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      05-24-2013, 10:45 AM   #1
CFM3
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Auto Shipping Enclosed vs Open

I'm relocating from CA to the east coast and need to ship the M3 and 335. I was leaning towards sending the M3 enclosed. I was also thinking of sending the 335 open and then having it detailed as we will be selling it within a few months once we decide on a larger car (X5/X6M, SRT8, X5D). It is close to 100k miles and has been a daily so I'm not as concerned about it. I haven't shipped enclosed before, but is this the best decision for the M? Is there any reason to even consider open and then having the M detailed as well? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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      05-24-2013, 11:16 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by CFM3 View Post
I'm relocating from CA to the east coast and need to ship the M3 and 335. I was leaning towards sending the M3 enclosed. I was also thinking of sending the 335 open and then having it detailed as we will be selling it within a few months once we decide on a larger car (X5/X6M, SRT8, X5D). It is close to 100k miles and has been a daily so I'm not as concerned about it. I haven't shipped enclosed before, but is this the best decision for the M? Is there any reason to even consider open and then having the M detailed as well? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
If you can afford it I would highly recommend an enclosed versus open trailer. I've had several cars shipped cross-country in closed trailers and the piece of mind you get is worth the $ difference alone. A friend of mine recently had his 55' Chevy shipped from Florida to Washington in an open trailer and you wouldn't believe (or maybe you could believe) how filthy it was. Granted, the car isn't a show car, but still....

If I recall correctly, I paid ~$1,200 to have a car shipped from the midwest (Ohio) to Oregon in an enclosed trailer through a reputable carrier. I think the open was around $800.

My .02
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      05-24-2013, 11:33 AM   #3
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I've shipped open in the past and while the car was dirty when I got it, it wasn't anymore dirty than driving it in the rain. a good wash afterwards and it was fine.
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      05-24-2013, 12:19 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kazani View Post
If you can afford it I would highly recommend an enclosed versus open trailer. I've had several cars shipped cross-country in closed trailers and the piece of mind you get is worth the $ difference alone. A friend of mine recently had his 55' Chevy shipped from Florida to Washington in an open trailer and you wouldn't believe (or maybe you could believe) how filthy it was. Granted, the car isn't a show car, but still....

If I recall correctly, I paid ~$1,200 to have a car shipped from the midwest (Ohio) to Oregon in an enclosed trailer through a reputable carrier. I think the open was around $800.

My .02
which company did you use?
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      05-24-2013, 12:48 PM   #5
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Never had to ship my car and not sure which method I'd go with if I did, but whenever a thread comes up about shipping cars, the most common carrier recommendation seems to be Intercity Lines, fyi.
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      05-24-2013, 12:54 PM   #6
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Yes, of the ones I've spoke with Intercity seems the best. Excellent options as far as pick up/delivery and good pricing. I think I'll end up going with them, but was curious about other opinions just to get a few quotes.
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      05-24-2013, 04:45 PM   #7
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I know this won't answer your question directly (sorry), but I'll just throw it out there anyway...

Have you considered driving it? I moved from CA to the east coast last year also and shipped my other car and drove the M3 across. It was absolutely a great experience. Just something to consider if you have the time (3-7 days).

As for a more direct answer to your question.. I've shipped cars twice across the country. Both times it was open ($800), and both times I got the cars back fine. They were filthy from all the dirt/dust, but a good wash fixed that.

That said, those were regular commuter cars (Camry) and I'd do it again with them, but I'd never ship my M open. I just feel like there's a higher probability of something happening with the open trailers (rock chips, vandalism, etc). Just personal preference and more peace of mind I guess.
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      05-24-2013, 09:49 PM   #8
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Just shipped 2 M3's using Intercity Lines and they can't be beat! They are by far the best in the industry. Contact Jim or Nicki at Intercity and they will help you out!
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      05-24-2013, 10:12 PM   #9
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My M3 was just picked up today from iND in Chicago via enclosed and should be home NE PA) tomorrow afternoon. I've shipped to iND twice with Further-Racing.
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      05-25-2013, 10:32 AM   #10
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Since my company paid for it, I had no choice on having closed transport from Boston to Seattle.As previously mentioned, your car arrives dirty, but none worse for the wear. They even gave us $50/ea of the three cars to get them detailed.
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      05-26-2013, 07:00 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Benjjman007 View Post
Just shipped 2 M3's using Intercity Lines and they can't be beat! They are by far the best in the industry. Contact Jim or Nicki at Intercity and they will help you out!
^^^ you cant go wrong
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      05-26-2013, 07:20 AM   #12
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Open is fine, I've done this several times before. The car outside is dirty of course, but it's all washable. However, if either car is lowered, I would then recommend enclosed.
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      05-26-2013, 07:26 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CBS View Post
My M3 was just picked up today from iND in Chicago via enclosed and should be home NE PA) tomorrow afternoon. I've shipped to iND twice with Further-Racing.
Half-cage and RaceTech seats in an E90? I like! Pictures, please! I may want to go this route someday...
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      05-26-2013, 09:15 AM   #14
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+1 on Intercity lines. They're great.

Another thing to consider when shipping open or enclosed is the number of transfer points for the car. Many shippers will stop at hubs and transfer your car to another truck. You risk damage every time they do this.

I was able to ship cross country with intercity, single truck. Loaded with me watching, unloaded with me watching. It took a bit longer and they, of course, made other stops along the way.

Ask whatever company you deal with about this.
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      05-26-2013, 09:44 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by paradocs98 View Post
Half-cage and RaceTech seats in an E90? I like! Pictures, please! I may want to go this route someday...
Ilia said they will post pics in the Sponsor section probably Tuesday.

M3 delivered today - Custom made Closed Trailer, pretty awesome especially if you have little ground clearance. Driver, Guy (his name and Owner) couldn't have been better. He's out of RI. Name of his company, Haulin 4 Lyfe.
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Last edited by CBS; 05-26-2013 at 10:11 PM..
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      05-26-2013, 10:00 PM   #16
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I shipped mine last Summer from San Diego California to Bangor Maine. Cost me $1300 for open shipped and it took 6 days. Only thing was it saw rain one day but everything was fine when I got it. No issues. I watched them load and unload the car. I am going to use the same company next year when I head back to California.

Closed $1700
Open $1300
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      05-27-2013, 12:18 AM   #17
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which company?

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Originally Posted by Endless619 View Post
I shipped mine last Summer from San Diego California to Bangor Maine. Cost me $1300 for open shipped and it took 6 days. Only thing was it saw rain one day but everything was fine when I got it. No issues. I watched them load and unload the car. I am going to use the same company next year when I head back to California.

Closed $1700
Open $1300
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      05-27-2013, 01:09 AM   #18
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I don't think I would ship the 2nd car if I was only going to keep it a couple of months. Is there a difference in price between west coast and east cost used cars.
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      07-10-2019, 01:44 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Endless619 View Post
I shipped mine last Summer from San Diego California to Bangor Maine...
Closed $1700
Open $1300
Whoa, I paid $600 for CA (Riverside) to DC on open, granted it was 3 yrs ago, but still.
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      07-11-2019, 11:43 PM   #20
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enclosed is the best option, I used this company called montway,great service,good prices.
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      07-14-2019, 10:42 AM   #21
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Why are you spending $1-2k (plus $500 for detailing) to ship a car that you're about to sell?
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      07-16-2019, 11:44 AM   #22
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I will add my recent experience to this thread. About a month ago, I purchased a 2018 M2 from a BMW dealer in North Carolina. I live in Austin, TX. The shipping process was a complete nightmare. There was almost no communication from the shipper and I only got spotty information when I begged for it (several calls/texts). The car was due to be picked up on 6/24 and after not hearing a peep from anyone, I started calling people. Started with the broker, who said the car was picked up on 6/24 (Monday), then finally got the info of the actual shipper (TAD Trucking?) who, on 6/26 (Wednesday) said their trucker was 20 minutes from picking it up and that it will be delivered on 6/27 (Thursday). Thursday rolls around and I hear nothing throughout the day/evening. Friday morning I call and ask the status, they told me it would be delivered that day, between 5-6pm. I'm excited. 6pm comes and goes and I've heard nothing. So I make another call. This time the lady puts me on hold a few mins and says 'The driver ran into bad weather' and that it would be delivered late Friday night. That's ok with me, I say. Then she say's oh wait, please hold. She comes back and says, "Sorry, it will be delivered Monday"...??? I asked her where in the US is the guy (to confirm bad weather) and she tells me that she cannot track the driver, due to the bad weather.

Monday rolls around, I again have to ask for a status, they tell me it will be delivered today, between 5-6pm. Of course 6pm comes and goes and I have not heard from anyone. I call around 730pm, and they say it will be delivered around 9pm. The car was delivered that night, around 930pm. Good, right? No.

The single-car flatbed rolls up and while the guy unhooks it, I see a whole bunch of mud all over this beautiful car. It's obviously been driven in a mud bog, likely when it got transferred at the hub in, I presume, Houston. The pristine black 763M wheels are literally coated in mud.

I start looking around the vehicle and notice the slight scrapes I was expecting to see under the front bumper (that I had confirmed with the dealer via pics pre-purchase) were now miraculously gone. Upon closer inspection, I start to see a lot of over-spray/compound in and around the large front opening, then (gasp), multiple paint runs on the front bumper and bad masking on the black bits inside the bumper intake areas! I had suspected that the transport people had damaged the car in transit seeing as they had my car for 6 days before I even got it (quoted 2 days initially). This confirmed it. This is why they kept giving me the run-around and sketchy info when asking where my car was. They were biding their time to 'fix' whatever it was they did to my car.

To add insult to injury, when the driver backed off the flatbed, he scrapped all 4 exhaust tips, with visible damage. He just shrugged his shoulders, jumped in the truck and took off. He never had me sign anything nor did he ever prove my identity.

After driving the car about 15 miles, I noticed a 'clunking' noise in the front suspension. This car has the Dinan performance coilover setup. Disappointed, I book a service appointment with BMW to have them check it out under warranty the next day. BMW calls me the next day and asks if I had off-roaded the car, to which I say no. They said basically, there's rocks/mud/debris all up in the front suspension and that's what's causing the noise. They charge me $150 to clean it out and it no longer makes the noise (thankfully). They couldn't book it under warranty. Irritating knowing that all of this is on the shipper.

I now have the dealer working with the shipper to replace my exhaust tips and pay for a (proper) re-spray of the front bumper. The shipping company is being less than helpful with the dealer and I'm starting to feel like I am just screwed. To the dealer's credit, they have been very helpful and even sent me a check to cover the cost of the suspension cleanup visit. I just hope I get resolution on the tips and the bumper without me going out of pocket.

To end a very long story, I said all this just to let people know to pick a VERY reputable shipper. In my case, I didn't have much of a choice since the dealer I purchased from paid the shipping and arranged all of it.

Hope this helps someone in the future!
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