What do we do with an empty nest?
This winter, which coincides with my round and pretty advanced birthday, we decided to become ski bums for about 3 weeks - using the IKON pass plus another one for smaller but interesting resorts, we’ll roam the glorious western mountain states and British Columbia.
But the first step is the least appealing - driving from Chicago to the mountains - so at least one-way, we thought about shipping our X3 with winter tires to Salt Lake City. The price isn’t bad, one-way plane tickets are cheap too - so altogether, it’s probably no more than gas, 2-night lodging, car wear-and-tear, and - less tangible but important - potential dangers of the 1,450-mile winter drive.
But we have no idea what these car shippers do - would the car arrive without a scratch? On time? Is there anything else to consider?
Any real-life experience would be priceless.
One daughter used one when moving west for her first major job after graduating from university. There were no problems in her case.
One thing to watch out for: Remove your EZPASS or FASTLANE or similar automatic toll paying device from the car. Otherwise you might be paying tolls all the way out.
We used Montaway which was recommended by several movers when we had my son go about that distance. No problem. They are insured. They take the calls for transport and route them to local haulers. There can be delays. Just be flexible is the key.
Thanks. Delays of a day or two, or a week?
Might not be either but crap happens. They will give you an “estimate” of when the car will get there. For my son it wasn’t picked up on the day it was supposed to and delay in getting it there. But, I stepped in and they found another driver and actually got it there a day early. So, have some flexibility. Talk to the company I sent you then compare to others. Weather can delay it getting it there on time also.
We shipped my mom’s car from MI to AZ when she moved here six years ago, and our son shipped his car from AZ to GA when he moved two years ago. Both transactions were straightforward, pickups were on time, and both cars arrived unharmed at their destinations in less than a week. Serendipitously, my mom’s car was delivered two days early, arriving in her new driveway one hour after after she arrived at the new house, so she didn’t need the rental we’d arranged for. But that was just luck. The company had informed us that delays could happen but usually not more than a day or two at the most.
I would ship for a permanent move…but not for a vacation. Just my opinion. We will be renting a car when we go away. Check to see if that price is more or less than the cost of shipping. We found that the key to car rental prices…rent NOT at the airport where there are tons of extra fees.
Agree with @thumper1 . Just rent a car. Although fees are higher at the airport, its more convenient and the rental places should have options (4 wheel drive appropriate tires, etc) that are prepped for the mountains. ANd there are frequently great rental deals offered if you or a family member happen to work for a big op any, or you are over 60 or you have AAA, etc.
I recently looked into doing this and was amazed at how many companies offer this service.
Our car needed to be driven from California to the northeast and would cost around $2000. The driver would do it in three and a half days. I decided that I’d rather have my son and a friend drive it. The cost of the kids doing it was comparable and I trusted my son more. He had a four day break that would work with the timing.
In the end, my sister and her husband drove the car. They had a little adventure and sprinted across country in the same time. She provided a hilarious running commentary on her Facebook page, but had a tough time for most of Nebraska, Iowa and Ohio. The word “corn” was used in many creative ways. 
Thank you very much for your opinions.
@thumper1 - we can start our ski adventure from many places so I did a lot of searching. No, for 3 week, or even for 16 days, which is the minimum number of days we want to have, rental prices + flights are not comparable to car shipping, they are at least double. And even more importantly, you don’t really know what you are getting. Even when you rent a standard SUV, 4x4 is not guaranteed! You can ask for it at the counter but they can say sorry, not available. And the tires can be worn-out, or patched internally so many times they are practically illegal, it happened to me.
I completely agree with @jym626, “the rental places should have options (4 wheel drive appropriate tires, etc.) that are prepped for the mountains” - except they do not! Winter tires? Forget it, it never happens, perhaps in some boutique companies, like those that rent Jeeps in Moab for off-roading. Mainstream rental companies explain that they have no place to store the other set of tires, and one-way rentals would make it a logistic nightmare anyway.
Also, some states, for example California, require chains, and installing chains on a rental means breaching the rental contract, and any damage is entirely on you.
Of course, we rented cars for our ski trips dozens of times but it was always an iffy compromise, hoping the roads would be OK, and we had a few heart-stopping moments. When I multiply it by the amount of driving this time, it doesn’t seem prudent.
Just for clarification: There is a difference between shipping a car and hiring a driver. Shipping doesn’t put mileage/wear-n-tear on the vehicle which, for us, was the point.
Ah yes, of course.
@ArtsyKidDad - while “officially” rental car companies don’t want a renter to use snow cables/chains, when we recently travelled across country and drove to/from Tahoe, the very, VERY first thing we did was, once we got our rental car, was call the nearby national auto supply shops and ask if they had them for our tire size. We figured if we didn’t end up needing them we’d just return them when we got back (or if necessary, even bring them home and return them to a store here). The first shop I called had them, so we drove right over and picked them up. Next morning we were warned by one of our s’s who’d driven up to the slopes a day earlier that we should bring rock salt, as he’d used up what was at the rental house and still couldn’t get all the way up the driveway with his car. So back we went to a different one, but the same “chain” (no pun intended) auto supply store (called ahead and got the last bag they had). Well, if you happened to have followed the weather that hit Tahoe the week around (before and after) xmas, you can understand that we NEEDED those chains to get down from the mountain. CA had chain controls in place. We wouldn’t have even been allowed to enter the highway without them. Best ~$50 I ever spent, and O’Reilly’s auto parts is my new favorite store 
Heck, it would probably be cheaper for you to rent a car and BUY snow or all wether tires for the rental car than ship yours both ways. Just a thought.
My husband had a car he bought shipped across the country. The only problem was that the truck wasn’t going to cross the country for one car, so we had to wait until the carrier had a few more vehicles. (We weren’t willing to pay for a solo trip.)
What we ended up doing was to fly to Spokane and rent a nice SUV (a Rav 4 Hybrid - thanks to some decent status with Avis), and - as suggested here - buying chains right around the corner. We never used them but came pretty close so it was a good extra insurance to have. Ended up going for 2 weeks only but it was awesome: Sunshine + Lake Louise, then Revelstoke, and then Whitewater, the amazingly snowy, powdery and uncrowded resort just north of the border. A very memorable trip, as hard-core skiing as we hoped for.
We almost used transportation services though - $900 Chicago to SLC was worth it money-wise, it’s just the crazy weather pattern this winter that changed the plans. Getting our X3 to Spokane would be much too expensive, more than 50% over the SLC price, so it was a no-go.
Thanks to everyone who replied with precious advice.
Hey there, sounds like you had an awesome skiing trip! Renting a nice SUV and buying chains nearby definitely sounds like a good call, especially with the unpredictable winter weather.
That’s exactly what we did a year ago- rented a car and then bought chains and rock salt. Needed both!
H and I are the crazy ones who did the drive from San Diego to Revelstoke, Lake Louise, Banff and back home through Big Sky and Jackson Hole in Feb/March. The trip was 4,200 miles and we had a great time. D2 joined us to ski in Big Sky and Jackson Hole. The drive along the Trans Canada Highway was rainy and then turned very snowy before we hit Revelstoke. The drive from Revelstoke to Lake Louise then Banff was beautiful especially through Glacier National Park in Canada. We got caught in the very cold weather in all of Alberta last month so some ski days were cut short as it was -5 degrees. Our 4WD Tundra is great for long road trips and has gotten us all around the west to ski in California, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and now Canada. H has never had to use chains on any of our ski road trips for the past 4 years (fingers crossed).
When you do the cost comparison, make sure to factor in shipping cost x2 (ie both directions). And the stress of dropoff/pickup logistics and hassle of any time without the car a home.