Shipping a 2015 FRS TRD
 

TL:RD

Will a 2015 TRD 1.0 body-kit equipped car be damaged by a "semi truck style" car hauler? Car is 1500 miles away, shipping may be easier than driving home.



Hi, new to the forum here, just wanted some feed back from anyone here with more experience than me.


I've been looking at getting into one of these cars for the last 8 years, and a friend of mine gave me a lead on a 2015 Release Series TRD for a decent price (at least recently).


Only one problem, the car is 1500 miles away from me. I've been looking into auto transports, and I noticed that prices go from $800 for the semi truck style haulers, to $2600 for an enclosed trailer with a lift ramp.



I sat down and did the math, short version is I really wouldn't want to spend nearly $3k on a transport. I can fly out and drive the car back for about $800 (the same as a car hauler). The way I figure, if it costs the same, might as well pay for the $800 hauler.


But I'm concerned that the body kit will be torn off on the semi trailer style haulers.



While I can do a 1500 mile road trip, and it would be fun on it's own merit, it still would be a bit rough, and it would take 2 days to do it.



Thoughts?

The 2015 RS.1s were shipped originally without any of the aero on them and regular springs. The aero and lowering springs were dealer installed at destination. This was in all probability due to the higher risk of damage while in transit.
Having owned a lowered FRS I would not want to trust a hauler unless I had no choice.

Good to know, seems like the truck ramp style haulers are just asking for trouble.


Seems like a road trip would be the only way to do it then.



Would you say a manual 2015 TRD with 50,000 miles is worth 20k? It has a few upgrades that I would have done anyways, namely a full Tomei UEL style exhaust, Delicious Stage 2 flex fuel kit, Ray's wheels, and Vland tail lights.

Road trip gets my vote, unless you really know and/or trust the hauling company. I have a lowered BRZ on STI pink springs and once had to get it towed to the dealer (long story), but yeah it was tight getting it up on the ramp. I’d imagine it’d be worse with TRD bodykit bits and bobs hanging off it.

If you do end up getting it, posts some pics, the specs above sound pretty cool.

Road trip road trip road trip!


That said, if the car is on coilovers and you could justify any alignment anyway, you could adjust them to ride a couple inches higher (not too high though - check the manufacturer's specs for minimum travel). This is pretty common practice when shipping drift cars and such from Japan to the US.

Definitely take the road trip.

If it's on coilovers, try adjusting them for better overall driving. If it's too low, it will make it difficult to transport or even road trip due to little clearance.

Taking the trip will allow you to learn more about the car and possibly help you find anything that may need some attention(i.e. handling, NVH issues, how bearable the current exhaust setup can be, etc).