Overlooking the obvious, probably.

December 30, 2007 6:40 PM

CreativeRouteFilter Followup #1: Alberta to NYC. What's that word?

So, I've been having about a million pounds of fun trying to figure out what I want to do about the 'getting-over-the-sea' portion of this previous question. but I'm finding that airfares out of the east coast are [surprise!] way cheaper.

I've decided that flying out of NYC [or toronto/montreal at the least] is going to be necessary. I need an overland solution to get to the east coast super cheaply.
What sounds like the most fun is the idea of ferrying somebody's car from alberta to new york. Only a problem has cropped up: I don't know how to find them cars whut need drivin'.
What's the term for this? I've been searching for a while with whatever terms I can think of, but I think I'm using the internet wrong.

I know this happens. People move and they need their cars driven to them. Or even RVs. I drove truck + 40ft trailer for a year or so, so I feel confident I would at least be more large-vehicle aware than most of the RV drivers on the road [which ain't sayin' much, but hey].

What should I be searching for? How do I get hooked up with a one-time, one-way driving gig?
Am I crazy?

Pertinent info: 25, male, reasonable driving record [some demerits received while on a bicycle], no accidents.

posted by Acari to Travel & Transportation (4 answers total)

One idea popped into my head, just sort of a heads up I guess - if your tickets out from NYC are non-refundable, it might not be a good idea to rely on someone else/someone else's car (a stranger, I mean) to be your way to get to NYC. You'd have to time it just right to not (1) miss the flight, or (2) get to the city early and have to spend the $$ to stay there and chill until your flight.

I can't say it's a bad or good idea, I would just hate for you to miss the trip because of a flaky stranger.
posted by KAS at 6:48 PM on December 30, 2007

Response by poster: Good point. I do have a place to crash in NYC, and did plan on having a ~3 day margin of error [I have way more time than money].
posted by Acari at 6:59 PM on December 30, 2007

I don't know if this would pan out for your route, but sometimes rental car companies (and perhaps moving van companies?) will rent very cheaply one way if they have a glut of cars in one location and want to move them back to another. Actually, maybe the moving companies (U-Haul or similar) could put you in touch with someone looking to ferry a car, if they're driving their own truck.
posted by bassjump at 7:45 PM on December 30, 2007

Maybe try researching the question from the other side - i.e., I have a car to transport, how do I hire someone to drive it? That could lead you to the right terms, etc. and maybe tell you where to look for a client.

I was looking at this and I noticed its tips about insurance - if you do find someone, they might ask to see your certificate of insurance, so you might want to get that paperwork in order.
posted by KAS at 7:18 AM on December 31, 2007