How would you transport your car across the country?
 

I'm looking for advice regarding the 3 options I see:

1. Drive the RX8 from California to Florida. At 15 mpg this costs around $900 gas, so round this to $1000 after an oil change. Pluses, minuses include:

+maintain control over the car
-odometer hit, tire hit, etc.

2. Pay an auto transport service $1200.

+minimal odometer hit
-ability to accomodate "no cold shutdown" may vary, may stall the vehicle first attempt and flood, physical treatment is "by the numbers"
-hidden costs, enclosed transport charges, etc.

3. Tow it yourself, around $400 to rent the car transport wagon to attach to your moving van rental.
+maintain control over the car
-gas mileage hit hauling a 3000 lb weight
-Cannot transport using Penske as per their website 18 inch wheels cannot be accomodated; Uhaul alternative is relatively dangerous with mechanical difficulties and low road suitability
-requirement to re-check equipment tightness every 50 miles...that's around 50 stops.
-difficult to back up
-a bit scary to attempt

What option would you go with?

I would drive it and enjoy all the scenery that you pass along the way. It would be a very nice trip to take.

I drove from El Paso, TX to North Carolina and loved it. I even took the long way (about 2200 miles) and didn't spend anywhere near $900 on gas, so I'm not sure where you got that figure from.

i've driven cross country and it's a blast, and you'll get better than 15mpg, try 25+ if you keep it a between 70-85mph. Just buy name brand ( chevron shell citgo bp no name crap )87 octane and keep your oil topped off. new spark plugs would be good too.

Another thing to keep in mind if you do a auto transport is that you have no control of when you will recieve your car. They save up the cars and then do it whe they have enough. Often this takes a month. You'll also have to find a place to meet up and pick it up. You'll also have no control over the car and it could get lots of incidental damage dependin on how it's shipped, of if any of the other cars that ride with you leak whatever on your car etc etc.

If you do have a truck and the rx8, towing yourself is an a better idea since you would have to move 2 cars. Another thing you can look at is if you are moving an entire household, you can llease a semi load your households goods in the front, stick your rx8 in the back. I've done that several times with other cars when moving cross country.

Make sure you check transports.com and I personally would avoid DAS. They dropped a ramp on my RX-8. Over $3,600 in damage, plus wheel damage.

I haven't driven across country in the 8, but twice in other cars. It's a great trip. If I had had the truck, I would have towed it. If I go across again I will definitely be towing.

I've driven mine across the country four times and it costs less than $1k, even with current gas prices.
Wear and tear is another story.

If you don't mind the miles, drive. Have you shopped around? I think that shipping should be a bit cheaper than that.

Put someone in the passenger seat and drive that mofo, it's a blast and will be the cheapest option.

I would ship it....in a closed trailer.... :D:

for me, a couple of reasons why....

1. i dont wanna put all those miles on the car
2. risk of damage to the car (paint chips)
3. time constraints if any...

i show my car, so the top 2 reasons are very important...and ive had the opportunity to transport mine already one with a very top notch company...

if you need details, just PM me..

:D:

I agree with those that said "drive it". Take a friend, enjoy the countryside. No doubt you'll far exceed 15 MPGs; unless you plan on having the cruise control stuck at 105.:eek:

drive it.

I moved from California to Connecticut last year...I used Penske. I had the 26 foot truck, and had my '04 MT GT on the Penske flatbed trailer. I took it down a couple weeks before I was moving to make sure it fit, and it fits their trailer without any problems at all. Unless you have dropped you car, you shouldn't have any issues at all with the Penske truck/flatbed trailer combo.
I didnt get a single rock chip on it either. I did buy a bra for the trip, but it didn't arrive until after I left...but I didn't get a single new rock chip.
So if you were thinking of pulling it on the Pense setup, you shouldn't have any problems.
driving the 8 all those miles though would have been a blast!

Dont forget the costs of food and lodgeing associated with options 1 +3 and the plane ticket required for option 2.

What part of FL are you in? 1200 sounds steep. It only cost me $800 to ship a Mercedes SLK from Atlanta, GA to San Diego, CA.

Drive it. shouldnt take much more than 36 hours unless you are talking Nor Cal.

After having moved a couple of times, I would say:

Its worth it to hire somebody else to drive the truck (and I enjoy driving trucks, I drove a farm truck for a summer). The best thing to do (if you have space at both ends of the move) is to hire one of those PODS style companies- they drop you a shipping container, you throw all your stuff into it at your leisure, then they ship it for you to your destination where it waits for you in your driveway.

Then you don't have to directly pay for fuel, suffer in the stank of a rented truck cab for a week, tow anything, or worry about a broken-down uhaul. You just pack your bags, drive your 8 to your new house, and move in when you get there.

If you can't swing a PODS service then a moving company can do it. It really isn't much more expensive than renting a truck, especially if you factor in the cost of shipping your other car(s) and having to be stuck at truck stops and freeways instead of nice scenic roads.

I don't think this guy is moving. I think he is purchasing a car that is located on the other side of the country.

The price of moving is a difficult thing to get a handle on. There are all kinds of deals to be had.
That said, I spent about $2k to move myself with a truck ($1400 for the 22 foot diesel monstrosity from Ryder and another $700 or so in fuel). All of the professional quotes started at $6k and had "open" delivery dates.
PODs are $900 for the rental for a month and about $1500 each time it gets moved on or off of a truck, so that is almost $4k right there.

I would drive it. Paint chips make the car look mean. :FIREdevil

If it was me, I'd hop on Craiglist, find a car trailer for sale in the area (even in Orlando they are around 1K used), buy it, trailer the car, and either sell it, or hang on to the trailer for next time... this of course is assuming you have a truck...

What I would do if I was going to drive it, is factor in what it will cost to have a 3M clear bra applied to the front of the car (bumper, hood, mirrors, beginning of doors, behind the rear wheels) and this will prevent a lot of wear and tear on the car, and I'm sure you'll be glad you did it...

I'm totally driving it right now totally having a blast1. The heat from the desert hit me at first fillup as I approach Las Vegas. And I thought it was the cupwarmers radiant heat before I stepped outside.

I'm at a Dennys on a PDA. Learned the sweet zone is 85-95 mph for mileage, and also for shifting. 3 through 6 want to be shifted above 85 mpg, the 65 zone shift feel is clunky in comparison. 260 miles before low gas light, and this was going up mountains accelerating in 3rd gear very often.

Used both a shipping company, and a storage company, and also mailed 170 pounds UPS. But there's still 100 pounds in the car, makes it feel like a tank in the city because it the rx8 is so finely balanced like skating on ice, not like a sedan where you can add 4 people and suffer zero feedback loss because it is a tank to begin with.

You made the right choice. Road trips always allow you to bond with your car. I'm bonded with my S2000 now, as my Speed 6, because I road tripped both of them already, one to florida, one to North Carolina. I'm done worrying about rock chips and wear and tear. Makes the owning and driving experience less enjoyable if you're spending all your time being anal. Drive and enjoy. Good luck the rest of your way. Be safe.

takes 4 days tops with 2 drivers.. mileage will be morelike 24 mpg plus at 75mph

you should be getting over 320miles. keep it in 5th and 6th as much as possible below 85