Auto Transport Lessons

After winning the auction on Ebay, we arranged for the seller to deliver the 109 to El Paso, Texas, where we had family members pick it up and pay the balance due.

Now came the challenge of getting the 109 from El Paso to Redmond, Washington. For those of you who have never had a car transported, here is the tip that will save you alot of headaches: take the lowest bid you get and add about $200 to it. That is the amount that will actually get your car moved. Then pick the company that quoted you that higher price to begin with and engage them as they are the more honest of the pack. Or, just hire Phoenix Auto Transport out of Vancouver, Washington and get the job done right from the start.

This was our first time to transport a vehicle by truck and so we went with the lowest bid. In the course of shopping around for the lowest price, however, it turns out one of the companies we called for a quote went ahead and listed our 109 on the "boards" without telling us. The "boards" are, apparently, the place where vehicles needing transport are posted and where the truckers go to choose the jobs that fit their planned route. The company we actually did choose also listed our 109 on the "boards." After three weeks of no activity, we managed to find Phoenix (ask for Kathy) and learned how the process really works.

First, the pick up city and drop off city are what really determines the price and timeframe within which you will receive your car. We learned that the El Paso/Redmond combo was nowhere near the well travelled routes taken by these truckers. Second, the lowest price rarely draws the attention of a trucker. Third, multiple listings of the same vehicle (like what happened to us) virtually guarantees that nobody will pick up the vehicle. This is because there is a possibility that two different truckers will agree to haul the vehicle but the one who arrives second wasted their time and fuel to get there.

Phoenix helped us get the double listing off the boards and relisted it for us at a higher price. Within 3 days, a truck was on its way to pick up our 109. One week later, my wife had her 109.

In a later posting, I describe how we went straight to Phoenix when we purchased a second 109 for parts in Sonoma, CA.