Cross Country Move: Drive or Ship?

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by dtgtheone

I guess I'm just hung up on the miles/wear & tear in such a short period of time.

This isn't some delicate flower collector car: it was designed to be driven long and hard.

The only thing not affordably replaceable or rebuildable on this car is the chassis, and even then, there are over 86,000 86's on the road right now with tens of thousands more on the way over the next ~5 years. Let some other sucker baby their car and buy that one in 20 years for chump change when yours is truly used up. Seriously, go back and look at Toyota's past sports cars on craigslist, you can find 30 year old MR2's, Celica's, AE86's, and Supra's with 200k miles still going strong that are a summer project away from being in mint mechanical condition.



Unless of course you're concerned about resale, in which case, a sports car was the wrong thing to buy...

[Jfheisenberg]

Personally, If its along drive like that, i would ship it and fly to destination. I love the car and all that but sometimes after a long drive with potential traffic, the only thing i want to do is get out of the car...

[Packofcrows]

Originally Posted by dtgtheone

I don't have any paint protection (clear bra etc.)

Battle scars make your car your own story.


Here's what I do in my 500-700 mile roundtrip drives:

1) Wash car so no contaminants in paint
2) Wax front and sides twice but lightly so wax there stays thick.
3) Later that day, remove the surplus wax I left... its a pita but a thick layer of protection works for me.
4) 24hr later I apply detailer/synthetic wax lightly.
5) Go on drive
6) Get to place and if super dirty, wash.

This lasts me like 4 months. You get smushed bugs and such but they a breeze to clean! Havent noticed new scratches and such.

[g e]

How will your dog get to OR?

Lots of animals don't fly well crated.

I have driven 700+ miles with my dog and he is a great travelar. My previous Weimeraner had to be sedated for trips over 20 minutes.

The car is a joy to drive long distance. Don't worry about that part. Plan to get out and stretch everyone's legs every 2-3 hours.

[Braces]

Tow it behind the Matrix with a front cover. Tow with the rear wheels on the trailer. Front wheels on the ground. No miles registered that way ...... I think.

Drive some of the way. Tow the rest of the way.

[new2subaru]

Originally Posted by g e

My previous Weimeraner had to be sedated for trips over 20 minutes

We had one of those dogs when I was a kid. It ate the basement while we were out lol

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by Braces

Tow it behind the Matrix with a front cover. Tow with the rear wheels on the trailer. Front wheels on the ground. No miles registered that way ...... I think.

Drive some of the way. Tow the rest of the way.

Only do that if you hate both of those cars or you're towing to Mexico for resale.

[Clipdat]

If you decide to ship it, spring the extra money for an enclosed carrier.

[dtgtheone]

Originally Posted by Packofcrows

Battle scars make your car your own story.


Here's what I do in my 500-700 mile roundtrip drives:

1) Wash car so no contaminants in paint
2) Wax front and sides twice but lightly so wax there stays thick.
3) Later that day, remove the surplus wax I left... its a pita but a thick layer of protection works for me.
4) 24hr later I apply detailer/synthetic wax lightly.
5) Go on drive
6) Get to place and if super dirty, wash.

This lasts me like 4 months. You get smushed bugs and such but they a breeze to clean! Havent noticed new scratches and such.

Very true. Good advice, thanks!

Originally Posted by g e

How will your dog get to OR?

Lots of animals don't fly well crated.

I have driven 700+ miles with my dog and he is a great travelar. My previous Weimeraner had to be sedated for trips over 20 minutes.

The car is a joy to drive long distance. Don't worry about that part. Plan to get out and stretch everyone's legs every 2-3 hours.

The dog will be with my girlfriend. No dogs allowed in the BRZ The dog is not a great traveler, so frequent stops will be necessary either way.

Originally Posted by Clipdat

If you decide to ship it, spring the extra money for an enclosed carrier.

I was actually going to go this route if I ship. Any experience with enclosed transportation? I signed up to get quotes from Uship at the moment.

[dtgtheone]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

Only do that if you hate both of those cars or you're towing to Mexico for resale.

[Mr.ac]

Make a price list for car shipping
Make a price list for gas prices/hotel/food/worst case scenario.

For me it will come down to price. The 86 would do fine cross country. You'll need an oil change afterwards. The Matrix, if it's in great working condition you'll be fine.

If bugs and rock ships is the top of your worry list, you have issues, ship your car in bubble wrap.

If that is not true and don't want to ship or put miles on your car, rent a uhaul, car trailer and car cover.

Talk to your vet about getting the dog some motion sickness pills.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by dtgtheone

I signed up to get quotes from Uship at the moment.

Enjoy those emails and phone calls from shipping brokers for the next three months.

[mav1178]

I drove LA > Austin > LA within a 5 day period, 4000+ miles RT earlier this year. I did LA > Jackson WY > LA in 2013 within a 3 day period, 2500+ miles RT.

I'd do it again.

And honestly, if you are worried about front end damage from driving the car, you should just park it forever. There is no way to predict what will happen in the future.

-alex

[phenoyz]

can anybody give a good shipping company?