Baby, can you drive my car?

August 4, 2023 6:33 AM

Moving from Michigan to Salt Lake City, and my original plans for a road trip with a friend fell through. So I'm thinking about other options and would appreciate some insight.

When I first got quotes from movers, I did ask one about shipping the car. That would have added about $2000 to the cost, but that company was also $5000 more for the move than the other companies I got quotes from, so I don't know if that's what I'd expect to pay. What I didn't like was being without my car for up to two weeks. But I'm also not at all sure I should try to make that drive by myself (see previous question). In addition to being acrophobic, I'm concerned about severe weather this time of year. So I'm thinking of other options.

I know nothing about having a car shipped or how to pick a company. I'm not sure I want to use my movers because I want to hang around a day or two after they pick up my stuff, though someone I know did offer to let me borrow her car. I've never even thought about shipping a car before, so I don't know anything about it. Please enlighten me.

I've also gotten the suggestion of seeing if any BYU students who live here would be up for driving the car to Utah (my daughter is LDS and knows people here). Is this a terrible idea? Classes start the week after I'd want my car out there. Aside from covering gas, how much should I offer to pay them? One reason I like this idea is that I'd probably get my car back more quickly (we would take them to Provo).

Any suggestions welcome.

posted by FencingGal to Travel & Transportation (11 answers total)

Ordinarily, I'd be a little suspicious of turning over my keys to a college student for a week, but... BYU. You'll be fine. $100/day and all the sparkling juice they can drink.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:54 AM on August 4, 2023 [3 favorites]

As long as you met the students and they seemed reasonably responsible, that seems like a fine idea. Even more so if you or your daughter knows their parents even slightly. I'm not sure what is fair in terms of money and so on, but that seems like something you could work out collaboratively -- I'd say enough to cover their gas, food, and hotels, plus a bit extra, would be fair.

Years ago, I twice paid to have cars shipped. This was more than 10 years ago so costs aren't comparable, but it was a really pretty easy process. I found a recommended shipper by poking around in some car-specific forum. Then, it was a matter of talking to the shipping agent on the phone to get the quote, then a bit of waiting and coordination to meet the truck when it was coming through town. In both cases the car was delivered within about 3 days but I am sure longer is possible, too.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:30 AM on August 4, 2023

I know that back in the 80s my roomate did what was called a "driveaway" to drive someone else's car from point a to point b. Not sure if that exists in this day and age. Goggle suggests that they do. He did it as a college student, but these I googled seem to be more professional services.
posted by Windopaene at 7:55 AM on August 4, 2023

The standard in the used classic car market is (I think, still?) Bring A Trailer, who quoted me $1420 to transfer a Mini Cooper from Detroit to SLC. They kind of skate around the "how long will it take" question since their usual market is people buying a classic Porsche where time isn't a huge concern, but it's an option.
posted by Kyol at 8:18 AM on August 4, 2023

Best answer: Personally, I wouldn't turn to a moving company to transport my car, I'd look for a specialized car shipper. I'd likely start by looking at some automotive sites, seeing if there were any common recommendations and then calling around for quotes.
Here are a few lists:
1
2
3

I will add a note that I've never shipped a car, but I sold a car to a buyer who wanted it shipped across the country. I handled the drop-off end of things, and the experience was smooth and easy, and it let me pretty impressed.

If you decide to go the route you've asked about, having a student drive your car, the first thing I recommend doing is call your insurance company and let them know what you plan. See if there is any additional/special coverage applicable to this specific scenario, just a CYA step in case things go wrong.

I'd also want to talk to the student and get some sense of what their driving experience was like. Are they used to doing long-distance drives, because let me tell you, just because university students have licences and say they can drive doesn't mean they really can or that they have any sense about how to plan a road trip, including stops. I say this as a former university who ended up driving to events with other university students. My experience behind the wheel and my experience as a travel and route planner was vastly different from some of the other people I shared a car with (i.e. I had experience and they didn't, but they still thought they knew EVERYTHING, and reader, let me assure you, they didn't, and they also wouldn't listen to the people, including myself who actually owned cars or drove on a regular basis).
posted by sardonyx at 8:18 AM on August 4, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Call your insurance company and ask if your car is even covered in a situation like this. You don't want to discover that they wrecked it and you're personally liable.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:36 AM on August 4, 2023 [2 favorites]

Assuming your insurance isn't an issue, wouldn't it be simplest for you to ride along with a BYU student driving your car to Utah? This would eliminate concerns about how the driver is treating your vehicle, and would also eliminate the problem of temporarily being without your car. You could offer to cover the student's overnight lodging and meals along the way, as well as a daily "wage" for doing all of the driving.
posted by little mouth at 9:43 AM on August 4, 2023 [3 favorites]

It's been many years but we did a car-ship when we moved back from NJ to Texas. If we were still a two-car household and had to move cross-country, I'd definitely consider it again.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 12:48 PM on August 4, 2023

I'd do a very careful read of my insurance policy (or call my agent) before trusting a random student to drive it down, regardless of their intentions. Getting your car moved professionally won't have that issue and would be worth it to me in terms of peace of mind, though I don't know what your budget is like either.

You might investigate rental car options for the gaps where you'll be waiting for the car to be shipped if you really need a car in the meantime. Most rental companies can deliver a car to a specific address if needed.
posted by Aleyn at 1:08 PM on August 4, 2023

Best answer: I just thought of this, but would it be possible for your daughter or someone in SLC to fly to Denver? You'd drive the easy stretch on your own from MI to the Denver airport (which is waaaaay east of the mountains, fields and farmland), pick them up at the airport, then they'd drive you and your car from Denver to Salt Lake?

There are direct flights on Southwest for under $100 toward the end of August, and the flight itself is about an hour and a half. (I bet there are other airlines with similar.)
posted by mochapickle at 3:14 PM on August 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you so much to everyone. I've pretty much decided against the BYU student route just because I'd be pretty anxious about it and yeah, even the most responsible, less experienced driver might not be great at handling unexpected problems. I will probably go with Sherpa, as I learned that all car-shipping companies are brokers and the most highly rated, Montway, apparently just spammed my name to at least twenty different moving companies, so I got a ton of emails and did not want to research all of them (thanks to seanmpuckett for those excellent links).

I am still giving some thought to mochapickle's Denver meet idea though.

You guys are the best!
posted by FencingGal at 4:29 AM on August 5, 2023 [4 favorites]