need a good auto transport recommendation
 

Hello all,

Hope everyone is well. I need to ship a car from Lafayette, LA to San Jose, CA. I am looking for an enclosed transport and I am in a BIG HURRY to get the car. The car should be ready for pickup this Thursday, Oct. 25th. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,
Chris

I've used Exotic and Intercity Lines... both gave me great service, but I was particularly impressed with Intercity. The drivers were top notch and kept me informed the whole time.

Neither are inexpensive.

Whatja get this time Chris? :P
I second intercity.

Could it be that somebody bought a particular 68 Camaro from this site? Maybe Silver w/ grey stripes? Nice car!! Congrats!!

Brent

Nooooo. He bought that car. You bastard Chris. :faint:

Thanks for the transport tips
 

Mike, Steve and Brent,

Thanks guys for the shipping tips. I will contact Intercity this a.m.

And Brent, you are correct. I did buy Tracy's silver 68. Now I just need to get it here!

Mike, get your damm car running and let's go cruising.

Chris

pics please? congrats

Very nice car Chris. I swear I would have been all over that if I wasn't knee deep in my 55 and changing diapers (new baby). The good thing is that it is now local so I'll be able to see at Pleasanton or when I'm down in San Jose. I'm down there often, grew up there for 32 yrs. Congrats again!! :thumbsup:


Brent

I'm going down to CAR today to look at it. I know they are in the final stages of the water injection system, and figuring out some wiring gremlins. There was a small problem with the new J&S kncok sensor system. Let me know when you get this car. I want to see it before you resell it. :D

Ask for "Big Mike" and tell him I sent you, might get you a tiny discount.

Where will the car be located now? (ie, where are you located?)

where Tracy's 68 will now live
 

Steve,

Hope you are well. I ended up contracting with Dependable Auto Shippers (DAS) to get the car out here from LA. They offered rthe best price \ schedule balance, and, they are a true carrier not a broker so that helps. At any rate, if all goes well the car shoiuld be here on or before Nov. 5th.

The car is coming to Cupertino, CA. Chich is just east of San Jose (we actually share borders).

Chris

Many thanks
 

Brent,

I hope to drive the car out to Pleasanton if it makes it here in time. Should be here on of before Nov. 5th so it is looking good. If I do firm up plans to go to Pleasanton I will be sure to let you know so we can connect.

Mike,

As soon as the car gets here I will shoot you an email \ give you a call so we can connect. And, how is your car coming along?

Chris

Yeah let me know, or give me a call. I saw the car today, and the system is in, just have to sort out the J&S and tune it. The car will be ready next week at the latest :beathorse I hope. Then again you know how this build has gone.

I just shipped the camaro off to chrismoe out in CA. I'm sure he will post a pic or two. I"m sure a lot of you guys know this already but Chris is a class act and he was a pleasure deal with! Thanks tracy

That car rocks! It's one of the best 68s I've seen. If I only had deeper pockets....

Enjoy it!!:thumbsup:

The Camaro is on its way!!! PICS
 

Tracy,

Thanks for the kind words. You too were great to transact with. OK, enough of that....time to remember this is not a social networking site.

Getting the Camaro picked up was not without a bit of drama. The plan was \ is for a flat bed trailer to transport the car from Lafayette, LA. to Beaumont, TX. A distance of about 130 mile or so. Then it will go onto an enclosed trailer to come to CA. Well, there is a rule the Dependable Auto Shippers (DAS) now has about ground clearance for cars. They have to be at least 4 inches about the ground, at their lowest point. Or so said the flat bed trucker and the DAS main office. This Camaro, like most PT cars, sits a bit lower than that. Tracy, fixed this problem by running to an auto parts store, buying some cheap spring expanders and screwing them into the front springs to raise the car up 2 inches. He also remove the front spoiler just to be (extra) safe. With that, the car was loaded. The car should be at it's new home by Nov. 5th or sooner. Here are some PICS of the car being loaded. As you can see, the front of the car looks higher than you would expect, thanks to the screw in spring expanders.

spiffav8 (curtis?),

Thanks for the kind words. Cannot wait for this car to arrive.


http://www.fototime.com/inv/F6E02F164BC3617

Take care,
Chris

A friend used DAS when he bought a streetrod that Fonzi drove on Happy Days. Total horror story. The drivers cruised in the car , damaged the car , burnt up wiring etc. Car finally arrived after at least a month of riding around on different DAS trucks. Check the car over well when it arrives and check the odometer. Good luck.

Ugh!
 

Charlie,

That is not good to hear. I was under the impression that DAS was one of the better shippers. I suppose what I will do is micro-manage this transport by calling the rep. I have been working with at the main office and let her know that I know the exact mileage of the car and that I have (just now) heard horror stories about DAS and drivers cruising cars. She will hopefully help me feel better about my choice of shippers and at the very least she will know that I am someone who will be very careful to check this car out when it is delivered.

Chris

I'll be waiting for the full report upon arrival. It will be torture waiting for it to show up. It was when mine was on the way and it only took 3 days to get here.

Try to get some sleep...it won't happen, but try. :woot:

If they tell you it never happens I can put you in touch with my friend that had Fonzi's car.

Thanks
 

Curtis,

Thanks, I will try to relax. Waiting for the car to arrive was going to be tough enough but after hearing about the experience with DAS Charlie's buddy had it will now be even harder.

That said, better to know and to actively deal with the shipper to manage this move than to not know so I appreciate the info Charlie. :cheers:

Chris

Don't think about the bad stuff it will just drive you nuts for the rest of the month. There are plenty of pictures of the car to prove it was in top shape before it left.

Positive thoughts buddy...positive thoughts!

Keep me in the loop!

Good thoughts
 

Curtis,

Thanks man. Will do.

P.S.
This forum is filled with some real good people.

Chris

It will be like this...
 

Mine arrived just after dark, so the pictures didn't come out to well. But this is the kind of thing you have to look forward to. Trust me you wont be breathing when they open the truck. lol

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s...8/DSC00145.jpg
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s...8/DSC00146.jpg
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s...8/DSC00149.jpg
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s...8/DSC00150.jpg

Talked with the shipper
 

Hope everyone is well. After hearing the horror story last night about DAS I contacted the shipper this morning and spoke to my rep. as well as her manager to impress upon them my concerns and to make clear that I know the mileage of the car and the condition of the car. They were as helpful as they could be considering they ship over 12,000 cars a year. I felt a little better after the call because at least they know I am going to monitor this move closely. They did assign my Camaro to an enclosed truck and supply me with that truck number. And, they say it should be loaded onto that truck today \ tomorrow. So, we will see. I will keep a good thought until it arrives. I will let everyone know when the car shows up and how it looks \ mileage, etc.

Chris

They moved the car part of the way on an open trailer??? I hope they didn't chain it down or put it on the bottom under a leaky car. This is why I feel it's worth the extra money to go with someone like Intercity.

Let us know how this works out for you and when you get the car we want pics!!! ;)

shipping the car
 

Steve,

They used a single car, flat bed hauler to move the car from Lafeyette, LA. to Beaumont TX. A distance of about 130 miles. Not what I planned but at least the weather was perfect and the distance was short.

As for spending more money on Intercity or another shipper, I am paying DAS the same amount Intercity quoted me. Actually, most (well established) shippers all quoted within $200.000 of eachother. The only reason I did not go with Intercity was they were unable to pickup the car for 2-3 weeks and then another 2 weeks to get it here. Waiting up to 5 weeks sounded too painful.

I will be sure to post some pics as soon as the car arrives.

Take care,
Chris

So are you going nuts yet? :willy:

I'm getting a good laugh out of this. :lol:

Gotcha.. some of these other carriers just make me nervous. I have this vision of them chaining down the car.... :willy:

Let us know when it gets there.. '68s will rule CA next summer. lol

car is headed west
 

Steve,

Yea, I too have vision (nightmares) of the shipper throwing chains around the control arms and using a winch to tighten them up. In speaking with the shipper, they secure the car buy using a harness around the tires, more what I am used to. According to DAS' online tracking service, the car was loaded yesterday and has traveled from Beaumont TX. t Mesquite TX., a distance of about 580 miles. Not sure how often they update though. Only another 1,500 miles to go. I will be sure to post some pictures \ report the condition of the car when she arrives.

Chris

The car is here!!!!
 

Hope everyone is well.


Late (I mean late) last night the Camaro I acquired from Tracy (rebird) arrived from Louisiana. The car was transported most of the way enclosed but also endured many days sitting outside in a "holding terminal - (3 of them), and, the first and last leg of it's journey were via open carrier. Word to the wise...NEVER WORK WITH DEPENDABLE AUTO SHIPPERS (DAS). Charley was right, they suck.

At any rate, the car is covered in dust, dirt, bugs and other stuff but appears to be a great, very well built car. I have DMV stuff to do this morning and then will clean up the car a bit and post some pics. What I should really do is either post a .wav file and\or a video clip because you have to hear this car. It sounds amazing. Big, low rumble from the 580 ci motor but grabs revs quick like a small block. Very awesome sounding car. Will post driving impressions later but early indications are the car is BAD A$$. :thumbsup:

Chris

Cool Chris, I'm coming over to see it. :unibrow:

A few pics of the new arrival
 

Hope everyone is well.

After much pain, suffering and delay, the 68 Camaro I bought from Tracy (rebird) arrived late last night. I had a chance to clean it up a bit (see earlier post about dirt lots, etc), drive it a bit and take some pics. The car runs great. Even with 335's in the rear the big motor will fry the tires at any RPM in the 1st 2 gears. Big fun. And, this thing will change directions like a rat with tennis shoes. Bigger fun. :thumbsup: At any rate, here is a link to some pics of the car. Sorry about the dim lighting.

http://www.fototime.com/inv/15E619497E80B17

Chris