Loadingā¦
12
TIL why a dealer in Phoenix quoted me $1,100 to ship a car 300 miles
I was getting bids to move my son's Civic from Phoenix to Tucson, about 120 miles door to door. One broker quoted $1,100. I asked why so high and he said, 'Short runs are the worst runs.' Took me a while to get it. Most trucks want long hauls where they can stack three or four cars going the same direction. A 120 mile run ties up a slot for a full day and they still have to deadhead back. I ended up paying $450 to a guy who was already dropping a car in Tucson and had an open spot. Lesson for me was to ask brokers if they have a truck heading that way already, not just take the first number. Curious if anyone here has had luck finding a carrier with an empty slot on a short route, or do you just eat the short haul premium?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
eva_lewis3d ago
Did you try calling the guys who run regular routes between Phoenix and Tucson instead of the big brokers? That was my trick when I moved a car from Mesa to Flagstaff. There are smaller outfits that do the I-10 and I-17 runs daily for dealerships and auctions, and they will tack on a private car if they have room. I called maybe five of them and two said yes on the spot for around $300. The trick is to call early in the week and be flexible on the exact day, since they fit you in around their dealer drops. Brokers just mark up whatever the central dispatch board shows, so you are paying for their phone call.
4