Shipping Car from Vintage

365 miles or so, 6-8 hour drive...I'd drive it myself if I were you. But that's just me.

Not sure I'd recommend driving an untested, hand-built car that far.  A few sorting drives first would be advisable.

Rent a car carrier and do it yourself. I think this would be cheaper than contracting a shipper. Also: what Lane said above.

Take a bus ride out to pick it up early in the week.  Stay in area driving it for 3 or so days.  Get teething issues found fixed by VS and drive it back home. 

I did this last year and was great experience.  Drove it how 1200 miles over 3 days up the coast to Seattle.  Ony thing I would change is driving locally for a day to work thru initial issues as Wolfgang suggested.  I has to adjust the shift plate, has speedo issue but other wise went well.

This creates a tax issue - so work with VS to get bill of lading sorted out in advance

Enjoy the ride!!!  Matt

No offense my friend - I wouldnt drive that car 6-8 hours off the factory floor if you paid me a million bucks...  Unless you drive that car around for a couple hundred miles before you leave to make sure all is well...

they gave me a guy to use that was pretty good and cheap.  I got it all the way here to Jacksonville florida for $1300...ask Kirk who they use...

Drive it while the weather's nice

You'll be a long way from VS no matter when/where your issues arise

Check your insurer's/AAA's towing policy and start your adventure ...... you are risk averse owning one of these cars in the first place

Good luck and enjoy your new baby !

doesn't VS do this?  seems to me that would be time well spent on their part in terms of customer satisfaction.

IM does it.

Anything learnt from Todd's experience?  Why not have Vintage put on a sufficient number of miles and sort out any deficiencies? Then, go and check it out for yourself and drive it home when you're satisfied. What would be the logic in having it towed or shipped 365 miles away from Vintage, then finding out it has some flaws that need correcting ? Do you look around Pheonix for a VW repair shop and have Vintage foot the bills all over again ? I'm surprised Vintage hasen't figured this one out either.

So Steve.................what size engine/builder did you finally go with?? 

Hey Steve - Welcome To The Madness (in every sense of that phrase)!

I asked for mione to have no less than 50 but would want more up around 200 miles before it shipped. it had 12 when it got to me.  I was told there was a mix up and the car should not have been shipped...

Regardless, Steve - Welcome and enjoy your ride.  I am sorting through all my issues and VS has stepped up on all of it as expected.  If you get the chance though, fly to Cali and go physically inspect the car while it is in their posession.  drive it, make notes, drive it again, make notes, go eat lunch, drive it some more and make notes.  Then - get under the car and look for signs of leaks...feel all over the oil and gas lines, listen for nosies that would make you think the carbs arent synched or properly adjusted, listen for rattles, etc.  There is a new thread that was posted last night and it is really good for a newbie or a veteran as a checklist.  No matter what, just know that once you do take posession, there are only two or three things in the world that would put a bigger smile on your face...these cars are so FLIPPING COOL.....

If it were me, I'd offer Gordon a free trip to CA to get out of the weather.  You couldn't get a better inspection :-)

This might be do-able!  I've even been to VS.....once, back in the 1990's but got lost going back to the hotel and ended up in East LA (and loved the wall murals).

Seriously, though, it would be money well spent to hire a good, local mechanic to go to VS and check it out against my checklist in the other thread.  Otherwise, from what we continually see on here, you WILL have issues with your new car, and some may prevent you from completing your trip home.  And don't think that those problems only happen on other people's new cars - All those other new owners thought that, too......until after delivery.  Maybe someone local on here could recommend someone to check it out for you.....

I see a small business opportunity here for someone within commuting distance of VS, JPS and Carrera Coachworks (ne "Thunder Ranch") who also has reliable mechanical skills and could go to the builders and, for a fee, use my checklist and do a thorough checkout of new cars, have the ability to drive them for a couple of hundred miles as a shake-down and also have the ability to hold shipment (and final payment) until everything found sub-par is fixed.  Sounds like an excellent part-time gig for a retired mechanic and would save some of us a lot of grief (and for the builders, as well).  Wish I lived closer......

Gordon:

As much as I agree this may need to be done, it should not need to be done.  People are paying over $20,000.00 for a 'brand new car', and no one should have to hire a mechanic to check it out.  Any company making one of these should not release a car until everything is working properly.  That means testing all components, both in the shop and on the road, and putting sufficient mileage on it to sort out any issues.

Or I am being naive in believing a company should create a good, useful vehicle for that amount of money?

Gordon is just going on the many, many experiences discussed on this site.  If past is prologue it won't stop.

Of course you're right--a $20K new car ought to be serviceable---call me crazy---right?

Bob:

Of course, you're right.  You plunk down $25K-$100K for a car and when you get it everything should work with no issues, right?

Well, if past experience of the people on this forum is any indicator, some of the builders do just that (or come very close) and some others do not - not by a long shot.  

We have seen horror shows delivered to new buyers that are simply unfit to drive from VS, JPS and the old Thunder Ranch and the new buyers have to jump through hoops for the first month or so just to get a drive-able car in which everything works.  To their credit, these builders will pay to have the car returned to them to "finish it" (we've also heard that they sometimes charge YOU for shipment back to you) or they will pay to have your local mechanic fix things, keeping the car in your area.  Either way, the cars are delivered with, often, many issues requiring attention before it becomes a road-worthy car and those issues have to be rectified by the new owner.

Why do the builders let them out like that?  Beats the hell out of me.  I don't buy the line that "these are custom cars and you have to expect some issues on delivery".  That's BS in my book.  Taking the time to road test these cars before delivery is just plain smart for both the builders (who would not have to fix things post delivery at a higher cost than in their own shop) and for the customers, who would not have bad feelings about getting a car with issues needing to be fixed.

To their credit, Beck, Intermeccanica and SAS (along with Troy Sloan in California and Alan Merklin in Pennsylvania) seem to understand this and ship cars with far fewer issues than VS and JPS (the jury is still out on Carrera Coachworks - they're trying, with new ownership, to overcome the reputation of their past owner and looking good thus far).  These guys "get it".  They understand that it is far more costly in post-delivery repair costs and lost business costs to let these things get out and become public.  I don't know why the other guys don't "get it", too.

I honestly don't know why I'm responding to this - all you have to do is a search on here of Tom DeWalt, Eric Rich or Todd Rimer and see what issues they have had with their builders.  There are many more people caught in the same boat to differing degrees, too......just look around the forum and see what people are dealing with upon delivery of their "new" car..

I agree with you Gordon. I don't get it either. I mean, we built our own cars so I fully EXPECT to have teething problems, as I am sure you did too. But I had never built a car before. I would think if this is what you do every day you would be more knowledgeable of the things that can go wrong and put a couple hundred miles on the cars to sort them out.

I imagine that's why we often see near new 356 replicas with under 1000 miles for sale.  New owners, with limited mechanical skills, become frustrated with their trouble prone rides and give up.

In think there are several factors:

- There are quality control issues with some of the manufacturers

- The quality of the replica components, many coming from China, sometimes isn't great

- There are limitations with the original Speedster design that prevent it from being a daily driver in many climates

- There is a gap in understanding between 1950's technology and 21st century technology

- There are a lack of qualified air-cooled mechanics

- There is a lack of education on how to operate and maintain these cars.

I had a fair idea of what I was getting into, but I stacked the deck choosing a Beck and Carey Hines.  Second, I found this board and all of the experts at my fingertips. Third, I got lucky by having an expert air-cooled mechanic, Bill Demeter, in my back yard.  Fourth, I have a tenacious attitude.  Fifth, I had the financial wherewithal to spec it how I wanted and get upgrades as I got smarter. Sixth, I have an understanding spouse.

Not everyone has the advantages that I had to be successful.  I'm not surprised that many bail early.

I'd pay to have this done. 

It is interesting to me that this thread started as advice on how to ship the car from Los Angeles to Phoenix...

this thread was about shipping a car?

Hahaha....yes, about shipping. I think there might be some "messages" here. You'll figure them out.

"I'd pay to have this done."

I'll do the driving, but would have to stop at Larry's to have him do the fixing

http://www.roadreadycertified.com/

Boy do I feel lucky!  I found a previously owned VS by a mature adult owner.

He did quality upgrades, extremely low mileage, beautiful condition, very

easy to title. The owner lived in Alabama and I found it in St Louis.

I can't even imagine some of the nightmares new owners (Todd) go through.

I'm not sure there is a benefit in buying a new car with so many members

selling their cars at one time or another.   Just my 2 cents.

Terry, I might come back to that old adage...different strokes for different folks etc.

I bought a $6,500 beater out of Boise, Idaho and drove it home to Ottawa, Canada. A cursory inspection was done by a local flying friend and we flew out and drove it away.  A shifter adjustment was done emerge about two miles out and new tires within the first day. That was in Sept. 2010. Since then I put in a 1915 built by another and we did our mega trip from Sacramento, Cali to Carlisle in 2011. About 9,500 miles in 23 days. The camshaft disagreed with two lifters after we got home and I parted out the engine. I slipped in a bucks down, very basic, self carbed ( jeeze.. I almost said Lycoming )  Soob EJ22  with Megajolt ignition and got it down to Key West on the way up to Carlisle last year. Like the Stones said in that song..."You cant always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you might get what you need....."  Who knows what we'll need next, eh ? Personally, I'm thinking a nicer IM or a Luxemotor 12m