Cross Country Shipping?

[InfinitySky]

I have a Model 3 and I’m moving cross country. Has anybody had any success with shipping their Tesla? What do I need to do when the shipping company comes and picks up the car? Set it in neutral or “tow mode”? How can I have it locked but not have the alarm going on off on the truck?

As awesome as this car is, it certainly makes times like this a little more stressful. Thanks in advance!

 

[Shelburne]

I've never had my Tesla shipped cross country, but I did have an ICE car shipped from Los Angeles to Massachusetts in the 90's. My experience went very well. BUT, with a Tesla it's another story. Here are a few questions I would ask:

1. Does the company have previous experience shipping Teslas?
If the answer is no, look elsewhere. If the answer is yes, see if you can get the name of at least one previous
Tesla customer and contact them for a review.

2. How many different people will be driving the carrier in it's cross country trip? And how often will your car be loaded and offloaded?
It's quite likely that there will be more than one driver along the route. And because cars are loaded and offloaded
along the way by the drivers, each one of them must know the proper way to deal with a Tesla.

4. Will they allow you to put a cover over the car to protect it from debris?

5. Will they deliver it right to your door or will you have to pick it up elsewhere?
I live in a rural area and had to drive about 30 miles to pick up my car.

 

[InfinitySky]

I've never had my Tesla shipped cross country, but I did have an ICE car shipped from Los Angeles to Massachusetts in the 90's. My experience went very well. BUT, with a Tesla it's another story. Here are a few questions I would ask:

1. Does the company have previous experience shipping Teslas?
If the answer is no, look elsewhere. If the answer is yes, see if you can get the name of at least one previous
Tesla customer and contact them for a review.

2. How many different people will be driving the carrier in it's cross country trip? And how often will your car be loaded and offloaded?
It's quite likely that there will be more than one driver along the route. And because cars are loaded and offloaded
along the way by the drivers, each one of them must know the proper way to deal with a Tesla.

4. Will they allow you to put a cover over the car to protect it from debris?

5. Will they deliver it right to your door or will you have to pick it up elsewhere?
I live in a rural area and had to drive about 30 miles to pick up my car.

Thanks for the reply. This is good advice! I hadn't even thought about them needed to unload the car and needing to know how to drive it back on there too...

I also had an ICE car shipped previously but this is an entirely different animal. Not only do I value the car more but there are so many more things to think about

 

[DRTII]

I used to work with a company that acted as an auto transport broker, meaning we get the calls and route them to auto transport companies for quotes.

Here's the reality. It's a rough industry.

Before the mandate that any licensed auto transport company carry a $75k bond, it was a wild west. Florida brokers and transport companies were popping up overnight and ripping people off, shutting down then forming under a new name when their BBB got fried.

What did they do?

They quote out cheaper than most (they know what the average rate is for any vehicle + distance)
Get the deal.
Bid it out to a transport company for a cheaper rate.
Never pay the transport company or tell the transport company "buyer will pay on delivery or pickup"

Then keep all the money. Stiffing the driver and the buyer is then forced to pay twice to get the vehicle back.

The bond hasn't exactly stopped this behavior, just minimized it.

So, when @Shelburne says...

1. Does the company have previous experience shipping Teslas?
If the answer is no, look elsewhere. If the answer is yes, see if you can get the name of at least one previous
Tesla customer and contact them for a review.

That's your 2nd step.

Your first step is to first find a reputable company, and that in itself can feel like a job.

Companies like Montway, UShip, Sherpa are promoted heavily with overall good reviews, but again, you have to dive a little deeper and sometimes you truly get what you pay for.

I would also try including "reddit" in search terms just to get some honest reviews.

 

[mdelvin]

I used Uship in the past and had no issues.

 

[InfinitySky]

I used Uship in the past and had no issues.

I’m assuming you turned sentry mode off so the alarm doesn’t go off in transit? You can still lock the car and have the alarm turned off, right?

 

[AZHobos]

I do not recommend Montway. They have some good folks there, but I recently had 15 vehicles shipped cross country and in the middle of it, I got a strange, threatening phone call from a supervisor implying he might have some of the vehicles stored until he received payment. It was essentially a very odd 15 minute rant. Stay away.

Just drive it! Way more fun.

 

[St☰v☰]

Montway, like most, uses independent carriers. I used Montway earlier this year to move my 3 from SoCal to Texas. The actual carrier was excellent. Inside with my 3 was a Ferrari, a Rolls, and a GT350. On the back of the truck was a Lamborghini emblem that covered the entire rear end. He kept one of our key cards to enable him to juggle cars as he picked up new cars and dropped off existing cars. When my 3 reached Texas, there was NO damage what so ever. The only thing that did rub me was the fact that of the fee I paid Montway, he only received a 3rd of it. He said if I needed to move another vehicle to call him directly. I have his name a phone number if anyone is interested, just PM me, I would definitely recommend him.

 

[Cree]

Montway, like most, uses independent carriers. I used Montway earlier this year to move my 3 from SoCal to Texas. The actual carrier was excellent. Inside with my 3 was a Ferrari, a Rolls, and a GT350. On the back of the truck was a Lamborghini emblem that covered the entire rear end. He kept one of our key cards to enable him to juggle cars as he picked up new cars and dropped off existing cars. When my 3 reached Texas, there was NO damage what so ever. The only thing that did rub me was the fact that of the fee I paid Montway, he only received a 3rd of it. He said if I needed to move another vehicle to call him directly. I have his name a phone number if anyone is interested, just PM me, I would definitely recommend him.

Thanks for sharing Steve. My car just left San Francisco this afternoon. I was wondering if you were able to track your 3 on the app? When I open the tesla app it shows the car at my house still. I was hoping to track it along the way. Any feedback would be great, thanks everyone!

 

[St☰v☰]

Thanks for sharing Steve. My car just left San Francisco this afternoon. I was wondering if you were able to track your 3 on the app? When I open the tesla app it shows the car at my house still. I was hoping to track it along the way. Any feedback would be great, thanks everyone!

Nope, once it's in their metal truck trailer, it cut the signal.

 

[Cree]

Nope, once it's in their metal truck trailer, it cut the signal.

Thanks, I read similar postings

 

[andyk57]

Montway, like most, uses independent carriers. I used Montway earlier this year to move my 3 from SoCal to Texas. The actual carrier was excellent. Inside with my 3 was a Ferrari, a Rolls, and a GT350. On the back of the truck was a Lamborghini emblem that covered the entire rear end. He kept one of our key cards to enable him to juggle cars as he picked up new cars and dropped off existing cars. When my 3 reached Texas, there was NO damage what so ever. The only thing that did rub me was the fact that of the fee I paid Montway, he only received a 3rd of it. He said if I needed to move another vehicle to call him directly. I have his name a phone number if anyone is interested, just PM me, I would definitely recommend him.

Hi Steve, I need to ship Model 3 from Dallas to San Diego, can I get contact of direct shipper. Also what did it cost? I did not see where to PM. Thanks