Question: Cross Country Vehicle Shipping??

[Donne Trav]

Has anyone had any experience with a vehicle purchase where you had
the car shipped a long distance (cross country, etc.)? How did you
check the car out (appearance/operation) before you purchased your
"new" ride. Should there be a personal appearance or will the many
photos be enough. Also, the word of mouth "trust" on the operation and
condition of the vehicle, ie., "in excellent condition", etc. Any input
would be greatly appreciated. Thanks All.

 

[tonylong]

I may need to ship my vette from PA to FLA soon. I want toi follow this thread.

 

[midyearroadster427]

you need to either go see the vehicle yourself or find a reputable appraial service to check the car out for you...check local clubs for help...never ever buy a car sight unseen and on the word of the seller....after you have that squared away find a good company such as Intercity to bring your ride home....but never ever buy the car without checking it out first...airfares are cheap compared to being ripped off...

 

[vett boy]

I can only share what I learned when I bought my 08 last fall.

The car was new and Located in Peoria Illinois and I bought it on ebay.First thing I did was contact the local Corvette club and convinced a knowledgeable member to inspect the car .Then I had a member of another forum (sorry )do the same inspection .Keep in mind that I had concerns because I was buying a new vett $25,000 less than MSRP.

The second problem was I live in Maine it was late fall and I wanted the car to end up in Florida .Snow had blessed the driving route already.I had business commitments .It was a real serious problem coming up with the correct solution.I checked with several transporters and I talked with a lot of people.Most of the transportation companies work like freight companies they pass the vehicle to other carriers loading and unloading along the route.I had thoughts of having to go to Mexico to find my car.Now I want to say I'm sure there are legit transporters ,I just didn't feel comfortable with any of them.

The perfect solution came from a good friend GM Junkie.Junkie went to Peoria with his car carrier and took car back to Old Fort NC until January .I picked the car up and drove it to Orlando.Junkie installed some items that I wanted.

I've had my 08 for about 9 months and I've driven it 16,000 fantastic miles .I'll be heading south late Oct for 2000 miles to Orlando .I'll stop in Old Fort to see Junkie and then over to see friends in MS. and down to have lunch with Jane Ann .I'll have a fun trip .I'd never ship if I could drive.

 

[dannimo]

I may need to ship my vette from PA to FLA soon. I want toi follow this thread.

A friend of mine is the co-owner of a car moving company. I referred a buddy of mine who needed a vehicle moved from Chandler, AZ to Lawrenceburg, KY and they did a great job.

This is their website.

reindeer // real.personal.service.

Their HQ is Indianapolis. Call and ask for Ritchie. 800.428.0589 or 800- 548-8330 Tell him Dan referred you.

 

[dogfish246]

Nice and Simple:

With a Vette YOU NEED TO TEST DRIVE AND INSPECT IT YOURSELF...

There are so many things that can go wrong... My friend collects cars and has a good eye for lemons. He got a C3 pace car (froget which year) on ebay and when he brought it to Corvette Paramedics here in NJ, they found the Vette was actually 2 Vettes welded as one...ad

 

[twiget]

I sold my '96 Grand Sport to a guy in Alabama a couple years ago. I'm in Washington, and he bought it sight unseen. I did take A LOT of pictures for him, and we talked on the phone and via email for a long time. He had lived in Washington at one point in time, and had a couple friends in the area that were into Corvettes. One of them actually owned a Corvette repair shop a couple hours north of me. I took my GS to him for inspection. Once the owner of the shop gave her a clean bill of health, he called the buyer, and the rest is history.

If you are not able to see the car personally before you buy it, I definitely recommend having someone you trust check the car out in person.

Buying a car sight unseen can be a long process. Especially if you take the time to have someone inspect it before you put down the cash to buy it.

Jason

 

[Schrade]

If the seller has pictures, highly detailed, dated, posted in several forums (not just the wheels and fresh wash pics :eyerole ), then you're probably safe.

Even then, I just re-listed mine with another $250 chiseled off my AP.

That ONE particular buyer hasn't showed yet lookin' for this one... Tells me how much dealin' I can do on a new TrailBlazer tho'

 

[Ugolino]

Several years ago when I was living on the mainland I bought an almost new car off a well-known auction website (dumb I know but the guy had 100% feedback). The car was still under factory warranty, so if there were anything wrong with it I figured the warranty would cover it. Anyway, I got the car and it checked out perfectly, but it had an additional 300 miles on it from what the seller said. wtf? So I emailed the seller and he swears up and down that the mileage was accurate, and the shipping company even confirmed that it was, when they picked it up. So somewhere between the east coast and the west coast someone took my car on a 300 mile joyride.

My point is that the shipping companies contract with one or more sub-contractors, and there's no way they can keep tabs on a car for a long-distance shipping.

This has just been my experience with long-distance shipping, and I would never do it again.

 

[vetteboy86]

I'm gonna say case by case is how I would approach it. Some folks with lots of money can afford a mistake, myself on the other hand cannot.

There are several companies with auctions on ebay. Look at their feedback. Some will provide references. Like anything though, we are human, and even a dealership's, or private seller can miss something and inadvertently misrepresent the vehicle they are selling. ;squint:

I personally would find it hard to believe that an establishment with good feedback would risk future business with selling one sub par automobile and risk the repercussions of that sale. Maybe it doesn't matter though.

I don't think I could purchase a car site unseen, but perhaps if the stars were aligned it might be acceptable.

 

[bucket]

for the right money and air and hotel fees ill fly out and deliver it to ya...