IHTFP

Hi,

I'm having a 997 shipped from the West Coast to Florida. I have the option of Open Transport or Closed Transport. Is closed transport necessary or will open transport suffice if I am not concerned with the car getting dirty? I'm more concerned about road debris and rock chips, but I assume the truck absorbs most of that damage. Of course, closed transport is more expensive so I am trying to decide if it is necessary.

Thanks

SpeedyD

Enclosed transport only.

Ironman88

Enclosed transport only.

You should also be concerned about weather events. Hail for example.

PCA1983

When we had our little Summer townhome up in Chicagoland, I shipped one of my late model 911 C2S up or back to FL at least16 times.
I always shipped open transport. Saved me $700-1000 per shipment, probably near $15,000 total.
Worst thing that happened was one time it arrived extremely dirty. Only one time.
Would I ship open carrier again?
You betchya!

othertbone

Use only closed transport, worth every penny

E39Nutz

Agree with others on enclosed transportation. You are doing this once, not worth the risk and aggravation. When I had to ship my car to Germany from Chicago via Baltimore (this was mid June), the shipper arranged for an open transporter, I received the car full of bug spatters and filthy looking (after about 2 months in the open).

Bxstr

Enclosed. Here’s a good video on it.

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Rhern213

Absolutely enclosed! Not worth the risk.
I shipped two cars in an open transport, non-fancy cars. 1st time was fine, albeit filthy. 2nd time the car was pelted with either hard sand or rock chips along the way and I had to end up repainting the bumper and getting the car paint corrected.
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Prairiedawg

Enclosed. Case closed

Ironman88

My experience with open transport was different.

First Porsche - 2001 Boxster S. Transported via open carrier from Dallas TX to Minneapolis MN. Hail storm mid-route. The truck driver just kept on driving through it.

I will never transport a car via an open carrier ever again.

kellen

That far of a distance I would enclose it. Now if it was 3x more I would consider driving it or putting it on top of the open trailer.

Liste-Renn

Absent hail or a tornado, your car would suffer more road rash/damage if you actually drove it than shipping on an open carrier.
It is shielded from debris impact by the truck cab, any vehicle in front of it and is elevated far above driving level.
Unless it's a concourse car, don't worry about open transport. It could get damaged loading or unloading via either mode.
Hail and accidental damage is covered by the trucking company's insurance and your own as a back up.
YMMV.

IHTFP

Thanks for all of the great feedback!

JamesBaxter

It’s all about risk allocation, like most things. Owners on this forum tend to be…extra, as the youth says. Realistically, you’re at single digit percentage chance of damage (yes I made that up but it seems realistic). For my car, a base cab with 48k miles when I bought it? Open is fine. For a GT3 with 12k? Yeah, that’s getting covered.

Petza914

Enclosed only and stipulate you want upper rack only so the other car on the transport doesn't drip all over yours.