Shipping recommendations?

[TUNAS1016]

Hi - new Member here! I live in Connecticut and am contemplating partnering with Granger Ford on the purchase of a 2023 F150. I'm looking to price out shipping options prior to moving forward on a vehicle. Unfortunately with work commitments my flexibility is limited this time of the year (with respects to making the drive myself).

With that said, looking for referrals from others that have taken a similar approach to their purchase.

Thanks in advance!

-Steve

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[TeeJayHoward]

I used the shipping company Granger recommended to me - Fisher Shipping. It was a middle-man (and added a few hundred to the cost) but I'd probably do the same again. They were responsive, gave accurate info, and provided regular updates. All in all, it was a positive experience. Granger just wanted 24h advance notice so they could get the truck ready to be shipped, and Fisher handled most of the dealership-shipping interactions.

The only odd bit I didn't like was the way that the payment was handled. I couldn't pay the whole shipping cost up front - They took a deposit ($425) and the remainder ($950) was due on arrival via cashier's check, money order, or cash.

 

[sbi]

Hi - new Member here! I live in Connecticut and am contemplating partnering with Granger Ford on the purchase of a 2023 F150. I'm looking to price out shipping options prior to moving forward on a vehicle. Unfortunately with work commitments my flexibility is limited this time of the year (with respects to making the drive myself).

With that said, looking for referrals from others that have taken a similar approach to their purchase.

Thanks in advance!

-Steve

Not trying to shift business from Grainger, I am a happy customer myself, but there used to be a dealer in PA who had the same deal, can't remember the name. Clearly it is significantly closer to CT and could be done in one day, perhaps a Saturday to avoid work interruption, if that would fit your work schedule. Anything to avoid anyone else touching your brand new toy ?. Just another option.
Good luck!

 

[PaulGrun]

I have shipped a car across country twice, both times it worked out fine.
Here’s how car shipping works: you work with an agent, the agent bids out your job to a number of independent carriers who are the ones who actually transport your vehicle. You won’t know who the actual carrier is until late in the process.
if you Google things like “auto transport” you’ll find a plethora of companies in this business.
Someone else mentioned paying a “deposit”, with the balance due via cashier check on delivery. This is standard. The “deposit” is actually the forwarder’s fee for booking the carrier, the cashier’s check due on delivery is the fee paid to the actual carrier - I.e. the truck driver.

as mentioned, it worked out fine and this happens thousands of time every day. Nevertheless for the owner of the car/truck, it’s a stressful experience.

The hard part is finding a forwarder with which you’re comfortable … using the one suggested by Granger is a good start.

 

[WalterMitty]

Hi - new Member here! I live in Connecticut and am contemplating partnering with Granger Ford on the purchase of a 2023 F150. I'm looking to price out shipping options prior to moving forward on a vehicle. Unfortunately with work commitments my flexibility is limited this time of the year (with respects to making the drive myself).

With that said, looking for referrals from others that have taken a similar approach to their purchase.

Thanks in advance!

-Steve

I have shipped cars twice...the punchline is that all ended well for both. However, both were also a bit of a mess. Most, but not all, shippers are just brokers/middlemen....they put the work out there and then the universe of shippers bid on the work. And it's a bit of the wild west on who you are going to get. So while you set things up with a shipping contact, the person that ends up doing the shipping is a very random person. Pickup and delivery times can also be ranges of dates and times...not specific.

So you might get a delivery arrival estimate of Feb 23 through Feb 29. Then as things get closer, they will firm things up. But even that can change. As an example, today is Feb 14, and you could get an update that says....".Feb 25 in the afternoon is the current ETA". Then, tomorrow, Feb 15, you will get a text that says...."ETA is now tomorrow, Feb 16".

The back and forth comms with the actual driver can be good or terrible. One guy didn't speak very good English....but he was super nice. He actually texted me in Russian, but my iPhone was able to translate, so I was able to text him back.

If Granger has someone that they recommend, I would go with them. I've bought a truck from them (I flew out and drove it back) and they seem like decent peeps. This way, at least you would have assurances that the front end of the delivery process would be covered well.

Good luck.

 

[TUNAS1016]

Thank you all for the feedback! Granger had recommended Fisher, which seems to be on the higher end of the price range compared to the brokers I've found via Google. Their value proposition being "you pay for what you get", adequately insured, etc.

In my opinion, piece of mind has meaningful value on a $60k+ new toy delivery.

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