Need to get a car to my son up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. How do I go about getting it shipped? Never done this before.

I do not have a suggestion other than to drive and fly back. I've heard many horror stories about damage occurring while shipping.

Here's one on a Ford Raptor forum, but there is a recommendation in there as well.

https://www.fordraptorforum.com/threads/it-was-supposed-to-be-a-good-day.108358/

You have 2 options. Enclosed or unenclosed. Enclosed is more expensive. I have used both. Read reviews for shippers. And whoever you hire will sub it out. Always.

I naively put my info out there looking for a shipper a few months back and received dozens of texts and emails from obvious bot profiles. 80% names starting with the same consonant, bad English translations of whatever language the scammer was typing in, etc. After trying to weed thru all that, I punted and drove the frigging thing myself. Crazy to think about it, but you're basically paying someone and then giving your car to a person and they take it and you just hope it gets dropped off. To paraphrase TexAgs "you may end up paying to get the car onto the truck and then again to get it off the truck."

Something happens? Good luck trying to get in contact with either party. That bonding and insurance? Better run that deep into the ground. Honestly, they could just take your car wherever and strip it and there is surprisingly little you could do about it. Air tags? GPS tracker? How's that working with your local police to date. I learned it's a mess. Also, I received quotes from as little as $350 to as much as $1,000. Good luck!

https://www.montway.com/

I used Montway to ship an F450 from Ohio to Fort Worth last year when I bought it. It was recommended by a friend of mine that used to be in the car shipping business. Was pretty easy from my experience, but there are probably horror stories out there. Biggest advice is avoid the small carriers and stick with someone like Montway because it's insured. They have a ton of carriers that they work with, and they aren't going to risk one messing up their business vs. you trying to work with some independent carrier. My truck arrived with no issues.

They have it set up where you either pay a percentage up front and they will bill you the rest after it's delivered, or they take a fee up front and you pay the carrier cash when it arrives. I paid the fee and cash to the carrier. Met him at a Wal-Mart parking lot, although he would have driven it to my house. But having experience driving 18 wheelers I wasn't going to have him do that. When I got there he had the truck unloaded and ready to be inspected. Inspected it, handed him the cash and off we went.

Edit: and to add, don't just put it out there looking for a shipper on FB or whatever other social media, forum, etc. It's either going to be someone trying to steal your money, your car, or just a waste of time.

I have a very good broker

aggiepaintrain@gmail.com

less than a buck a mile

I've used uship a few times, but never used any of the brokers that bombard you when you put your listing up. Within a few days you'll get a couple hotshots who are headed on your general route with a partially empty load. Talk to them in person and read their reviews and you should be good

Good Lord. How did that happen?

I can give you a referral to a broker I used. Iirc it was like $700 to get it from PA to SETX. They connect you with the shipper. They delivered the car about a half mile away because the truck can't get on my road/property. Was very easy to do.

I searched online a lot and the broker I used was highly recommended on several reddit threads.

I used Montway and it was a good experience. They are a broker, but most everybody is other than the more premium enclosed carriers like Reliable. For most cars, un-enclosed transport is just fine.

With a good broker, you do not pay until delivery. You may pay a deposit, though. I think I paid $250 to Montway, but I also requested a dedicated pick up time. Typically, they'll just give you a window of when it will be picked up.

Maybe take some video of them loading the vehicle on/off the trailer.

It will probably cost over $1000. So if that is a factor, it could be worth driving up there and flying back.

I used Sam Kooby at American Car Transporters as broker to haul my f150 and camper from CO to Houston. He's a good guy and not shady like everybody else I talked to.

sam.kooby@americancartransporters.com
561-771-6964

maroon barchetta said:

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Good Lord. How did that happen?

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Never got the full AAR but I suspect that the rear wheel/axle caught fire and spread to my truck. I was having it shipped from Houston to Torrance CA where I was living at the time. It burned down in Indio coming down the elevation there. The junkyard guy I talked to during the claims process mentioned it's not all that uncommon there. Really sucked cause this was in 2021 right in the middle of all the chip shortages.

Even made the news

https://kesq.com/news/2021/05/21/truck-fire-shuts-down-freeway-traffic-lanes-in-indio/

Jock 07 said:

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maroon barchetta said:

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Good Lord. How did that happen?

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Never got the full AAR but I suspect that the rear wheel/axle caught fire and spread to my truck. I was having it shipped from Houston to Torrance CA where I was living at the time. It burned down in Indio coming down the elevation there. The junkyard guy I talked to during the claims process mentioned it's not all that uncommon there. Really sucked cause this was in 2021 right in the middle of all the chip shortages.

Even made the news

https://kesq.com/news/2021/05/21/truck-fire-shuts-down-freeway-traffic-lanes-in-indio/

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Obligatory, it must have been Dodge underneath.

All worked out in the end though, got a redo on the build at the same price as the original I had ordered and locked in before the prices really shot up

Charismatic Megafauna said:

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I've used uship a few times, but never used any of the brokers that bombard you when you put your listing up. Within a few days you'll get a couple hotshots who are headed on your general route with a partially empty load. Talk to them in person and read their reviews and you should be good

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This is how I've done it, multiple times. Look for smaller independent owner/operator with great reviews. I haven't been on UShip in quite a few years, though - no idea if this still works.

Yeah it's been almost 3 years since the last time I did it. These guys will do anything to avoid hauling a partial load. One guy was going to run to Albuquerque from Midland to pick up my car before bringing it to Houston, but he had to bail because the quote he gave me wouldn't have even covered the fuel just to go pick it up