Anyone have a suggestion for a reasonably priced open vehicle carrier to bring a car from California? Alternatively, has anyone driven a car from there and what is required (assuming insurance and temporary plates?)
You may want to post where you want the car delivered to. It’s risky with any carrier so if you choose to go with one, make sure you get detailed pictures of the car before it’s loaded and some more after the driver takes possession of the car. You may need those if the driver damages your vehicle. Unfortunately, that happens more than you might expect.
As for driving it out of California to wherever your final destination is, the rules will depend on your home state. Where I live, you can buy a 3 day temporary tag for less than $50 which will be legal in any state you drive through. Most insurance companies cover any new vehicle you buy automatically but you can certainly contact them ahead of time to get specific coverage.
Thanks, and good advice. The car is being shipped to Colorado and I think with respect to the plates, I can use the California ones and/or get a temporary one if I decide to drive it.
Thanks again…nice car too
Is this a car you bought in Calif and moving it to Colorado? Shipping will be the best and safest way. My reasoning, If you still have their Calif plates on it, insurance can be an issue. If you try and insure a car that’s not in your name??? Your company ,might not do it. You’ll need the title signed and bill of sale, (for even more proof of sale, (notarized) if you drive it. You get stopped in Calif and they may thing it stolen and forged the signature. Get stopped in Nevada or Utah and the 3 state issue hits you. Your license, the vehicle’s and the state you’re in, and proof of insurance. If he still covered it, and why should they because their insurance company might not since they don’t own it, there could be issues again. Get a pissy cop and they’ll impound it.
Besides I-15 from St. George north is very snowy and the shits, especially both sides of Cedar City. I-70 after Salina to Green River can be dangerous in a car you don’t know. I-70 from Glenwood Sprgs to Golden will be no fun at all. Chains and snow tires, stops, etc, etc, etc. Know the route well, drove it when it was still a 2 lane 45 years ago. Even if you’re taking it from North Calif. I-80 is getting hit hard on Donner Pass and road closures all along that route until Reno, chains and snow tires required. SLC to Cheyenne is a tricky beast right now. Drove that one to many times over the years.
Ship it and leave the issues to the driver.
Great advice, much appreciated.
My brother and I have moved three Cougars from the west coast to the east coast. Each time we used Montway Auto Transport. Fast, easy, and reasonably priced. In reference to insurance, every time I’ve purchased a car my agent issues a rider covering the purchase to my existing policies at no cost. So I have always had piece of mind. As stated earlier get plenty of pictures before shipment just in case something happens during shipment.
Steven
One of the big things also, is what kind of shape is it in for a long distance road trip? Tires, brakes, radiator, etc, etc, etc. Just driving around town is one thing, a 500+ miles road trip, especially in summer heat or winter cold, Oh baby. What if the heater/defroster doesn’t work that well? A noisy exhaust system will drive you nuts on a long trip. Even if you were going to go get it yourself, trailer it. Even if you rent a U-haul/Penske trailer to do it.
Another reason to trailer it - if it’s a California car that hasn’t been on salty roads, you don’t want to start now. This time of year, I would even want a covered trailer to keep salt spray off of it. These cars are very prone to rust, so I don’t even drive mine from first snow until spring rains wash the roads clean.
I used Intercitylines to get my new purchase from LA to Denver back in October. They weren’t the cheapest, but kept me up to date on the delivery. I did have to wait about two weeks for pickup as they had to coordinate other deliveries on the way…they were dropped off in how they were picked up…only touched at pickup and delivery.
I was tempted in renting a truck to pick it up myself as I had an enclosed trailer I could borrow, but price was almost a wash.
I also considered driving it back, but didn’t want to drive an old car back I wasn’t familiar with. I was also concerned about snow/ice in the mountains…didn’t want salt/snow on an original CA car.
I put Hagerty insurance on the day of purchase…didn’t want to deal with hassle of classic car insurance on our existing policy…Hagerty was cheaper anyways.