Bugeye

Hi guys,
Any suggestions of people to contact (or not) for this? Any ballpark costs based on your experience? My brother needs to move his Prius (No, he's not a car guy, but yes, we're brothers!). My guess is it's not high priority or worth extra cost to him to be in an enclosed carrier.

Thanks in advance!

Bearclaw

You can go to a lot of transporters' site and get an automated quote. For that route, they're all gonna be pretty close to one another. For fun, I just went to DAS (somebody I used to use, but wouldn't anymore - but we'll get to that in a minute), but their site is useful for a ballpark. I get about $750 for door-to-door service, and that sounds about average with fuel costs what they are now. I've shipped many and have plenty of stories, good and bad. Though more of a concern on long routes, I'd stay away from big outfits like DAS that drop-ship to terminals, switch trailers en route, and other things that - even with a family car, you don't want to have stuff like that happen. Try to avoid dealing with "brokers" who take a deposit and throw your car up on the database that all the carriers scour for jobs. They may entice you with a lowball price, which will end up having your car A) sit there forever waiting for somebody to take it, or B) have it be picked up by a bad operator. On that West Coast route, there are a lot of guys with diesel pickups and a big car carrier, who are in over their heads. A friend of mine bought a big pickup last year on eBay in SoCal, and paid the seller to arrange shipping up to Seattle. It showed up hanging off the back of a 3-car trailer towed by a 1-ton pickup, just barely hanging on. My buddy said he couldn't believe the guy didn't lose it in the Siskiyou's. The guy admitted it was "pretty hairy". Cripes. Anyway, it's a business where you get what you pay for - read "transport reviews", and go with a reputable carrier. It's worth the few extra bucks.

ghunter

I just had my wife's 528i brought up from OC to Seattle by Peter at Quality Line, his number is 253 740 5945. Enclosed transporter, arrived quickly and in perfect condition, and his price was more than fair.