Originally Posted by
Ldawg32
I just put a down payment on a car in Chicago and I live in ny. Anyone know of a shilling company ? And approx how much will it be. Thnx
I recently shipped a car, are you looking for open or enclosed transport? I recommend enclosed as I've had a bad experience with open carrier delivery before. The car had rock chips and a cracked windshield, though it traveled a much greater distance than Chicago to NY so your mileage may vary. I did little to no research beforehand the last time, and I think you should know some of the quirks of this industry cause it is quite cloudy. Since my second shipment was recently initiated, I continued to learn about the process.
Check out this guy's videos, for example. He covers a lot of details within retail auto transport:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRbUopKbF38
After being anxious during my last shipment, I read up a lot and realized that there are a couple major components:
1.) The sites you will get quotes from are brokers, in that they source a driver to transport your vehicle on your behalf and get paid for doing so. Don't believe the quotes you see in your email - they are simply estimates that may fluctuate more than you expect after actually booking the driver, depending on the broker's process.
2.) Some brokers charge a flat fee once a driver (carrier) is booked, and some may take a deposit (their cut for brokering) and then find you a carrier who you will generally pay Cash on Delivery for the actual shipment. ALWAYS use a credit card whether flat fee or deposit in case there are any issues. You can contact the credit card company in that case, god forbid.
3.) Working with a dealer on shipping a car was not a good experience last time I tried. They located the carrier, but there were many issues with this process. Unless the dealer really knows and cares for your vehicle (they likely don't), arrange your own shipping.
4.) Ensure you obtain the carrier's current insurance information & DOT registration by obtaining it through the broker and review it for any inconsistencies and verify they have coverage for auto transport. Some brokers may not even confirm this which is negligent.
I could go on and on. The common denominator here is just to not assume anything. Ask questions to the broker and the carrier. You will need to give at least a 1-3 day window for each stage: pickup and delivery, arranging first with the dealer & carrier for pickup and making yourself flexible for a 1-3 delivery day window to where you are in NY. There is hardly any precision within this industry aside from maybe the highest end transporters.
The brokering company I had recent success with was Safeed's, who found me an enclosed transport carrier for a great rate. Supposedly they vetted the carrier beforehand via service years and what not, but have read bad reviews for them too. Vice Auto Transport also got great reviews on Reddit, which is owner operated and seems to have great customer service. Almost wish I went with Vice Auto, but I had locked into Safeed's with a deposit. Safeed's claimed they picked the carrier based on internal transport ratings and overall experience. Communication was OK at best.
Chicago to NY should be a slam dunk. Best of luck and do your own research.
edit: sorry, didn't even address price at all. I'd be guessing, but for open carrier you'd probably be looking at less than $1000 and maybe $1500 for enclosed. Hopefully even less, but again vet the broker and carrier.
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