We use the services of a specialized company which usually ship new European cars to the USA. The boats of this company are designed for car transportation and the people handling the cars know what they have to do.
It is far different from shipping at low cost inside a container, where the car may move inside and be damaged, or from shipping at economical cost, where the cars may be transported and damaged with other goods. Remember that shipping companies insure "Total Loss Only" so... beware with the way you ship !
Here is the kind of problems you may have to face when you ship a car for cheap :
(found on a forum)
From: "***** *** *******" <********@********.***>
Date: ***********************************
My 2CV was a shipping casualty due to the frame being chained down. It was bent unmercifully.
With the frame chained down rigidly and the lively suspension of the 2CV, it bounced and bent that little frame into a mess.
The tie down hooks welded to the frame were almost completely pulled free from the frame. It was the saddest site when I saw my little broken 2CV for the first time all bent and twisted.
I am still in negotiations with the shipping company, ugh.
From: "***** ** ******" <********@**.******.***>
Date: ***********************************
Everything I've heard is do NOT leave ANY loose items in cars being shipped as the folks that steal from cars being shipped are not discriminating at all -- 50-50 chance that a bag of dogshit would get stolen.
I shipped my sisters 2 year-old & very used Volvo, when her car arrived it was missing 1 hubcap (screwed on if I recall correctly), 1 windshield wiper blade & arm, the floor mats, and of course the radio. They also managed to lose the ignition key and had to snap the steering wheel lock to be able to steer the car, and they apparently used a fork lift to move it around and speared one tire hard enough to break the cords in the sidewall and leave an obvious indentation and rust mark.
If I ever need to ship another car from Europe to the US I'll look into insurance coverage very carefully.
The company DID carry Lloyds coverage on my sister's car, BUT it was a royal pain in the ass to get things taken care of --the people I dealt with resisted, covered up and lied at each and every step of the way. In fact when I went to the docks in New Jersey (Yes, I know about the Jersey docks) to pick the car up they tried to keep me from test driving the car in the lot --insurance reasons they said-- but ALL claims had to be initiated BEFORE I took possession of the car. In other words once it was off their lot I owned all hidden damage, so I did drive it in their lot and noticed the clicking in the steering column (turned out to be the broken bits of the steering lock). Even though the radio was replaced by a Volvo dealer (they installed a "Volvo" brand radio in place of the Blaupunkt that was stolen) the fader and balance controls NEVER worked properly. The 3rd dealer we took it to was finally able to make the right/left balance work a little bit, but we gave up on the front/rear fader.
Does anyone have any GOOD stories about shipping cars?? I'd love to hear some.
