's excited for me, but can only speak to his experience on the 944 platform.

Two other great friends that have current or past Porsche specialty garage experience gave me the "prepare for the worst" and "empty your wallet" speeches, just because they're looking out for me. I'm not deterred, as my plan is to keep this long-term/forever.

Have two other casual friends that own air-cooled 911s (one 3.2 Carrera and another has a 964). The 3.2 has been under the knife a lot, including a top-end rebuild and new clutch. Cross your fingers for me.

Back to the original topic, I think I've decided to just insure the vehicle right away to cover all bases. My UShip experience has been interesting so far. Shipping vendors are responding to my listing basically bidding against each other between the best price offered so far and my offer price. Best offer so far is $250 below what the dealer quoted me with all fees and insurance included.

73911

I think you're dealing with a broker. Ask them if they actually own a truck. Brokers are not always the best solution.

Insurance is a huge issue. A lot of the guys brokers deal with do not carry cargo insurance. Make sure you have insurance and call your broker to make sure the car is insured during transportion and that's is unregistered. Which I assume it will be.



I've written a lot on this. Here's a basic guide.

Richard Newton

Meef

I believe you get what you pay for on this shipping issue. Our host has a vendor who offers a discount and I've had nothing but stellar experience with Intercity having shipped with them several times over the last 20 years from California to southwest Florida and back and forth a few times from Boston to SW Florida.

Intercity Lines

Phillip J. Fry,

Intercity Lines would be glad to give you a Rennlist rate to move your P car from MI to PA. Please let us know which specific model and where in MI to where in PA and we will be glad to give you a price quote on your move.

eddielasvegas

I used these guys to ship an F150 from VA to AZ and they were fantastic. They are a carrier. No money (or deposit) was taken until the F150 was delivered.

http://goldenkeyexpress.com/auto-transport/

No idea if they offer enclosed, but cannot hurt to contact them.

I tried the uship method and what a waste of time dealing with brokers and their fishing expeditions for a price they think will be accepted by a carrier. I suggest using a direct carrier like above (research the company as a broker will lie to your face that they are a carrier) as you pay the person who is also going to move your car. If fees are to be paid to different people or companies, they are a broker.

Good luck,

Eddie

u7t2p7

Have the shop that did the PPI and diagnosed the brake issues fix the problem; do an oil change as well to create a baseline and as long as tires are decent and you have some extra belts you should be good to go.

911S3.6

Intercity is based on the East Coast and is the best. I have shipped with them a bunch of times and never had any problems, top -notch care of the car, excellent drivers that communicate with you along the way...highly recommended!
Nic

Intercity Lines

911S3.6,

Thank you for the kind words and your past business we certainly appreciate it. We look forward to helping you with any future moves.