wi54545

I just bought an '86 951 in the Marin County, CA area. I'm located in the Atlanta, GA area. Does anyone know of any reputable trailering companies (preferably owner-operator/non broker) located in San Francisco? I've already done a search function and got a quote from Intercity whom has great reviews. It's a little high for this application considering I bought the car for $3000. What I am looking for is a price around 900 and reliable shipping pick up. Drop off schedule is not as much of an issue.

I would drive it, but the car needs work. The timing belt was changed in late 2000, 20,000 miles ago. It needs a new TPS switch, and it has a little oil in the coolant tank (oil cooler seals?) Other than that it is in perfect condition with records since day 1. Is it possible to drive it 2500 miles with those issues (other than obviously replacing TPS switch)?

Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks!

Tom M'Guinn

I used Passport from Miami to the Bay Area, and was very pleased with their service. They use fully enclosed trailers. The driver was an respectable guy in his 50's who kept the car in his trailer from door to door -- he took the keys from me in Miami and handed them to me in CA. It's part of FedEx rather than local, but the service could not have been better.

In contrast, I also had a national moving company transport the car in an open trailer once -- Atlas I think -- they passed the from one truck to another and it showed up looking like it had been through a war.

As for driving it, 20k on a belt is not excessive. If your sure about the age and if it has been tensioned, it should be ok. TPS is easy to change of course. I wouldn't drive it until though until you find the source of the oil in the coolant and fix it. You would not want the oil seals or head gasket to let go in the middle of Wyoming -- either could cause real damage and leave you stuck.

oi-punx

Is THIS the car you bought?

If so, congrats. Looks like a very good buy. I saw it earlier in the week and figured it would sell quickly.

brad-cam

If that's the car, I'm sorry I missed it - it's only 40 miles from me and love the color !

wi54545, if you need any help out here, or a place to make a few quick repairs to make it roadworthy, let me know...

RK951

I've shipped cars using TNT auto transport without any problems. As a disclaimer, I have no affiliation with them whatsoever and your own experience could vary.

wi54545

oi-punx,

Yep, that is the car. I got really lucky. Called within 10 minutes of it listing on craigslist. Didn't realize it was 6:50 pst AM. (i'm east coast) oops! I'm lucky that it is extremely cheap for me to fly. The only things that the car needs are new seats, oil cooler seals (will do headgasket), TPS and possible timing belt. Records from day 1. Brand new tires. Body and paint are original with no dings and 7.5/10 paint. Gonna bring her upto an 8,000 car with some goodies!

Brad-cam, I might just take you up on that if I decide to drive her!

Thanks for the input all.

Dilberto

PM Me. I live near SF, I'll get your car out to you personally. Just fly me back, cheaply.

Zach

wi54545

Dilberto,

I appreciate the offer, but I don't think that she would make it out here without issues (oil in coolant). She needs a lot of maintenance. I'll hopefully get the car soon. I contracted with Rivercity Auto Transport in Redding (definately not the cheapest, but great reviews on auto transport reviews.com). Hopefully it'll get here in one piece.

Now to shop for some upgrades....

snappy

wi54545, b*** i was out of town, I was going to buy that car
i had to fly out on business the next day and when i got back he said you flew in. bought it on the spot. ps. he told me I was the first to phone him
I have been looking for a donor car for my project for over 9 months now

wi54545

I'm sorry snappy, hope you find a car soon...

APKhaos

Intercity - http://www.intercitylines.com/Default.cfm?code=bar

First class service, rigs, crews, communications. No hesitation. Every time this subject comes up on the race board, Intercity get top ranking. I used them to deliver the 911 i bought in SFO to the the DC area.

FWIW, a well known local racer shipped his new car from CA to the east coast recently. Unknown to him, the cooling system had no antifreeze. Yep, it froze crossing the Rockies. Significant engine damage to a freshly built race engine. Intercity have specific language warning of this possibility, so they had no liability. DESPITE that, they offered to pay half the repair costs in the name of goodwill toward the racer community. Now THAT's customer service!

tifosiman

I watched a "2 Guys Garage" episode on Speed yesterday and they had a 5 minute story on Intercity. It's run by a husband and wife that are car fanatics. Their trailer and truck looked to be first-rate.

Ken D

They are first rate. I shipped my 951 from NC to MA using Intercity. They arrived two days ahead of schedule. They called me almost daily to let me know where they were, along with an ETA. They are not inexpensive, but well worth the peace of mind.

Plus they are Rennlist sponsors.

wi54545

I've heard great things about intercity. They were a little to pricey for me considering I bought the car for 3,000. If I had a really expensive, irreplacable vehicle I would have no hesitation spending the money and they would be my first choice, especially being a rennlist sponser. I shipped my car with Rivercity Auto Transport in Redding, CA. They are a husband and wife team. Excellent service is an understatement (rare I hear in the autotransport business). I shipped my car for 1075.00 (open carrier price). I called yesterday to begin the process and they had a shipper and they picked my car up last night on an ENCLOSED transport. They estimate it will be here in 5-6 days! If all goes as planned I am very satified with the service I have recieved.

I can't wait to get the car. Got to do some maintenance, then on to the mods!!!