Experience with car shipping?

[northernz]

Hey all, after much soul searching and prevarication I have decided to have Whitehead Performance do a engine rebuild and repaint of my Series One Zed. Problem: who to contract to get it from Edmonton to North York. Quoted prices range from $999 to $ 1900! And all the companies I find have reviews from "they are great" to "these guys are scam artists"! Anyone here have a company they would recommend?
Thanks in advance for your help, will check back later to see what the Zed community has to say!

[colinc]

Hey all, after much soul searching and prevarication I have decided to have Whitehead Performance do a engine rebuild and repaint of my Series One Zed. Problem: who to contract to get it from Edmonton to North York. Quoted prices range from $999 to $ 1900! And all the companies I find have reviews from "they are great" to "these guys are scam artists"! Anyone here have a company they would recommend?
Thanks in advance for your help, will check back later to see what the Zed community has to say!

Wow, all the way from Edmonton to Toronto for an engine rebuild and paint. Don't get me wrong, whitehead Performance is a great shop ( my car has been there several times) but isn't there anyone closer who can do the work?
You may want to post on OntarioZcar.com. Someone there may know of a good Canadian shipping company. If you want to fly me out I would be happy to drive it back for you (I am available November 23-30). The only problem may be that many of the roads have been salted already.

[Hank240]

Whitehead is a great choice - Mike, Greg and the lads are currently finishing up a complete down to the metal restoration of one of my 1971 240Zs - amazing attention to detail and true caring about the customer and the end product. They really know their Zs.
On the transportaion front, I have used Mackie Transport out of Oshawa to bring three cars up from various points in the USA. They are an outstanding company who really know how to handle classic cars. I highly recommend them. PM me if you need to get contact information.
Hank

[Blue]

should be ~$700-$900 each way.

I used this guy: SPD HAULING SERVICES - Charlottetown Cars & Vehicles For Sale - Kijiji Charlottetown Canada. $1600 calgary-halifax.

[Namerow]

I have also worked with Mackie Transport c/o their Oshawa, Ontario h/q, for both car-hobby transport and special-events business purposes. They are a large, sophisticated and experienced outfit whose owners also happen to be fans of old cars/trucks and motorsports. Quality-of-service will be A-1, pricing will be realistic.

[northernz]

Thanks for the replies, I will check with Mackie and SPD. I know it's a long way to go for work, but I wanted someone who specialized in Zeds and I have found no one who is as helpful and provided such detailed estimates as Mike from Whithead. Once I decided that I lacked the space and time to do the work myself, these guys were my first choice!

[ati2ud]

Thanks for the replies, I will check with Mackie and SPD. I know it's a long way to go for work, but I wanted someone who specialized in Zeds and I have found no one who is as helpful and provided such detailed estimates as Mike from Whithead. Once I decided that I lacked the space and time to do the work myself, these guys were my first choice!

I used DAS from Utah to AK. I think it was $2800 total. Covered. Not a great deal but the shipper was excellent. Car arrived flawless

[Jarvo2]

I used DAS and the car arrived on time (TX to IL) for about $700. It was uncovered and I'm sure I was on the bottom with drips from everyone above...but it was a barn find.

[z boy mn]

I don't have a recommended car hauler, but I do have a recommendation.

MAKE SURE your car is insured with YOUR insurance company. Call them and ask specifically if it is covered when it's being hauled by someone else and there's in issue. Your insurance company is the back-up in case the shipper's insurance doesn't cover it completely. Check your policy to verify. Also, when you call your own insurance company, make sure it's being insured for "replacement value" (like on your house) rather than blue-book...at least for the trip.

When communicating with your shipper, ask for proof that the hauler has insurance before you give them your car. And, ask what kind of insurance it is and what they cover if something goes wrong. Establish the value of the car in writing. Do not let them change the value of the car on the paperwork when they pick it up. Be sure to get as signed receipt for the car and the receipt includes the car's stated value.

Why?

Not everyone knows this (I didn't), but a lot of the "rules" change when your car isn't being driven by a human and something bad happens. Most hauler's insurance, for example, will only reimburse you the original bill of sale of the car, NOT the value of the car as stated by blue book, receipts for parts, etc. So, if you paid $1,000 for the car 10 years ago, installed $20,000 of parts on your own, the shipper's insurance will give you $1,000 if they forget to tie it down and it falls off the carrier and is destroyed...which is exactly what happened to me. :-(

Hope this helps!

Oh, yeah, the shipping company that destroyed my first Z isn't in business anymore, otherwise I'd warn you away from them!

[northernz]

Thanks for the info! I have decided to use Mackie Moving Systems, the car will be in an enclosed trailer door to door.$1375, which is middle of the road for the quotes I received and the recommendations here sealed the deal. I am quite excited to get this project underway, after driving the car for 3 years and trying to decide how to proceed, it is a relief to know that the car will get the restoration it deserves! I can hardly wait to fly out this spring and drive her home! I'll start a separate thread to detail the work being done by Mike and the boys at White Head Performance.

[dga]

I second your choice of Whitehead. They have been servicing my 77 280z for 12 years. Great work whether major projects or minor ones.

[colinc]

Thanks for the info! I have decided to use Mackie Moving Systems, the car will be in an enclosed trailer door to door.$1375, which is middle of the road for the quotes I received and the recommendations here sealed the deal. I am quite excited to get this project underway, after driving the car for 3 years and trying to decide how to proceed, it is a relief to know that the car will get the restoration it deserves! I can hardly wait to fly out this spring and drive her home! I'll start a separate thread to detail the work being done by Mike and the boys at White Head Performance.

Awesome, I am sure you will be very happy with the restoration. The Ontariozcar club has a swap meet at Whiteheads in April hopefully it will still be there so I can take a peak.