Hello all!

Any recommendations regarding shipping the vehicle?
It's going from Vegas to Tampa. Companies? Tips when loading it on? All that good stuff. Thanks.

enclosed or open transport?

I can suggest one of these, an EMPI tow bar and cheap portable signal and brake lights from Shanghai Tool Supply (Harbor Freight) and tow it yourself. Just a cheap option.
http://rennenmetal.com/proddetail.asp?prod=1400

Depends on price.

I suggest you look at the two ends of the spectrum.

Open transport, bid on an online system, handled through a broker, worst reliability for pickup, tough to get a hold of...
Best price.

Close transport, husband and wife team, concierge level classic car transportation.

One will be about 750-1k
The other will be about 2-2500k.


Edit,
I forgot the one other possible way.
Via train.
You drive it on, you drive it off.
Not sure if they can do this for your needs, but we have the snowbird express that leaves the northeast and drops cars in florida.

We personally use a door to door service for my mother so she does not have to go find the train station in florida.

Might be an option for you...you may need to drive a bit on one end of the other...not sure.
rich

I used these guys to ship my 930 from Denver to PA.

A Across USA Auto Transport

$775 door to door.

Everything went smooth as silk.

Ordered the transport on Saturday; Driver picked the car up on Monday; Car was delivered to my house Thursday.

Communication with transport company was excellent.

I had the driver's cell number and talked to him several times over the 4 days in transit.

One thing to watch out for when getting your car shipped is to make sure they don't terminal it. That is, it doesn't get taken off the trailer and put on another trailer at a terminal.

Before you pull the trigger on a shipper, go to: http://www.transportreviews.com and look up reviews for the shipper.

Just paid $1,000 from Sacramento to Cleveland...and it was a royal PITA.

I should have the car on Thursday though. So I've got going for me...which is nice.

I was thinking of shipping mine from Tucson to Tampa and they wanted around $900. Told me I could drop off the car at their truck center, then they gave me a five week window of when I could expect it to be delivered. I said screw that and got a Penske trailer and pulled it myself. Didn't have to worry about it sitting in the weather for days or even weeks.

I used these guys to ship my to cars http://www.safecarautotransport.com/ They are located here in Denver and I have met the owner personally when I picked my cars up. They are just a broker, no actual drivers, but everything went smoothly and he communicated well with me about cost etc. I believe mine was ~600 per car.

Moving to Tampa? We can always use another 914!

Open Transport will be around a Grand. I've shipped a bunch of 914's (one from Vegas to Tampa). I use Webster Services as my Broker - this is the way is works, as the Haulers Bid for the work from the Brokers. Whatever timetable they give you, add a couple of days - they always have "a Flat Tire" or " a Hose on the Motor blew".
Pay an extra $100 to make sure it is on the top tier - that way no fluids drip on the 914

Enclosed Transport are more professional & timely - you have to pay for those qualities - roughly double the Open Transport

My issues with enclosed transport- The driver was so large he couldnt get out of the car once loaded. He bent the window frame using it for leverage. He had a huge belt buckle which he promptly dragged along the side of the car. Should have had all rings, belts removed and worn a one piece cotton overalls. Simple transport turned into insurance claims, paperwork, repairs, And they were a big national company.

The independent trucks that operate from dispatch centers are a crap shoot. You can get a great driver or not so great. Most could really care less about your car.

If you time your move around an auction or big car show (pebble beach, Amelia as ex) you can sometimes negotiate a ride on an empty backhaul for cheap.

I agree with a mom and pop or one man business probably being the best.

I've used Golden Key Express five times to ship from the West to East Coast and never had a problem. They are not brokers...they have their own trucks. The trucks are open. To be honest, unless the car is a super nice cream puff, shipping enclosed is not worth the extra $$