I did a lot of research before a 911 Turbo was shipped from Camarillo, CA to Houston, TX a few days ago.
Here is what to expect. You deal with brokers, and they try to make as much money as possible. The broker places a shipping requirement into some sort of data base. The carrier, moving about the country decides which cars to pick up, based on the type of auto due to his liability, but the bottom line is how much money your broker puts on the car to be shipped. It's like bounty hunting. The cars with the most incentive get shipped first, and cars with low incentive will never get picked up. There are more cars shipped across the country during the summer than in the winter, therefore, the incentives are higher, otherwise your car will never get picked up by the carrier. I was told there were 400 cars moving from CA to TX. I can't really say if that is a lot or not. I guess it depends on how many carriers are in CA going across the county, the southern route.
Sometimes a broker will give you a low quote only to find excuses for you to give him more money. He got you hooked. For example, a car from CA to TX for $600 incentive will get picked up. If the broker placea $500, the car may just sit there because the carrier can make more money picking up cars with higher incentives. So, when you hire a broker, regardless whether he wants some money up front or not, you pay the carrier when the car is delivered. A broker will take $100 to $200 fee, very typical. Any broker who will tell you he only charges $50 is lying to you. One question you have to ask the broker, how much money is he giving placing on the car to be shipped. The difference is what he make. He may tell you he is giving the carrier $600. In my case, I want the car ship ASAP, so my cost was $800. I could have negotiated a lower cost, but I want the car now! $200 from CC to the broker, and $600 to the carrier in cashier check.
The carrier does not keep his schedule. He has to pickup cars and offload others, so when he schedule with you to pickup your car, good luck that he will show up as agreed.
2 years ago, the Carrera S went from Houston to New Jersey. The guy in NY bought the car and paid for the shipping cost. And this Turbo I paid $800 to have it shipped from CA to TX. It got here in about a week, arriving late at night. I had to pick it up from about two miles from the house because the driver said his load couldn't clear some wires. I could bitch, but I rather receive the car than having the driver off load the cars on top, which would have taken a lot more time. I was too pissed to take any pictures. It was dark and the mosquitoes were out. I drove the car to a bright gas station to check for damage before signing off the release form. I have to agree that the carriers are pretty good to make sure the cars are not damaged.
When I moved from CA to TX, the BMW 330i got to ride inside the moving van because the mover got paid by the weight of the stuff inside the Mayflower. It was OK with me because the company was paying for the move. :thumbup: