Transport Companies

So I sold my Gt6 from California to a guy in Florida. He is having a very difficult time getting the car shipped. The first trucker said the car is to small- the track is not wide enough. It's been three weeks and a second transport company has not been able to move it and won't explain why. Does anyone have any insight into the car transport process? Is this a common problem for little British cars?

Is he trying to hire an open hauler, or enclosed? I can see where the track might be too narrow for an open trailer, which normally has separate ramps with little or no adjustability for width. Alot of enclosed haulers will have either a full-width ramp-door, or a lift.

Granted, the enclosed will cost more $$$ to hire than an open trailer, but it might be worth looking into.

I'm currently having a Miata shipped from VA to OH, and most quotes were about $200 more for enclosed transport.

That's a hell of a long way to ship it. I imagine that you're going open trailer to make the cost reasonable at all.

There are specialist classic car movers out there. InterCity is the best, IMHO. I know I wouldn't use anyone else for a valued or valuable car. Don't know whether that's practical or cost effective in this case.

BTW, average truck companies generally hate one-offs with people they won't regularly do business with. They tend to put you at the bottom of the list and will move it at their convenience rather than yours.

Did you try a non commercial solution? I've seen racers and car show attendees offering up space in their trailers to offset the tow cost. Look or advertise on the regional SCCA boards or a national site like Apex Speed.com

mike

There have been some extensive postings on this topic on other websites, including GRM. Basically a lot of these folks are just brokers, who arrange the deal and then "sub" out the actual transport to any trucker that comes along and agrees to pick up the car. So you never know who is going actually going to transport your car because a lot of times the people who you spoke to over the phone don't even know. There are probably a few good ones out there but I can't afford them.

Thanks for the input guys. Turns-out, calling the broker and offering an extra $100 in cash for the driver solves the problem.