I did a quick search and many people had recommended Intercity for enclosed auto transport.

However, they want 1,675 to ship the MINI from Phoenix to Chicago.

Anyone have any other recommendations?

I trust NAM more than anywhere for this type of stuff!!

 

I'd take a few days off and fly/bus down then drive it back. Much cheaper/safer/ and definitely more enjoyable than worrying about your Mini falling off the trailer

 

My MINI was shipped to me from NY to San Diego by Autolog. No complaints. They ship primarily by train, so their rate was quite reasonable. Jerry from Mini of the Hamptons set it up for me for $500, but I'm not sure if he took on some of the total cost for me. I'm also not sure what other routes Autolog runs.

I've seen Intercity featured on some show on Speed Channel; I think they are considered the best transporter around.

 

Classic Mini uses Concours Transport. My car will be making the trip from Mentor to Seattle next week with them. They are highly thought of on FerrariChat. Some others the Ferrari guys like are:

Almond Exotic Transport
DJ's Transport
Gold Rush Motorsports
Passport Transport (now part of FedEx)

They liked InterCity (a FerrariChat sponsor), but I wouldn't say they were the best around. Gary Almond seems to have everyone beat.

Buona Fortuna,

 

I agree with msfitoy. I almost wish I had ordered from a non-local dealership so that I could.

 

You're moving to the Windy City from the desert?

 

I totally misunderstood, I thought you were ordering one and having it shipped. But I think you should still do the road trip, it would be fun.

 

I was going to use Concours to deliver our car from Classic, but flew out instead. They aren't cheap, but I was sold on them at the time.

 

I used Intercity to bring my car from Westchester NY to L.A ca and they were amazing. It was a husband and wife team and they gave me their cell phone number so we checked in everyday to see how they were progressing. I had them drop the car off at the set and as they were CSI fans they got a kick out of watching some of the filming. The charge was $1575 coast to coast and the other 3 cars remaining on the truck were on their way to Jay Leno's so Maxi was in good company.

Randy

 

Thanks for the recommendations! I'll check out the various options.

I'm driving the Envoy to Chicago with my wife and the 4 cats. I don't have time to do another road trip, especially with the potential weather conditions. So the MINI is gonna be shipped.

Yep, leaving Phoenix for Chicago. Needed something a little more urban than the desert!

 

Have you considered renting a one-way trailer of some sort and just towing it? I think the Envoy would have enough HP to do the job.

 

Yeah, sam...that's what Donna/Mike did when they moved from VA to Oceanside. They put their MCS on an auto dolly behind their Durango, and had their 3 cats in the Durango with them. Their furniture and other belongings were moved by a moving company.:smile:

Good luck!

Clover

 

Hi! I used PASSPORT TRANSPORT this past summer to ship my new MCS MC40 from NJ to Chicago - its a completely enclosed dual-level transport.

It was $800 and worth every penny! Terry and his wife - the lovely couple that transported my car - couldnt have been nicer. The best part about it was that during the week or so that it took to get from nj to chicago, I was able to contact them via their Cell Phone during the trip for location updates.

They're part of the FedEX Custom Critical group, so the company is backed by one of the top names in the business. Google 'em...

Here's their number - 1800-325-4267 and if they assign you Terry, tell 'em Brian from Holmdel, NJ says hi and that I recommended them (314-406-4720 is terry's cell).

When they came to pick up my car, there was a Rolls Royce, a few mint condition classic cars and a ferrari...first thing I said to them was, 'wow, my little MC40 seems out of place with these cars, to which Terry kindly replied, "No sir, your car fits right in, we love your MINI".

Oh, they were even nice enough to give me a tour of the inside of their Big Rig Cabin (I'd mentioned I was always curious about what the big rig sleeper cabins looked like...they had satellite tv and everything, very cool.

Hope this helps

 

Do you have an Envoy V8 or I-6? You could trailer it if you self-moving. The V8 could probably deal with the weight, not sure about the I-6. If you put a cover on it (make sure it's REALLY clean before putting it on), you should be ok. Whatever you do, don't tow it using a "Car dolly" where the rear wheels are rolling on the pavement. I know two people who have done this, and both had screwed up their alignment. Keep in mind this was on a Ford Taurus (woo hoo!) and a new Mitsubishi Eclipse GT. I think the Mini might react even worse :-(

 

I have the Envoy I-6, not the V-8, I don't want to be driving 55 all the way to Chicago

Besides, you never know about the weather this time of year, so I really don't wanna be hauling a trailer around.

Thanks for all the recommendations, I'll be calling around to get some quotes today.

Which reminds me, I have to talk to Donna/Mike about advice about moving with their cats!

 

Boy, there is no way I could tolerate looking at the Mini in the rearview while I towed it cross-country in and SUV. I think I would either 1. Pay someone to drive the SUV and drive the Mini myself. 2. Sell the SUV and buy a new one at my destination.

 

So the towed vehicle had its alignment screwed up? Do you know if it was a simple fix at an alignment shop?

 

On the Taurus it was a pretty simple fix- $50 at a gas station I recall. The Mitsu, tho, wasn't so cheap, dealer @ $150. I have a feeling a Mini-alignment is pricey, given it's BMW repair rates.
Also, towing with a tow-bar the whole deal tends to "walk" your towing rig.

 

Actually you have it backwards. Sell the MINI as you probably will turn a profit on it. If you sell the GM SUV I guarantee that you WILL take a LOSS!

I wish I had the time to take off and fly to Phoenix to drive it to Chicago for you!

 

DrDiff,

Interesting point. If I were to sell the MINI today, I'd make about 6K in profit. However, I'm currently upside down on the loan on the Envoy (only by a few hundred bucks though)

 

Just filled out quote requests from about 15 places, and about to do a bunch more!

The average price I'm seeing is around 700 to 800 for open, and 1400 to 1500 for enclosed.

There was one exception: Depenable Auto Shippers want 1,022 for door to door enclosed service! That could be the best route.

Otherwise, Passport and Intercity are other great options, since all I read are rave reviews about each.

 

I wouldn't use DAS. Your car will not stay on the same transporter thru the whole journey, esp. if you use door to door. They will flat bed it to a terminal, then transfer it to an enclosed trailer and then do the reverse to your door. Plus it may change enclosed transporters during the trip. It may also stay at a terminal in seedy areas for a day or two while it is transfered between transporters.

Cheers,

 

DAS didn't have that many good reviews either (I checked on eopinions.com). I requested about 20 quotes online, I'm waiting for them to start trickling in.

 

Sambusik, who did you end up going with?

 

sambusik - my 2 cents to add in......

We had our new 05' Cabrio shipped from VA to CA back in September. Now, because it was a rag top, we decided we wanted it in an enclosed carrier. I did a ton of research, etc. etc. and went with a company based in SC called De Moise Trk-ing. If we could have done it, we would have flown back and driven across, but just couldn't get the time off needed...

It was $1425 door to door - no problems at all! They were AWESOME to work with...:smile: I never asked them the price for an open carrier so I have no idea. Their phone # is 864-609-9390.

But since you have a truck, consider towing it. As Clover stated in the thread, that's how we got our other MINI here when we moved. It really was a smooth ride all the way across. We rented from U-Haul - it was the only company we could just rent a dolly from as we already had a moving company lined up for our household goods. It was $995 I believe.

Donna
02 CR/W MCS & 05' Cool Blue MCSC