Transport Carrier Suggestion & Inspecting NSX before purchase

unc0808

unc0808

Experienced Member
Joined
4 September 2003
Messages
460
Location
Chicago, IL
I am going to be checking into an 04 NSX for sale and just looking for help on a couple things.

What are things I should be looking for while driving / inspecting the vehicle? I am fully aware of the water pump/timing belt.

Does anyone have any transport companies they have used or heard good feedback from? If all goes well I will need to ship the vehicle from CA to IL.

Thank you,
Jim
 
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I used Thomas C. Sunday. Extremely polite staff and the driver was courteous as well. He even called me when the car was picked up, once in transit, and the night before delivery. They also gave me the best price. Transit time to NJ from California was 14 days total.
 
this time of year they charge more because of the snow and its their busy time of the year, so expect prices to be in the 1500-2300 range.

if you can drive it save your self the money and buy a ticket and a couple tanks of gas and your home.

also drivers tell you gas prices are hurting them etc. 99 percent of drivers have a contract with the gas companies they get their fuel for like 1.00 a gallon not kidding.
 
I paid around $1800. That included a premium for my car to be located in the top front of the trailer. First car on and last off to avoid the driver climbing in and out of the vehicle multiple times to drop off other vehicles. Transit time was 10-14 days from Orange county California to Columbus, Ohio. Hope that helps.
 
Great stuff everyone. Thank you!
There are a lot of car carriers out there but I didn'tt know where to start. Some are from $700 and upwards to $3000.
Also, one carrier quoted me around $2000 but estimated 3-5 weeks transit. I was shocked at how long that was. Agreed?

Maybe we can sticky this so future buyers/sellers can reference.
 
Spa2KJT said:
I used Thomas C. Sunday. Extremely polite staff and the driver was courteous as well. He even called me when the car was picked up, once in transit, and the night before delivery. They also gave me the best price. Transit time to NJ from California was 14 days total.
Click to expand...

+1 for Thomas C. Sunday. They gave me the best price and held my hand throughout the entire process, very courteous people. Delivery time from IL to CT was 4 days flat. I will use them again for sure.

Beware of any prices under $1k - they are usually brokers who source their transport needs out to the lowest bidder. You want to find a company with their own fleet of trucks and drivers who are properly vetted and trustworthy. To that point, expect to spend at least $1500 to get the car from CA to IL.
 
I used Intercity a few years ago, transporting from the Boston area to the Virginia Beach area. Total cost was $850, and entire experience was excellent. Driver kept me advised along the way via cell phone, and everything was perfect. Good luck!
 
Thomas Sunday....one reason your'e getting such price variation is open vs closed, and then there is soft enclosed (canvas type) and hard enclosed. Sunday is very reasonable in the world of the fully hard enclosed carriers. Other full enclosed carriers to consider are Horseless, Intercity, & Reliable. Get prices from them - you'll be surprised how close together they all are.

Don't sweat the delivery time too much unless you are in a big rush for some odd reason. Letting them make a side stop here and there because you don't care if it's 5 days or 9 days transit time there helps them out, allowing them to sharpen the price. My car rode from LA to San Fran, back to LA, then to Denver, on to St Louis etc. Took 5 days longer, but a) once up top at the front my car never moved and b) I knew where my car was every day, and had a good rapport with the driver long before he arrived.

Also, these companies only have so many trucks. Their ideal load is a full truck load picked up in LA, delivering to New York, but that's not reality. So they do their best. The 5 week delivery may have been an attempt to put together the makings of a full load. Or it may have been right before or right after the Arizona auction week and so it may have been an equipment shortage. That event alone consumes all the enclosed carriers for several weeks.

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Thanks for sharing the experience.

Intercity is roughly 2-4 weeks delivery.
Dependable Auto Shippers can pick up within a couple days and expedite in 10 days
Reliable told me 3-5 weeks

They are all around the same price. I'm not in a huge hurry as it's still winter here in Chicago but if they're all the same price and DAS can do it for weeks quicker, why not!?
 
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I used DAS (open carrier) a few summers ago for a far less expensive car, was generally happy with them but it was some time ago. DAS are a broker, it's a total crap shoot as to the driver they get (low bidder) to take their (your) load. DAS, if they have "enclosed" will not also not likely be a hard sided closed carrier - it will be tarped sides. I think you asked on this forum, you got 3 thumbs up pretty quickly for Sunday, why ask if you don't plan to follow the advice?

If you want to really want to get into Auto haulers world and evaluations, go to this site. You can check all the haulers reviews for the last month, 3 months 6 months etc. Note DAS is not in the top 20 for the last 12 month period. You can look up the carrier and study their reviews, it's all there. But, and this is a big but....95% of these companies are brokers. They simply subcontract to independent truckers. The guys who must always keep moving to keep the meter running (aka bandit or cowboy truckers). And I have had may share of bad (horrible) experiences with that end of the scale.

You can also plug in your move on the site and also get 50 fast quotes in one go.

Be sure to watch for a "paid reviews" in your investigation. I recently used Angels (rated in the top 5 over the last 12 months) for another move and was a "paid reviewer". I got a $25.00 gift certificate from them to spend on amazon. But I would not have given them a + review if I wasn't happy with them. Anyway, study the site fully, then decide.

FWIW, DAS get's 3 stars out of 5 for their performance over the last 2 years. Check the reviewers comments. And you're sure you want to trust your new NSX to them because they say they can deliver it a few days quicker? Up to you, I know how I voted when it came to moving my NSX.
 
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^ Wow good find. The guy from DAS told me on the phone earlier they use their own trucks.

Luke-44 - I am welcoming all experiences and thank you for sharing yours. Good to see Sunday has positive reviews although they are not in the Top 20 of your linked site either (just saying). I sent them a rate inquiry. They seem to have everything I am looking for which is great.

I am actually in the international shipping business and have a lot of connections domestically however none of them ship vehicles so I am completely clueless who to use. That's why I put this thread together to ease my mind a bit.
 
I have used DAS a few times in the past to ship my lesser cars coast to coast and in between and in general happy with them. They can pick up your car in a couple days notice so that is a plus. However once, the front bumper of my car was damaged and other time, some of my misc stuffs in the trunk were stolen in transit. I believe the stuffs were stolen while being parked in their lot while awaiting shipping. Having said that , I still use them to ship my lesser cars due to quick pick up time and decent price, not cheap. Their enclosed transport are tarped on the sides. I definitely would not use them to ship my nsx. I have used Intercity and jp logistics to ship my nsx. Jp picked my nsx in just one day notice but i think that quick pick up time is due to they are based in LA and my nsx was in San Diego at the time.
 
Here's the list Science of Speed gives to customers when they ask.. Cappy's is one of the preferred shippers for SoS. Shop away!

Alpine Transport 563-382-0702
http://www.alpinetransportinc.com/
Alpine Transport is an owner / broker. Some vehicles may be transported through a contractor.

Reliable Carriers 877-744-7889
http://www.reliablecarriers.com/
Note: open and enclosed (with lift gate) - premium carrier with premium equipment

FEDEX Transport 800-325-4267
http://fedex.com/us/services/customcritical/autotrans/index.html
Note: enclosed transport (with lift gate) – premium carrier with premium equipment

Passport Transport 800-325-4267
http://passporttransport.com

Cappy's Transport
http://www.cappystransport.com/
For California, Oregon, and Washington State transportation only. Premium carrier specializing in high end
vehicles.
 
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Horseless Carriage!

I've only transported twice and both times with Horseless Carriage.
Top Shelf outfit and as Professional as they come! All they move is
exotic cars & collectible cars! A bit higher priced but worth the piece
of mind in my book!

http://www.horselesscarriage.com/

Good luck!
 
Another option, which nobody has mentioned, is to use a company that uses not just multi-car trailers but also single car transport. The advantages the smaller trailers is you won't have to worry about delays, terminal loading/unloading and they will pick your car up at your location. They usually offer faster turnaround and delivery. They may or may not be cheaper, but you will have a lot less stress involved with the process. As an example I've listed one I've used in the past, check your particular area for others.

http://www.enclosedvehicletransport.com/
 
Used Montway, a few weeks ago. They are a broker, everything went smooth and the car showed up two days earlier than expected. Very reasonable, CA to PA enclosed $980.
 
A lot of good info here but I'll add a few things that some of you may not have experienced:

a) Those trucks are large so if you are in a metropolitan area such as downtown NY, the truck may not be able to pickup so you/they would need to arrange a smaller truck to bring your car out of the city to a meeting point.

b) The Big 3 in auto transport of exotics (always enclosed) would be: Horseless Carriage, Passport, and one more based out of Miami sorry can't remember the name right now.

c) DAS is fine for most car transport needs, I use them a lot. However if you want enclosed they do broker it to someone else as I found out with one of our R8's that was shipped from midwest. They are well priced and have "ports" all throughout the country so you can drop it off at one of their registered locations and they will ship to the nearest port at the destination and you go there to pickup. Usually by doing this option you can save $300-400 off a shipment.

**DAS in the past was my favorite because they had LIVE tracking with GPS enabled truck so you can literally see your car move across country....last year they discontinued this service probably because they wanted less visibility which is too bad. I'm not sure if anyone else offers this service now**


d) There are many smaller "regional" transport companies that are very personable if you are doing a regional shipment so they are great options

e) Shipping cars is a seasonal thing so prices do vary but anytime you go cross country plan on at least $1500+. Anything less is most likely an open transport so be sure to ask first and get in writing

f) If your car is a convertible (not application to NSX) try to get a top load so oil from other cars won't drip onto your soft top.
 
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Hello,

I used "Pilot Transport" to ship my NSX when I bought it last summer. Here is their website: http://www.pilottransport.com/

I don't remember the price...maybe $1300 or $1800. They were excellent. I had sort of a last minute request and they were very accommodating. It was an enclosed trailer. I had the car shipped from Florida to Pennsylvania. They picked it up on a Monday or Tuesday and I had the car on Thursday. I would definitely use them again. I had a ton of questions for them and they answered all of them. The driver (John) was very courteous.


Thanks
Tom
 

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