Todd B

The cheaper shippers will be depot based, the vehicle gets loaded and shipped to another city, unloaded, parked, then eventually transferred to a truck going to the next depot. These are also typically open trailers. You want an enclosed shipper and one where the vehicle gets loaded and stays on the truck until it's delivered. I've used Intercity to ship from the west coast to the east coast, at the time (over 10 years ago) it was $1950 with the PCA discount. Car was picked up in Seattle and delivered a week latter in Baltimore by the same husband/wife team.

rasetsu

Why did you disregard my other points such as the one about the quotes I got 12 months ago? Fuel prices have plummeted since then too. It was also OP himself who said he got a quote of $1200. I don't know what his point A to point B is. Do you?

I'm sorry that your experience with a transporter that you didn't get to select was less than stellar but the dealer took care of it as they should. You tow on a trailer yourself, damage is on you. By the way, my latest transport experience 8 months ago of El Paso to Dallas is over 600 miles with no issues. Los Angeles to Dallas is over 1,400 miles. Choice of shipper is a much larger factor than distance.

This. A car cover would be a bad idea. It will flap like crazy. Painters tape would be better for sure.


I'm fairly certain OP is not interested in hearing alternatives and is set on the DIY U-Haul method so I am genuinely interested in him coming back and sharing his experience after he's done it. He could be the first and provide some useful insight. As for suggestions, I think OP will get much more useful advice on this method through maybe the Subaru forums where the owners of those are more likely to be the the DIY trailering of AWD vehicles type.

carl82590

Correct. I've gotten quotes for open transports for ~$1200 and then closed transports are pushing ~$1700 for my journey. It doesn't make sense to have the car shipped because of our own constraints. That being said, we think towing is currently our best option. We are planning on towing it the entire way, but if it's too difficult or annoying, we will take it off the trailer and drive it. I'm just asking if anyone has done something like this before and if there are any tips.

I'm not going to use as a car cover because I keep hearing it will mess up the paint. I am going to be using painters tape to at least cover the front bumper, mirrors and fenders.

rasetsu

Having personally seen U-Haul trailers, I just think you should reconsider that towing may not be your best option. My recommendation is that you should drive it. Macans aren't going to be collectible cars that you need to keep the miles low on. If you are driving with a significant other, just take turns switching off or check with your friends and pay their return air fare. Get a pair of cheap walkie talkies so you can easily communicate between the moving truck and the Macan. I would still painter's tape the front nose though even if you have PPF on it. It will help immensely with removing the bug splatters. If you start off towing and it turns into a PITA, you still have to drag that empty trailer unless you can dump it off at a U-Haul place on your route...but please do come back and share your experience!

tk-porsche

You can also always sleep in the back with the rear seat(s) down. Have done this before in similarly sized vehicles. WIth the passenger seat all the way forward and the rear seat down on that side you have around six feet of space for a nice pad and a sleeping bag or other form of bedding. Staying at hotels is still risky though some are taking good measures or look into one-night AirBNB/VRBO stays, which are aplenty as they are hungry for any business these days. You can get takeout food anywhere. I still think just driving and flying back one-way if you need to might be your best option.

kayjh

I think you will be fine, people transport cars this way all of the time. Using tape on the front of the car isn't a bad idea. You might want to add mud/stone guards to the rear of the tow vehicle to avoid stones flying up. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

b8_rdc

Just shipped the Macan from WA to CA for under $900. Just make sure you take out everything from the car. I have had a user manual go missing when I shipped a car from TX to CA.

siberian

I've shipped my 08 V8 Touareg from MA to Fairbanks, AK with no issues. I've shipped my new RS5 in 2015 from Bellevue, WA to Anchorage (truck, barge and truck) for about $1,700 with no problems. Does that mean no one will have an issue? No. But reliable transporters are bonded and if sh*t happens you claim. "See how many hoops you have to go through" if you have to claim applies to insuring your car on the road or anything else you insure.

IMHO it's safer having it towed than towing your car yourself. You don't do that for a living, let someone who does and is insured do it. I've driven the Alcan several times crossing U-Haul trailers and folks with car towers swaying side to side...

You spend that much cash and you're scrimping on towing? Whatever you decide, good luck

siberian

carl82590

Update time :
We decided not to tow it. My wife drove the Macan and I drove the U-Haul. I’m honestly glad we didn’t tow it because I couldn’t imagine only going 55-60 on some of the interstates we’ve been on. We did still tape up the front bumper with painters tape and it’s held up pretty well.