I bought an '87 300TD today on ebay. The only problem is it is in NJ. I am in CA.
Should I
a) Fly to NJ on Jet Blue for $119 and drive the car back (how is the weather this time of year) or
b) have it shipped to me (who knows of any transporters?)

Thanks,

1987 300D 186Km
2001 CLK 430 Convertible 30Km

If you have the time, why not fly out there? Driving across the country might be the adventure of a lifetime (Or a nightmare if the car you bought and know nothing about, develops a problem in some state you've never been in before).

I agree that the drive is a great way to get to know your car. However, it could be the longest trip of your life in you experinece any problems.
I
bought my car in Jersey, and drove it down to Florida without a problem. The major purchasing point for me, was that the car was routinely serviced by a forum member, which made me feel more at ease about the whole deal.

Good luck

__________________
Enough about me, how are you doing?

I had a Jeep shipped from KY. Took about 3 weeks and cost about $800. I can get the name of the company if you want, they were good people.

Craig

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1994 E420, Pearl Black/Black. 2.82 rear diff., AMG front spoiler, painted lower half. SOLD

1972 & 1974 BMW 2002tii's.

I would appreciate the phone number!

Thanks!

Odd, they didn't have the phone number on the Bill of Lading, so I looked it up on the 'net. Also my Bill of Lading said Happy Valley Express. I think this should be the same people. If I remember, I called an auto broker who notified this couple. Good Luck.

Happy Valley Auto Transport
Phoenix, AZ
(602) 971-9611

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1994 E420, Pearl Black/Black. 2.82 rear diff., AMG front spoiler, painted lower half. SOLD

1972 & 1974 BMW 2002tii's.

Hi Djankov.

Cheapest would be to pick it up yourself.

It would surely be an adventure

I would count on about 5 days just in case.

If money is not an object then try these guys.

They quoted me $1200 from MD to NJ but
short trips cost more then long ones.

www.horselesscarriage.com


Hope this helps.

Louis

PS: It's getting cold here at night and they
said that mid week we could get rain or snow
showers.

I strongly suggest that you shop around for prices from different auto transport companies. A Google search for "Auto Transport" will reveal dozens of transporters.

At one time I was considering shipping a car to Kodiak, Alaska. But, it needed to get from Austin, Texas to Seattle first. I think called about 5 different companies and received 5 different prices ranging from as low as $400 to as high as $1100.

Ultimately, I didn't ship the vehicle but I did learn a lot about the process.

For example, you can save some significant money by permitting the transporter to have a measure of flexibility in their pick-up and delivery schedule.

If you decide to have your car shipped, do some research and also ask on these forums for recommendations.

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

That's how I did it. I did a search on the net for 'auto transport'. There's a web site that will submit your details to several different companies and they'll email you a quote.

Craig

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1994 E420, Pearl Black/Black. 2.82 rear diff., AMG front spoiler, painted lower half. SOLD

1972 & 1974 BMW 2002tii's.

I've shipped a couple of cars and would agree, it pays to shop around. In general though, some of the differences can be attributed to the details. Specifically, enclosed vs. open car carrier, your flexibility on pickup and delivery dates, and whether they deliver direct to your door or to a local terminal can all influence the cost. By the way, be sure you insure the car BEFORE it gets shipped. The carriers are protected by law from having to pay much more than nominal amounts if there is a problem.

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LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold

Terminal-to-terminal is a lot cheaper than door-to-door but make sure you know who's dropping off the car and who's picking it up. You don't want your car in the hands of the flunkies some outfits get to go the last leg to get the car to you.

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

As far as cost goes I would think there would be very little savings in flying to the East coast and driving back when you consider the cost of fuel,meals,motels and wear on the car plus also it would be pretty hard to really go over the car in a strange town with limited time a bad heater hose might cost you an engine.I would save the cross country trip till when the car has been brought up to snuff what ever that means........
William Rogers.........

Got a couple of estimates from the West coast to NE Indiana. DAS terminal to terminal was $645 and door to door $927. Car on a Truck quoted $695 door to door. Both on open transport.

I called DAS (DependableAutoShippers.com) and they originally quoted me $1720. However, this was for a show car, not an everyday car. They then quoted me $693 for terminal to terminal (Linden, NJ to Carson, CA). This includes full insurance coverage and they do a full inspection when they take the car. Transport should take less than 2 weeks.

I figured to fly there $120, diesel fuel $200, hotels $300, food etc $150 assuming there are no mechanical problems. This seems to be the right way to go. I will let eveyone know when it arrives.



1987 300D 186Km
2001 CLK 430 Convertible 29Km

Perhaps there's more than the bottom line. There's also the memory quotient to consider. How many stories can be told about accepting delivery of your new/used car?

Then again, how many memories -- from the raw and ruthless road -- can be retold again and again, retooled and expanded upon, for generations to come?

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'91 300D 2.5 Turbo 330K
'00 VW TDI Golf, 190K
'67 BMW R50/2
'73 Norton Commando Interstate