Moving across the country. Would you drive or ship your Z?

[ArminbanVuuren]

My move is going east to west and will be about 2,400 miles or so. I'd like my car to stay in good of shape as possible, and if it was your car, would you drive it or ship it across the country?

 

[AlanZ]

My first thought was ship it in an enclosed trailer but then I thought … you only live once… will you ever have an excuse to take this kind of a trip again in your Z. You can make it an amazing trip filled with memories. So I say… drive it baby!!!

 

[Murix]

It is a car. Drive. One-way trips are the best. Make the most of it and visit the country during these summer months.

 

[Mr. Mac]

Did you buy your Z to be a garage queen/ornament or to drive/enjoy? If the former; ship it. If the later, drive it.

 

[ZillaZ]

Always a proponent of DRIVE THE CAR!
It's not going to be something that is worth millions of dollars in a few years. If I had an excuse to drive my Z 2.4k miles I would do it in a heartbeat.

 

[Z-ski]

I drove across the country twice in my old Cobalt and had a great time. Would be even better in the Z. Up to you how much you want to drive the car vs. look at it, but I would always choose the former.

 

[raceheart]

If there were no one on the roads I would drive it.
After 1,500 highway miles on my Escalade , I got a cracked windshield and two big rock chips on the front bumper.
I would ship it with this car.

 

[NocturnalEmber]

Both the 'drive it' and the 'ship it' crowd have valuable insight here.

If you are moving across the country, driving it may be more of a pain than you are expecting as opposed to a leisurely road trip. Something to think about there.

My next concern would be the roads. Depending on where you drive it could be a nightmare in terms of road quality or debris. DMV area? I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Arizona? Felt like I was driving on a cheese grater on 40 at the time.

However, if your timetable is amicable to it and you don't have a family/kids/etc that would take priority during the actual drive, I'd say sure, you'd likely enjoy it, just be careful and aware of the risks of rock chips, etc. Now, that said...

If you are considering shipping it, don't bother with anything but an enclosed transport. You'd be surprised how many "auto transporters" like to call themselves auto transporters that I wouldn't trust with a Geo Metro, let alone a newer car.

I've shipped a few cars in the past few years, some coast to coast, others 3/4 of the way across the country. If you go with a broker (which 99% of the time they are) they essentially just throw the job on a load board and get the transporter that takes it for the lowest rate they can take while charging you the most they can.

This leads to you getting a subpar transporter a lot of the time. I've had transporters show up that ranged from 'couldn't drive a manual transmission, stall the car a few times, and give up and drive away' to 'rolled up with a dodge ram and a single car trailer' Not to mention they often load/unload cars a lot during the journey, so that says a lot about how your car is going to be treated across the country.

Maybe some people are okay with that, but I'm not. Get an enclosed transport if you do decide to go the shipping route, this will negate 80% of the new/questionable transporters out there, because enclosed haulers typically transport higher value cars and know what they're doing.


Now if you're leaning towards driving it, by all means, assuming you can enjoy the trip.

 

[thesilverbullet]

Cannon ball run here i come. I would ship it non-stop and you want to be there when they load and unload it.

Or you could do the Griswold vacation trip to Wally World with a friend. Driving Route 66 would be cool and stopping for an UFO tee shirt and other sites.

Or sell it and buy a ‘26 in a few months.

 

[RobotAZ]

My car, my precious, is so important that I would pay for a convoy of armored cars to escort it in a bubble in an 18 wheeler trailer encapsulated in foam then shipped by barge that is encapsulated and shipped by rail where the railroad is purchased and pulled up as I pass.. When it got to the destination I would then bury it in a custom built sapphire tomb so that aliens will find it in 10 million years and think, Jesus Christ this guy really loved this inanimate object, but why.

Actually I’d just drive it or tow it behind my moving truck.

 

[Zenogias]

I feel like shipping a car has more potential danger for damage than driving it.

If you are paying the uber-luxury rich people shippers that would charge more than the car is worth, then its probably fine.. But the "budget" shippers that I assume anyone who owns a Z would use.. Nah, I'll take my chances on the road.

 

[alienpoker]

When I was 19, I drove a 240Z from Phoenix, AZ to Boston, MA. Nearly coast to coast. Took me 6 days, but an experience I’ll never forget. Had to buy 2 tires mid-way as there were many miles still to go, but gas was cheap, lots of stops for views or restaurants and a stayed at a couple of motels on the way.

When I bought a really nice 240Z years later in life, I shipped it 2,150 miles. The shippers completely messed it up. Bent wheels from metal hook tiedowns, dings, left it out in the sun for days…

My advice: Drive. I enjoyed and remember the road trip & I have nothing but an unpleasant memory of trusting my car to shippers… and complaining for compensation afterwards.

Just take it easy, enjoying the journey is the main goal - not just getting to a destination quickly.

 

[AlanZ]

Please keep us posted on what you decide to do. I feel like I’m invested in your decision for some reason. If you decide to drive, please document and post on here about your journey! If your decide to ship, tell us about your experience with the shipping company.