E55wannabe

I'm finally starting to look realistically at buying an E55 after a long wait. Most of the cars I am seeing that I am interested in are a long haul away. I'm okay buying a car unseen after it's been through a PPI, but then comes the transport aspect.

Has anyone dealt with shipping cars before? I have no idea what it costs (I assume 1kish?) to go from, say, LA to Madison, WI. Anyone have any tips?

I apologize if I should have posted this elsewhere.

Thanks!

2000UZJ

Go see the car first hand. I made a major financial mistake with my M5 that was apparently in "prestine" condition according to the PPI and previous owner. Fly out Saturday morning and come back that night. $600 for plane tickets vs a $20,000K mistake

Ruthle55

Pick it up and drive it back. Part of the experience, and gives you an excuse to take a little vacation.

E55wannabe

You guys both make good points, it probably makes more sense to try to find a closer/local car.

2000UJZ's story sounds more like a nightmare, one I'd like to avoid.

AngelsTransport

I would be happy to assist you with a quote for shipping if you'd like! And if you have any questions about purchasing a vehicle from a dealership out of your area and transporting vehicles, please feel free to send them our way!

Amanda @ Angels

E55wannabe

Thanks Amanda.

s.i.f.i.

I *really* wanted to fly in and drive my new toy home, but I bought it in March of last year, and the car was in New York.. and I'm near Seattle The road conditions between there and here at that time were... well, not conducive to driving a 4000 lb sled on toboggan tires. I paid a grand to "rapid Trans[port LLC" outta Milton VA to drag it out here for me after carefully going over a million photos and falling in lust with the car by remote control. it worked out fine for me.

nanayaw6

I used Angel's moving auto back in 09 to ship my E55 from cali to Atl after 2 PPIs at Mercedes.


OP if you go this route, Angels was a pleasure to work with and most importantly, on time.

shardul

iTrader: (1)

should be between 700 to 1000 in an open carrier

WideRide

I used Truck It Transport to ship my E55 from Boston to Buffalo after purchase in November. I just looked, I paid $448.00 and it was in an enclosed trailer the whole way.

You can use UShip to get quotes for free then contact the shipper directly for additional discounts and avoid UShips "fees".

RVAE34

I generally have all my cars shipped. My time is worth money and I hate long commutes so I gladly pay for transport. I recently had my 07 E63 shipped open carrier from Southern FL to Richmond VA for around $500.

E55wannabe

Same here.

Also I recognize you from bimmerforums. I have a different username over there, although I can't remember what it is right now!

RVAE34

Yes sir. Just joined the MB ranks 2 months ago

shooffnyc

Here are some of my tips as I was very close to shipping my vehicle.

* Best option: Always go see the car first and get a PPI if possible. It's worth that extra few hundred. I flew one way, inspected the car and then drove it 1300 miles in 2 days. You can ship the car AFTER you get to see it and get it inspected.

* Somewhat risky would be: If you can get your seller to take the car to an MB dealership and get it inspected. Then coordinate with him and a shipping carrier to ship the car to your location. This is IF you don't want to take a trip down to your sellers location to see the car yourself.

* If you plan on doing shipping, either get a quote from the above mentioned transporter OR go to one of these websites:
http://www.carshippingquote.com/ OR http://www.uship.com/vehicles/

NOTE: NEVER GIVE YOUR personal email or phone when you fill the form out in those two websites. THEY WILL BOMBARD YOU WITH QUOTES everyday for a month AND call you every day. Use a secondary E-Mail address that you use, and possibly a Google voice phone number.

* Try to go with a company that has their own transportation vehicles. There are many companies who just become the middleman and find other transportation companies for you so they can take their cut. In this case, you may not get the best deal plus if they might get some transporter who may not have good reputation to haul your vehicle.

* Lastly, check BBB or even Yelp for service ratings/reviews by actual customers.

Hope that helps.

RVAE34

Yes, a PPI should be mandatory. And I would argue that you should only let an MB dealer do it. I had mine done my a mobile guy and he missed a few small things that could have saved me a little coin.

s.i.f.i.

^+a million. The outift I used gets credit for NOT spamming me before during or after, quite unlike others. Hell I was getting ship your car spam for months, because the one outfit I thought about using but didn't, sold me email addy...

E55wannabe

This is all great advice guys, thanks.

I had planned on having a PPI done.

DVC

This!

You have to see the car in person. So many E55s are beyond roached out at this point.

rockthemullet

I bought my 05 sight unseen from a BMW dealership in Arizona with very good reviews. Open trailer transport for $830 to Michigan, showed up about as expected. I knew it was a risk but mine paid off. I would probably see one in person if I was buying in the current market

TheTherapist

First, I would strongly suggest you drive the car home. When I bought my E55 I decided to drive the entire 5000km home and didn't regret it for a minute. These cars love the open road - why wouldn't you take the opportunity to experience the beast in it's natural habitat! Secondly if you decide to have her transported, I would make sure the carrier is familiar with European cars - when I had mine transported for repairs once, it wasn't until a couple of months later that I realised both electric mirrors had been broken when forcibly folded to fit on the truck!

SICAMG

I bought two cars off Ebay sight unseen and had them shipped from Florida to CT. Angels was one shipper and can't remember the other. No problems.