Looks like I will be purchasing a 996 in Minnesota. I am in Florida. Debating either flying up there and driving the car back (I could have a 4 day weekend to do it if I plan it) or shipping the car to me. Car already has 105k miles... and the drive to FL would add about 1,500 to 2,000 miles.

Any suggestions on shipping companies? And whether I should make a road trip of it, or just ship the car?

Ideas how much it would cost to ship? May be cheaper to fly there and drive back...

 

Road trip! I did that back when I bought my C4S and it was awesome. It's a great way to get to know your new car.

 

Should I dress up like Burt Renolds from Cannon Ball Run? LOL

 

^^^I would LOL..
Road trips are 996 x better in a Porsche.

 

considering the issue you have with this car, my vote is ship....straight to Jake Raby's shop to fix: AOS, RMS, IMSB, clutch, etc.

 

Ship it, you dont know the car so what happends if it breaks up during your road trip? Air fare + gas + food + hotel will be almost the same as shipping it....

 

Drive the car. This is a two day's drive. 14 hours of driving each day at 70 MPH and you are home.

 

You can get shipping quotes from www.ushipit.com. You will get several different quotes then you can decide who you want to use. I shipped mine from Washington State to Savannah, GA via enclosed carrier and had the car within 4 days. I ended up going with Regal Express.

 

If you decide to ship I would not try to cut corners as I have learned thru experience. Had my first 996 shipped from Kansas City to NJ but chose the shipper by price. Couldn't contact the driver(he rarely returned my calls), it was an open trailer, he was 3 days late and didn't even deliver to my house. His truck broke down a half mile from me so I had to walk to get my car. Second car I had shipped I went with a more recognizable shipper-Intercity- with completely different results. This time the driver stayed in touch, it was an enclosed trailer and he arrived 2 days early. Paid slightly more for Intercity(couple hundred more)but it was money well spent.

 

If you ship, I had a bad experience with DAS (Dependable Auto Shippers.) It was a brand new VW Touareg than came out damaged and dirty both inside and out.

 

I used Intercity lines enclosed to move a 2013 997.2 Turbo from Texas to Mass. Reasonable price, above average service, Rennlist discount if you are a member. Came in on Saturday so I could pick up the vehicle from their storage and helped me load for the final leg. Absolutely no issues. As good as it gets.

 

I had a blast retrieving my Carrera from Chicago to Virginia. The car had 28k on it, was freshly serviced, and had sailed through an exhaustive PPI: I just added hi-test and EZPass and got after it. If the car had much higher miles, or I had to source secure overnight parking in unfamiliar towns along the way, i might have viewed it differently.
I loudly second the above comments on the hidden costs of cheep shipping. we once received a car from AZ six days late, with >500 miles added to the odo, and a nicotine stench that the seller--my wife's grandma-- definitely had not installed. Intercity may have peers, but five cars later I've not bothered to find them...

 

If you decide to ship, contact us for a quote. We'd love to help!

 

I vote drive the car and make it an experience. You've considered a bunch of Porsches and picked this one, so hopefully you have confidence in your choice and the PPI. GL and take pics.

 

If it came this way we'd do all the shipping ourselves.. We became shipping brokers long ago and "arrange the meetings" with owners and truckers all the time. So far this year we've shipped over 60 Porsches to and from our facility.

We don't charge to broker, we pass the savings on to the owner by letting them pay the driver directly. That means a broker price thats usually 20% less than normal, and we use the same tried and true shippers whenever possible.