Auto Transport

[racingwench]

HI
We will be moving from NY to SC. House closes here on Friday 6/29. DH and DS are moving to SC. I will join them once my job transfer is completed later in July.

I need to get my DS car down to SC as it is a 14 hour drive and he doesnt have enough highway experience to go the whole way. DH will be driving rental truck with our furniture. They cannot stop overnight as they will be transporting our 3 cats with them in the truck.

Anyways I need a way to get DS car from NY to SC. Have any of you used an auto transport company? Do you have any recommendations for a company to use or pitfalls to look out for?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Cathy

 

[angwill]

You can rent a car trailer for the back of the truck if that works. I know Uhaul has them and I am sure others do as well. That is what we plan to do when we move. HTH

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I agree. When you rent the truck, also rent a car trailer. I would suggest getting one that keeps all four of the car's wheels off the ground. (And that way you can keep the cats in their carriers in the car and nobody will be subjected to their screaming.

 

[Judique]

I agree. When you rent the truck, also rent a car trailer. I would suggest getting one that keeps all four of the car's wheels off the ground. (And that way you can keep the cats in their carriers in the car and nobody will be subjected to their screaming.

That would be a pretty hot ride for the kitties.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

DAS Auto transport.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

When we moved from El Paso to SC, we did the pulled DH car beind the moving truck and I do NOT reccomend it at ALL.

It was terrible, first of all the moving truck will have a governer on the engine, so it will only be able to go so fast anyways, adding all that weight is just going to make it worse.

We did the full car carriage, where all 4 wheels are up off the ground, even if you do the 2 wheel carriage, you will get wwaaayyy less miles out of the truck. I would get so far ahead of DH, I pull off at a rest stop and let the kids out of the car, and he'd call and say he was 5 miles out and we'd join back up on the highway.

Our truck was quoted when loaded full to get 15 miles per gallon, we got anywhere from 5-8 miles per gallon. It eneded up costing us way more in gas than we ever could have imagined.

Certain states have restrictions as far as how large of a truck you can rent on a one-way out of state rental, and then more restrictions on which ones are allowed to have car carriers attached too.

 

[dakcp2001]

I do not recommend the car trailer, I did this and it was so difficult to change lanes for tolls etc. Other drivers were not considerate of how hard it is to maneuver. Is ther anyway you can do a pod or ABF relo cubes and then have your hubby/son drive down with the kitties in his car? It worked out to be cheaper for us when we moved cross country. And there was no way I was driving a u haul again. The relo cubes were the best we have found for a long distance move.

Otherwise, could you drive it down and fly back home? Having the cats in the back of a moving truck seems a bit mean. Won't their cage slide around? How will you control the temp? For any meal stops they need to be kept cool. There are hotels that allow pets, we stopped at one with our 2 kitties when we moved South. It was off of 95 in Virginia. We got a disposable box.mthe cats were traumatized from the car, but they enjoyed the hotel room.

 

[cornflake]

You can probably find someone to drive it for you for much less than you'd pay a transport co..

College kids, people who want a trip home but don't have a car or $$, etc. There are a lot on CL. You can check them out, maybe ask them to go to the DMV and show their license is clean or whatever... and you pay the gas they drive or whatever the arrangements are. Like I said it's a common thing, you see ads both ways a lot.

Also, yes, there are plenty of hotels that allow pets, especially small ones (like some have dog size limits). Most charge a small pet deposit but they allow them, just call and ask.

 

[dakcp2001]

You can probably find someone to drive it for you for much less than you'd pay a transport co..

College kids, people who want a trip home but don't have a car or $$, etc. There are a lot on CL. You can check them out, maybe ask them to go to the DMV and show their license is clean or whatever... and you pay the gas they drive or whatever the arrangements are. Like I said it's a common thing, you see ads both ways a lot.

Also, yes, there are plenty of hotels that allow pets, especially small ones (like some have dog size limits). Most charge a small pet deposit but they allow them, just call and ask.

That is not a bad idea. College kids are out for summer at that point. Any nieces,nephews, or former babysitters that might be up for a road trip? It would be a lot cheaper than transport company. At my college we used to have a " ride board" where people could post if they were offering or needed a ride. I imagine there is an Internet version of that theses days. I'd be weary of craigslist. Maybe ask around, word of mouth see if there are any college kids willing to make the trip.

 

[disneychic2]

Could you sell his car and then buy another one down there? I also like the idea of a college kid or relative driving it down. Good luck to you in this and in your new home!

 

[iadis58]

Did you ever consider using PODS or a similar company for your move? We used them in moving from Iowa to PA and it was great. They do affiliate with DAS Transport as mentioned above and they could move the one car. No idea of cost. PODS work great because you have more time to pack everything in. Where as you get a truck and try to hurry to get it loaded, usually exhausting the driver of the truck and then turn around and drive through the horrible east coast traffic. You get the POD for about a week and fill one or more at your time schedule, they come and pick it up and hall it to your new house, again they drop it and you can then unload at your convenience. Keep in mind that you are paying while it is in transit and at your new home. I just thought it was so nice to not have to worry about driving a truck cross country. Cost is probably an issue but till you figure in gas and aggravation, it might be worth at least getting a quote. Shop around to because I know they will price match. Good luck

 

[kiki02]

can you take the auto train?

gl, bf did same. moved from nyc to sc. Beautiful state.

 

[racingwench]

Thanks for all of the great replies.

I had already packed up a 16ft POD with all of the stuff that we didn't need at the rental house. That was picked up on Friday and left the area today by PODs and is on its way down to SC. That we will get back once our house is finished being built which is scheduled to be completed by the end of July.

Hubby did rent a 22ft truck from Penske. DH and DS will be driving that down. There is a large bench seat in the front and we bought individual cat carriers that will fit in the front under the seats. DH is going to try and make the trip in one day (about 880 miles). He has done it before himself but in his car, not the truck and not with the cats. I don't envy his trip.

It looks like it is going to cost us around $800 to get the car door to door. I have 6 different quotes and they are all within $30 of each other. The car is paid for (we bought new in 2002 so it doesn't owe us anything at this point) so to have to buy another one down there is not a good idea for us. We know the history of this car and how well we took care of it. You never know with a used car from someone else. DH is not a mechanic and just moving into an area that we know nobody is scary as well.

DH and DS leave Tuesday morning and I will be in our house until Friday and then I head to my inlaws for a month. UGH. Oh well, it will all work out in the long run.

Thanks again for the great answers!

Cathy

 

[scrapquitler]

You can probably find someone to drive it for you for much less than you'd pay a transport co..

College kids, people who want a trip home but don't have a car or $$, etc. There are a lot on CL. You can check them out, maybe ask them to go to the DMV and show their license is clean or whatever... and you pay the gas they drive or whatever the arrangements are. Like I said it's a common thing, you see ads both ways a lot.

Also, yes, there are plenty of hotels that allow pets, especially small ones (like some have dog size limits). Most charge a small pet deposit but they allow them, just call and ask.

This Ask around to your family friends and see who would be willing to help you out. You buy the gas & tolls, pay for the hotel room & meals overnight on the way then you pay for a flight back to NY.

I have a couple friends that do this regularly for the snowbirds going to Florida for the winter. My one friend actually gets the plane ticket from Miami-CT-Miami...he drives their car down in November, flies back (he spends a few days down there on his own $$ before flying back) then in May he flies back down and gets their car and drives it back up.

Honestly, it might be better for you to just sell your DS car and buy a new one for him once you get down south.

 

[DawnM]

We transported our cars from CA to NC when we moved here. I can't remember the company but I will say this:

Check your car VERY CLOSELY when you pick it up on the other end. Thankfully DH was with me and tall enough to check the top of our VUE. Sure enough, it had been scraped and dented in. We needed a new sunroof and repair work done to the tune of about $1,500. The guy damaged it when he got it off the truck.

Dawn

 

[racingwench]

Just thought I would give you guys the final update.

The quotes for the auto transports were around $800. One of our neighbors who had been helping pack up the truck said Monday that he would drive my DS car down. He is 23 and I spoke with his mom and she was okay with it as well. So I gave him $200 plus I paid for his airline ticket ($244) home.

This meant that 2 of cats got to ride down in style in the big cage in the back of DS car and they did quite well. Adjusting fine to the new rental house now.

The one remaining cat rode in the truck with DH and DS and he is still a little skittish today but that is to be expected.

Thanks again for all of the suggestions and it all turned out well at the end.

Cathy