Preferred car carrier?

[Fitz73Chrgr]

I've got a question for you guys who've bought cars on the other side of the country and had them shipped:

Who is your preferred car carrier?  Is it a large company or do you know of a one-man operation?

My girlfriend's dad offered me a free '79 Trans Am.  The problem is that I'm in San Diego and the car is in St. Louis, MO. 

The car doesn't run and I don't need a covered trailer.

Thanks!

[Dino]

We have a member here who does car transport all the time.  http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,81160.0.html

[Aero426]

Free cars 1800 miles away become expensive cars. Hopefully the non-runner is worth the trouble because it will not be a cheap tow.  For me to operate my single car trailer with my own car in it, I figure it costs me a minimum of 50 cents a mile.  So it would cost me a grand to make that trip.

Other considerations might be how fast do you need to get the car.  Some carriers will bring it non-stop door to door.   Some may drop it at a certain location mid way and it might sit there a while waiting for a load to go west.   There really is no right or wrong answer.  All depends on what you are looking for and what your budget is.

[Fitz73Chrgr]

Looked at the Trans Am, it's not worth shipping across country.  Very rusty.

I've shifted my focus back to what I really want: a running/driving 2nd gen while we finish our 3rd gen. 

Which brings me to my next question: I've gotten some online quotes for shipping cars.  What are the hidden fees that these car carriers are not telling me about?  I'm sure the total price of shipping is not the price that they say in the email they send me. 

[Daytona R/T SE]

Looked at the Trans Am, it's not worth shipping across country.  Very rusty.

 

I've been keeping my eyes open for a T/A project.

How rough is it ? 

St. Louis is about 25 miles from here. 

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Looked at the Trans Am, it's not worth shipping across country.  Very rusty.

Which explains why he was giving it away free. He must really hate you for dating his daughter.

[Fitz73Chrgr]

How rough is it ?  

Pretty extensive rust.  Needs quarters, floor pans & I'm sure much more.  I lost interest when I saw the floors.  Some penetrating rust in the radiator support.  Interior is trashed.

It's certainly restorable and mostly complete as far as I can tell.  A/C system is missing.  

Factory yellow car with tan interior, 403 olds/auto, T-tops, snowflake wheels.

If you're interested I can certainly get you in contact.  He isn't likely to restore it, so it would be nice if someone did.  

[NHCharger]

Which brings me to my next question: I've gotten some online quotes for shipping cars.  What are the hidden fees that these car carriers are not telling me about?  I'm sure the total price of shipping is not the price that they say in the email they send me. 

I dealt with a few shippers over the last few years. The best was Reliable Transport. The guy that bought my 71 Charger hired them. Very professional.
When I bought my clone I hired Trusty Transport. They kept jerking me around on the pick up day. Kept saying car was waiting to get assigned to a truck. Canned them and hired a firm out of NY. Car was picked up within three days and delivered cross country within a week. Driver was pretty sketchy, don't think he had slept for a week. Was drinking Jolt the entire time we were unloading.. Delivered for a flat fee of $1,400.00. Not bad for a Oregon to NH trip. Would NOT hire them to transport any type of show car.