BMW M3 Shipping

[Yoddha]

Originally Posted by loveskiing

I just shipped my 2011 M3 E90 shipped from Dallas TX. to Portland OR. and called, e-mailed or contacted almost 50 different shippers. It took the better part of a week to finally find the one that I went with and I wanted to share my experiences to perhaps save another member from doing all that leg work if you should ever want to ship your car from one place to another.
I will state two things here first:
1) What I state is simply my OPINION, not fact...feel free to disagree if you feel otherwise or find/have different experiences.
2) This really applies primarily to those who are wanting to ship enclosed as I didn't want to be spending lots of $$$ to buy the car and then have problems occur in the shipping that might cause me headaches afterwards.

I discovered that almost all the shippers can be broken into 3 main groups or types:
a) those who are true brokers, have very little knowledge of who they are brokering your shipment to/with, and are more interested in taking a piece of the pie (your hard earned $$$) and set you up with anyone they can find that agrees to take the shipment for X dollars
b) those brokers who claim to know and only work with certain drivers that meet X standards and on some occasions will misrepresent themselves as something more than that when in reality they too are simply brokering a deal that if anything happens such as your car gets damage, your only recourse LEGALLY is with the driver. They will tell you that they will intercede on your behalf but you are left to depend on chasing someone to chase someone else and that might put you in a poor position
c) those outfits that have their own trucks, own drivers and if things go sideways they are responsible. BE CAREFUL here as some who fall into this category will also use someone else if their truck/drivers (type B) are full or not available to get your deal. Caveat Emptor!

I need to state here that if you don't live in the main corridors which are LA/Florida or Florida/NY good luck! It seems like the airlines if you live in the main big cities no problem with finding carriers and cheaper (sometimes) rates. But if you live in the boonies (who knew that Oregon & Washington with over 11 million people was the boonies?) many of the carriers do not service your area which limits who will take your vehicle.
I will now give you some of the rates that I was quoted along with open or closed and how long it would take:

Intercity Type B & C (Some folks mentioned this company but my experience wasn't that great) First I was told that they don't service Portland, then when I called another #, they did give me a quote but when pressed the guy indicated that they were simply going to broker the business.

Montway type A $1059 open (cash price $999) $1339 closed (cash price $1289 could pick up in 1-5 days and take 5-7 days for the trip

Reliable Carriers type C $1983 closed It would take 30 days because they were booked up; the guy didn't really sound like he wanted or needed my business

GT Sports type C $1950 closed The guy took my name and number said he would call back but never did

Vehiport type B $1050 open, $1550 closed

Rev Car-Go type B $1100 open, $1575 closed

Horseless Carriage Don't service Pacific NW, referred me to Passport

Passport type C $1950 closed would need 1-2 weeks

Wagoneers AutoTransport type B $1195 open, $1875 closed

JP Logistics type B or C not sure $1925 open, $2500 closed

Envision type A or B not sure but VERY aggressive $1000 open, $1450
closed

Pilot Transport type C I believe $2950 closed and need 3-4 weeks out

OK there are many others but the one that I selected was PLYCAR LLC type C for many reasons:
1) They are third generation company with THEIR OWN TRUCKS (30+), THEIR OWN DRIVERS, and if things go wrong they are responsible! They do NOT give your pride and joy to someone else that they "know and trust" just to make a buck.
2) I spoke to them on Thursday evening, they picked the car up that Saturday and I got her safe and sound 5 days later plus I got updates from the driver along the way.
3) They use white glove service and if your car is on the bottom it is fully covered to prevent any leaks, spills etc from the car above.
4) They service many parts of the country and don't treat you like a leper if you live off the main track
5) They routinely handle VERY expensive cars like McLaren, Ferrari, Lambo, etc. Matter of fact my M3 was riding with a McLaren mp4-12c which no matter how hard I tried, I could get the driver to give me instead of my car even though I offered him a few hundred extra!
6) Nick Pliaconis (the grandson of the original owner) was incredible and has indicated a desire to get our business. Give him a call at the Torrance CA office (Google it or PM me if you want more info) and mention that you read my review and ask him to take care of you!
7) Their price was very competitive but their service was out of this world.
8) They said that the biggest dealer of exotic cars in my state uses this company to ship all their cars.

So...be VERY careful who you select...make SURE you ask and re-ask who is responsible if there are ANY problems in shipping along with getting all your questions answered BEFORE you ship. Take LOTS of pics before the car is loaded and have the driver make any notations of any defects...that way if there is any problem when the car arrives you have a record that the defect wasn't present when it was loaded and must have occurred during the shipping process. The overwhelming time nothing will happen, I just think one might wish to be prudent in the rare case that a problem does happen.

Thanks for the long read...good luck and feel free to PM me if you want more info.

JP Logistics is the best you can get in terms of transporting your M3. They handle and sponsor Gold Rush Rally, which is an annual car rally across the United States. They ship and care for some of the most expensive cars known to man. Quality and Guarantee comes at a premium price. If you were to trust anybody it should be them

[E90325M]

very helpful post, marked, I may have same way like you when I move to Portland by end of this year. exciting....

[ErnestSherman]

Nice post @loveskiing. I like the way you categorized different shippers. Since there are many options are available in the market today, it has become much more difficult to find the reliable car transporter. From among all I have heard nice reviews about some shipping companies which also included wewilltransportit.com. One of my colleague also hired that company and according to him the company professionals shipped his car with utmost care and security.

[loveskiing]

Thanks to all who responded, both here and via PM. My goal with posting this was simply to have others benefit from my research and hopefully make informed decisions when thinking about shipping their pride and joy. Too often we go into things hoping it will turn out alright and in most cases it does. My thoughts are if something does go awry, who is responsible and how successful will I be in recouping damages. The internet is replete with victims who warn others not to use "so and so company" with their tales of woe. Hence my admonition to do the research, investigate any and ALL claims by prospective businesses, ask others who have used the service and by all means, get it in writing.
Good luck to all and may you have the same wonderful service as I received from Plycar!

[Flying Ace]

bringing this thread back to life. Lots of great info here, and it just seems like YMMV on these things at the end of the day. I'll call Plycar to get a quote for my next shipping needs, but based on my limited research, you also have to find a company (if you don't want to deal with broker), that services the two locations.

Anyways, those who used Plycar or Montway, do they offer open trailer as well? I don't really care about closed trailer, and I'm not in a hurry to get my car.

[kimiraikkonen]

Originally Posted by loveskiing

I just shipped my 2011 M3 E90 shipped from Dallas TX. to Portland OR. and called, e-mailed or contacted almost 50 different shippers. It took the better part of a week to finally find the one that I went with and I wanted to share my experiences to perhaps save another member from doing all that leg work if you should ever want to ship your car from one place to another.
I will state two things here first:
1) What I state is simply my OPINION, not fact...feel free to disagree if you feel otherwise or find/have different experiences.
2) This really applies primarily to those who are wanting to ship enclosed as I didn't want to be spending lots of $$$ to buy the car and then have problems occur in the shipping that might cause me headaches afterwards.

I discovered that almost all the shippers can be broken into 3 main groups or types:
a) those who are true brokers, have very little knowledge of who they are brokering your shipment to/with, and are more interested in taking a piece of the pie (your hard earned $$$) and set you up with anyone they can find that agrees to take the shipment for X dollars
b) those brokers who claim to know and only work with certain drivers that meet X standards and on some occasions will misrepresent themselves as something more than that when in reality they too are simply brokering a deal that if anything happens such as your car gets damage, your only recourse LEGALLY is with the driver. They will tell you that they will intercede on your behalf but you are left to depend on chasing someone to chase someone else and that might put you in a poor position
c) those outfits that have their own trucks, own drivers and if things go sideways they are responsible. BE CAREFUL here as some who fall into this category will also use someone else if their truck/drivers (type B) are full or not available to get your deal. Caveat Emptor!

I need to state here that if you don't live in the main corridors which are LA/Florida or Florida/NY good luck! It seems like the airlines if you live in the main big cities no problem with finding carriers and cheaper (sometimes) rates. But if you live in the boonies (who knew that Oregon & Washington with over 11 million people was the boonies?) many of the carriers do not service your area which limits who will take your vehicle.
I will now give you some of the rates that I was quoted along with open or closed and how long it would take:

Intercity Type B & C (Some folks mentioned this company but my experience wasn't that great) First I was told that they don't service Portland, then when I called another #, they did give me a quote but when pressed the guy indicated that they were simply going to broker the business.

Montway type A $1059 open (cash price $999) $1339 closed (cash price $1289 could pick up in 1-5 days and take 5-7 days for the trip

Reliable Carriers type C $1983 closed It would take 30 days because they were booked up; the guy didn't really sound like he wanted or needed my business

GT Sports type C $1950 closed The guy took my name and number said he would call back but never did

Vehiport type B $1050 open, $1550 closed

Rev Car-Go type B $1100 open, $1575 closed

Horseless Carriage Don't service Pacific NW, referred me to Passport

Passport type C $1950 closed would need 1-2 weeks

Wagoneers AutoTransport type B $1195 open, $1875 closed

JP Logistics type B or C not sure $1925 open, $2500 closed

Envision type A or B not sure but VERY aggressive $1000 open, $1450
closed

Pilot Transport type C I believe $2950 closed and need 3-4 weeks out

OK there are many others but the one that I selected was PLYCAR LLC type C for many reasons:
1) They are third generation company with THEIR OWN TRUCKS (30+), THEIR OWN DRIVERS, and if things go wrong they are responsible! They do NOT give your pride and joy to someone else that they "know and trust" just to make a buck.
2) I spoke to them on Thursday evening, they picked the car up that Saturday and I got her safe and sound 5 days later plus I got updates from the driver along the way.
3) They use white glove service and if your car is on the bottom it is fully covered to prevent any leaks, spills etc from the car above.
4) They service many parts of the country and don't treat you like a leper if you live off the main track
5) They routinely handle VERY expensive cars like McLaren, Ferrari, Lambo, etc. Matter of fact my M3 was riding with a McLaren mp4-12c which no matter how hard I tried, I could get the driver to give me instead of my car even though I offered him a few hundred extra!
6) Nick Pliaconis (the grandson of the original owner) was incredible and has indicated a desire to get our business. Give him a call at the Torrance CA office (Google it or PM me if you want more info) and mention that you read my review and ask him to take care of you!
7) Their price was very competitive but their service was out of this world.
8) They said that the biggest dealer of exotic cars in my state uses this company to ship all their cars.

So...be VERY careful who you select...make SURE you ask and re-ask who is responsible if there are ANY problems in shipping along with getting all your questions answered BEFORE you ship. Take LOTS of pics before the car is loaded and have the driver make any notations of any defects...that way if there is any problem when the car arrives you have a record that the defect wasn't present when it was loaded and must have occurred during the shipping process. The overwhelming time nothing will happen, I just think one might wish to be prudent in the rare case that a problem does happen.

Thanks for the long read...good luck and feel free to PM me if you want more info.

I have a differing opinion than you on IntercityLines. They are a family owned and all trucks are Owner-operated and driven. So definitely a type C in my book. I've used them twice on shipping vehicles across the country. All trucks are enclosed and have air ride suspension. Full white glove, car is covered even if it's in the enclosed carrier..............car pickup and delivery at your doorstep, etc. They aren't cheap....cost me $2,195 to ship from North Carolina to SF a couple years ago......and shipping from Dallas, TX to SF would still run you around $1,795...but well worth it.

BTW, how come you didn't post how much you paid for Plycar shipping?

[Mr. BMW]

Originally Posted by Rupes

Anyone have thoughts on open vs closed transport?

I would not take a chance with open transport. Someone mentioned that its not an exotic but these cars are not cheap either. Why take a chance? Spend a little extra for a more secure transport!

[msan]

I'm facing this decision now. Have an 2012 x5 in great condition to ship from IL to CA and Plycar covered transport quoted at $1700...uncovered with us hip looks like $800-$1000. Car is only worth $20k. As much as I'd love to use Plycar I don't think the car is worth enough for covered to make sense ....

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by msan

I'm facing this decision now. Have an 2012 x5 in great condition to ship from IL to CA and Plycar covered transport quoted at $1700...uncovered with us hip looks like $800-$1000. Car is only worth $20k. As much as I'd love to use Plycar I don't think the car is worth enough for covered to make sense ....

what did you end up using?

[///Mbitions]

Boof-M3 will probably chime in, but I used his shipper 3 weeks ago. Had it shipped from north of Dallas to NH in an enclosed trailer that only fit 3 cars maybe 4 max?
The price was hundreds cheaper then any other quote I got, also received the car within a week

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by ///Mbitions

Boof-M3 will probably chime in, but I used his shipper 3 weeks ago. Had it shipped from north of Dallas to NH in an enclosed trailer that only fit 3 cars maybe 4 max?
The price was hundreds cheaper then any other quote I got, also received the car within a week

loveskiing wrote the Bible on shipping in the OP. I'm not sure why but my shipper is USUALLY quite a bit cheaper and you don't go through the kaos of dealing with the online quotes. Also, she requires zero money down until your car arrives. FYI I get no kickback, if anyone would like her info I'm happy to pass it along.

[///Mbitions]

Originally Posted by BOOF-M3

loveskiing wrote the Bible on shipping in the OP. I'm not sure why but my shipper is USUALLY quite a bit cheaper and you don't go through the kaos of dealing with the online quotes. Also, she requires zero money down until your car arrives. FYI I get no kickback, if anyone would like her info I'm happy to pass it along.

Oh yes I forgot to mention I didn’t pay until I saw the car, that really was the icing for me.

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by ///Mbitions

Oh yes I forgot to mention I didnÂ’t pay until I saw the car, that really was the icing for me.

Yea Will, it almost doesn't make sense. I'm glad it worked man. She has shipped a lot of cars for me.

[LVI]

I just shipped my e92 m3 from Chicago to Sacramento for $900 as a reference. The transporter is based out of IL and i think they do west coast routes quite often.

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by lawrence1

I just shipped my e92 m3 from Chicago to Sacramento for $900 as a reference. The transporter is based out of IL and i think they do west coast routes quite often.

Ok, heard back from my shipper. I did not tell her how much Lawrence paid. Her quote is $800 now and $700 or possibly less if it could wait until after thanksgiving. If anyone needs her number I am happy to pass it on.

[HerbNRacer]

Got my ///M shipped by Montway Auto Transport (there are 2 different Montway shipping companies) from Wisconsin to LA in an enclosed trailer for $1000 cash. They were very professional and the drivers were also BMW enthusiasts. They took great care of my baby. (888) 666-8929.

[HerbNRacer]

Took about 9 days from the time I requested shipment to delivery. They have their own trucks and drivers. Here is when they dropped my baby off.

[ase2dais]

Good Deal!
I had bought my first M3 in Denver about 10 yrs ago. I flew there with the intent of driving it back to Wash DC that Summer, for the close container transport was too costly for me.
After seeing the immaculate car, I didn;t have the heart to ding the front with bugs, and chips driving, it plus it was a hot Summer month that I can not bear driving thru the dreary long hot road of Kansas.
I called Intercity again for a quote, surprisingly their quote was much cheaper that the quote I got a month back.
I guess the reason is, they sometimes already have trucks in the area and are eager to low bid for Ready Business. Plus drivers can take a little drive deviation so can pick up more business, than drive with a less than full load.
It was delivered on time and at a third less of the cost I was given a month earlier.

[LVI]

Originally Posted by HerbNRacer

Got my ///M shipped by Montway Auto Transport (there are 2 different Montway shipping companies) from Wisconsin to LA in an enclosed trailer for $1000 cash. They were very professional and the drivers were also BMW enthusiasts. They took great care of my baby. (888) 666-8929.

This is a great price.

[loveskiing]

This is insane...apparently somehow with all the traffic that I've generated from this thread and other spinoffs, the $$$ from all the clicks and others shipping their cars are generating hundreds of thousands of dollars to me in passive revenue...my only quandary is whether to get another Chiron or add a few bucks and get the Lambo Veneno...
I know, first world problems...decisions...decisions...

[Flying Ace]

This indeed is a great thread. But I have a few tips for others as I'm going through the shipping process myself.

Background: I already bought the car, it's sitting at a BMW dealership in Dallas, and cars needs to ship to SF, CA.

What I'm learning: It's simply supply and demand and the margins brokers take.

Pro Tip: It always is recommend to get multiple quotes directly from the shipper AND brokers.

I'm starting to learn that the bidding process actually has rates that constantly adjust, both downward and upward depending on multiple factors such as the broker, the location and timing. Broker margins are likely in the $50-$100 range per car. The true cost paid to the driver is around $300 per 1000 miles (just estimates here).

-I obtained an online quote from Uship for $790. Uship is just a broker of brokers btw.
-I obtained an online quote directly from a broker for $760
-The online broker than emailed me 3 days later to lower the fee to $752 if I book today.
-My dealership who uses a different bidding system quoted me $700, but stated it's "out to bid" and it could go up or down depending on who's in the area.


All this implies that the bidding process is fluid and runs on supply and demand. And nearly EVERYTHING is negotiable. Sometimes, multiple trucks are in the area and they bid the price down. Other times, it's holiday week (like next week), and no one is around and if I MUST get it shipped I might have to pay up.

My plan: Dealer will firm up my quote next week. If due to the holiday week, the price is higher than my baseline figures, then I'll tell them to actually hold it past that week, so that more trucks come back on the road and possibly bid it back down.

[carenthuziast]

Originally Posted by Rupes

Anyone have thoughts on open vs closed transport?

I went with Montway from Houston to DC with closed.

There are fewer cars (two with my carrier) with closed, so when the driver needs to make dropoffs before he gets to you, there's less of a chance that your car will be disturbed multiple times.

Curious enough, my car ran into issues due to a dead battery when the carrier went to pick up and during the drive to my location. It was a failing EDC module, but thank goodness I went with closed carry because otherwise, my car would have had to be shifted harshly out of the way if I went open and the carrier had 10 other cars in his trailer.

He had an exotic car in his covered trailer, but remarked to me how great my E93 sounded when he fired it up.