MexicoBlueTurboS

I didn't even like driving my own car with clear bra. Somewhere on day 1 these damn birds that sit on the side of the highway and decide to fly when they see you coming, one of them went right into my windshield. THUNK! I was pissed.

I also learned to keep the stereo down when passing semi-trucks when it's windy - they kick up a lot more debris and you want to get by them as soon as possible.

Oh and uh by the way - P-zeros are horrible in the snow. Almost went off a mountain side in a blizzard.

Not fun. But a bad day driving a Porsche is better than a good day when the shipper abused your car.

groovzilla

Reminds me of time I was driving to Portland Or.at dusk in my 911sc Cab on I5 and trucker who saw me coming to pass threw cig butt out his window perfect timing to hit my windshield - Freakin sparks were crazy and it shook me for a minute.

swingwing

I've had only two instances of shipping a car. First one was open transport booked via internet search (resulting in continuous email and phone bombardment). Car arrived dirty (expected) and got lower front bumper scrape while unloading. Disappointing but filed the experience away if there were a next time. Turns out a couple of years ago I find my first Porsche in Florida and I decided to pay extra for enclosed transport. I contracted with Reliable for the trip and car arrived in exact condition as I had seen it a couple of months earlier. Excellent experience and I wouldn't hesitate to call on Reliable again.

jkoravos

I hope your car arrived in perfect condition, groov.

I'm embarking on my first car shipping experience now. I have a car going from TX to MA via Intercity. I sent them the shipping request form last night, this morning they have it booked and have sent me the driver's name and estimated pick up date. So far so good. Unfortunately, I didn't realize they offer a Rennlist discount beforehand. The rate was already agreed to by the driver by the time I realized so I didn't want to make a stink about it. Live and learn.

linderpat

Ask anyway. These guys are good, and they really understand customer service. The driver's are their employees, and they own their own trucks, so it's not like the rate can't be discounted after the fact because of a brokerage arrangement they are responsible for. They may not give it, but no harm in asking.

jkoravos

I'm pretty sure the drivers are contractors. I asked the dispatch person if i could still get the discount and she said the driver already agreed to the rate and they didn't want to change the rate after he agreed.

I emailed the sales guy but didn't hear back. I'll call him tomorrow and get the whole story.

groovzilla

From what I understand Intercity is a first class outfit - Good luck keep us posted

jkoravos

The biggest downside is that i'm likely going to be out of town when it shows up. I really want to see it come off the truck like the biggest Christmas present ever.

Hilltopper

The best and have used them 6 times! Vermont to/from Florida and Vermont to North Carolina!

linderpat

To be clear, I am referring to Intercity Lines, also a Rennlist sponsor. Their drivers are definitely employees. The drivers told me this directly. Further, the company owns the trucks. Unless they changed the model in the past year and a half.

jkoravos

I thought i read Intercoty owns the trailers but the employees are contractors that own the trucks. They might be dedicated contractors. Lots of companies work that way.

groovzilla

I don't care how great a company is or how positive their reviews, I would never advise having a car delivered without personally being there to inspect it and compare Bill of Lading report to the condition of car after unloading. Accidents/mishaps happen and once car is delivered and driver leaves, it's a done deal
I've heard of too many issues with scratches/dents/undocumented miles to trust anyone but myself to inspect car. Inspection starts at suspension points while car is on carrier. Top-load only is the way to go.

You really have to stay on top of your shipment. Good communication with drivers is usually lacking no matter how hard you try - I would say in my 15-18 shipments, only 5 of the drivers were really good at keeping me posted on delivery day/time/etc. Guy who delivered my boat had a GPS setup and I could track his truck online and he would text me every 24 hours with location.

My most recent shipment was very frustrating---> My broker who I trust and has arranged 5 car/2 motorcycle shipments for me in the past 2 years has always delivered great quality shippers.
However this most recent shipment of my 07 997S from Houston to Seattle turned out to be frustrating with crappy communication and driver showing up day early with no calls or contact until he was 5 minutes away and I was 4 hours from getting home out on my boat.
The shipper refused to give me driver contact info from the get-go. Typical Russian Mafia sounding worthless *****.
So of course when I arrived to my house the car was still on the carrier and carrier was blocking one lane of street and driver was pissed. He wouldn't unload the car until I paid him in full.
I started laughing and told him he better just take the car to his storage lot because I'm not paying squat until my car is off the carrier and I inspect it. And I proceeded to walk inside my house and close the door.
About 2 minutes later knock on my door and car was miraculously offloaded and ready for me to inspect. I told him what a worthless f_cking douche bag his boss was and it's his fault for not giving me drivers #.
The car looked perfect and driver apologized for his boss.

I phoned my broker and explained - Broker refunded me $250 of the $1300 fee and black listed the shipper.

You get all types of shippers, there's usually always something that goes wrong no matter how great they are but in my experience, 90% of shipments arrive on time and cars in proper condition

jkoravos

Well, if I wasn't there the GF would be there to receive. She's a bulldog, she'll be tougher on the inspection than i would be.

ilovemaui

I've shipped a hand full of cars from the east coast to Portland. About 18 years ago I purchased a 1970 Chevelle SS396 from a hole in wall town in North Carolina. I was insistant that it be enclosed carrier. I contacted multiple shippers and had it booked several times only to get a call a day or two before it was supposed to be picked up canceling the pickup because it was too far out in the boonies. This went on for nearly a month. It was very frustrating. I had a trip to Maui scheduled and so put the whole thing on hold for a couple weeks. I received a call on my cell while playing golf in Maui from a shipper who told me he could pick up the car the next day but it would have to open carrier. He told me that he had hauled cars across country for major ball players and promised it would be on top and no damage. By then I just wanted the car home and agreed. A few days later the driver called me indicating he'd be in Portland the next day. I called one of my neighbors and he agreed to accept the car for me and tuck it in my garage. I was very pleased when I got home to find the car in perfect condition.

I had another experience when I purchased a 1992 Mercedes 500E in Atlanta and tried to get it shipped Portland. I used a broker I had used several times but they couldn't find anyone making the trip from Atlanta to Portland. I contacted all the major players and none of them were interested in taking the car to Portland. Finally after a couple weeks I was able to get the car shipped to LA to a Mercedes shop in Irvine, CA that I knew would inspect the car for me. When it finally arrived had him go through the car and I flew down to see it. I hired another carrier to ship it to Portland. I found a guy that was delivering a car trailer to Portland so he slipped the car inside and it arrived safe and sound.

Moral to the story is that I've had some issues getting cars shipped to Portland, Oregon for some reason. Sometimes you have to take what you can get.

SoCal911t

But Barstow IS beautiful this time of year...