Anyone got any recommendations for vehicle transport WA to NSW?

baldrick56

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Just received one quotation for an eye-watering sum - already worked out the cost of "go and fetch and return" so was hoping to get something in the couple of thou range to slightly undercut that.
 
If a B-double driver can't get $6 per km they can't make money. Divide that by the number of cars they carry and work it out. I have just had a quote of $5 per km for a job but that's fitting it in as a back load.

Roger
 
Transport company I worked for 18years ago were happy if they got 3km per litre out of their Volvo b doubles iirc,fuel pricing would gouge their bottom line these days…jim
 
I got quotes of $5000 for a Perth to Brisbane, depot to depot shift for my little Reliant.
I found a transport company that drove cars onto a large low pallet made for the job, then forked it onto a general freight trailer. Charged me $995.
Try going through a broker. I think I used Moving Cars when I moved a car from the seller's door in Jamestown SA to my door in SEQ. Direct quotes were in the $2800 to $3000 range. Moving Cars was $1240 and the company that did the job was one of the ones that quoted me $2800.
National Car Movers website says to work on 40 to 60 cents per km for a standard car.🤷‍♂️
If you're not transporting capital city depot to capital city depot the costs escalate rapidly
 
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If it runs and drives, what does the train cost these days?
Is it the sort of car that would do a road trip and someone might be able to do a one way drive and fly back?
 
If it runs and drives, what does the train cost these days?
Is it the sort of car that would do a road trip and someone might be able to do a one way drive and fly back?
That would be the decider. I seriously considered driving both the cars I previously mentioned home, based on the seller's descriptions.
Both of them had scary undeclared mechanical issues, and would never have made the trip without stranding me in the middle of nowhere.
 
I have driven old cars purchased sight unseen home from interstate on several occasions. My two essentials are a decent collection of tools and at least two spare wheels. I have never failed to arrive home.

Roger
 
Thanks Guys,
No it definitely wouldn't be a 'runner' so would need loading by other means. Twice previously I've bought cars interstate, the Traction came from Qld, nominally a runner but it had not been used for ages and I baulked at the risk of a 1,500 kM trip. That time "CEVA" logistics moved it (as a runner) but I still had to drive it to their depot in Brissy (made it but there were some overheating issues looming - from memory they delivered it to my door in Sydney). Other time was my 505 Wagon from Melbourne which I didn't hesitate to drive back - its only 1,000kM after all.
I'm guessing a B double car carrier holds about 9 vehicles (20 odd metres divide by five x2 deck +1 sticking over the cab top), on that basis 3,750kM x$6 /9 gives about $2,500. But that's door-to-door kM, not including loading etc. Oddly enough my "go and fetch and return" comes to about the same $ allowing 1,000kM a day driving at typical fuel consumption of my ute (I know I'm a softie), overnight stops @$110 each. So why not do that? what stops me mainly is that I cannot find the "exact" weight of the target vehicle but its hovering around the 2 tonne mark. My car trailer is 540kg Tare, with a GVM of 2,700kg according to the rego papers so within capacity. The ute GVM is 3,150kg with an unladen weight of 1,990kg, however braked towing capacity 2,500kg - which matches the number on the Hayman Reese towbar. That's where it starts to look a little dodgy, then you add in the wheelbase which (if Wikipedia is correct) is either 315mm shorter or 55mm longer than the deck length dependent on year of manufacture (not to mention the 2.5mm width clearance between the mudguards). I'd like to tell myself that if I put the spare wheels, plus trailer loading ramps, plus anything else heavy and detachable in the ute tray I could just squeak under the 2,500 limit but I'm not really convinced :cautious:
 
The fuel in the tank of the vehicle being towed also has mass, so don't tow it with a full tank to reduce the weight. It's not quite the 1kg per lt as for coolant, but close. Battery adds another 20kg maybe?
 
I have driven old cars purchased sight unseen home from interstate on several occasions. My two essentials are a decent collection of tools and at least two spare wheels. I have never failed to arrive home.

Roger
My '26 Rover (from SA) had a tailshaft that had been cut and shut and butt welded together right in the middle. All the proud weld had been linished off and the tailshaft painted. I had around 200kms racked up on it after taking delivery and it snapped in half without warning at about 80 kph.
I made a new tailshaft from an old one I had at home and had the gearbox and diff flanges machined to accept the new tailshaft flanges, but I'd say if it had happened halfway across the Hay Plains it would have been a tad inconvenient.🤔

The Reliant I inspected in full after it arrived from WA, it drove really well but when I put it on the ramps to have a gander it had one bolt instead of of four holding the front tailshsft flanges together. Not sure if that would have held the together if I'd driven it the 5000 kms home.🤷‍♂️

My DS I bought 100 kms or so up the road. It had been in long-term storage and seemed to run well, clean oil, bright green coolant etc. I got a permit and only got a few kms up the road and the big red light of doom lit up.
It had overheated, turned out the radiator was blocked solid as it had had red and green coolant mixed in it at some stage.
The radiator guy said it was one of the worst he'd seen.
Now none of these problems are insurmountable, but none are a quick fix at the side of the road either.
 
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