ive driven my cars cross country when i moved to and from da midwest to socal. id just drive it. i even flew back to retrieve my other cars.
especially a '12 GE is a keeper if ure into the Fit. it is by far da best Fit in the US market (including 13's).

if anal, i recommend you painter's tape the front end and side mirrors. prevent scratches.

 

GAFIT - i saw that product, its see-through transparent material so i dont know how much it can protect your hood from sun damage..i'll keep lookin

 

Kenchan- I am tempted to drive it..i'm curious to know how much did you spent on gas - if you kept track of it..

 

Sorry, I thought you were looking for protection from road debris. Sun damage? How long will the car have to be in the sun? Many cars live their entire lives outside.

For sun protection, I would just put a good coat of sealant on it prior to shipping. Good sealants have UV protection.

 

NY to CA is a much farther trip then SoCal to the Midwest. However i just stumbled on this toll / gas calculator website. Enter the atart and end ( newyork, ny to sacremento, ca for example) car infos (2011 fit epa gas mileage), expected gas price ($3/gal), and go!

 

Had a nagging suspicion some of you guys been out of the loop for some time with regards to "U-Haul News" hehe..

Here's the breakdown: U-HAUL rental (10f footer with trailer) with all 4 wheels towed on the tarmac (the least expensive method), one way from Brooklyn to Bay area = $4,238.00.

 

They don't like one way out of state rentals! If you go that route though, price shop and make Penske, UHaul, Budget, etc bid against each other. I just rented a truck to go 700 miles out of state one way. Price started at $1550. Ended at $890 after negotiating between the three. Still WAAAY more than I thought it would cost. Penske ended up winning and I'm glad they did. In general, they have the better trucks.

 

I knew one-way rentals would gauge you big time..but even if one outfit would price-drop by say $500..its still retarded to spend $3,500+ when you consider there will be petrol cost, toll cost etc on top of everything else...which would bring the bill back up to $4000+.

The trucking option is looking more and more inciting at this point.

 

GAFIT- Wow so $900+ to travel 700 miles..that is highway robbery indeed...when you consider $1,200-$1,500 (with no additional expense such as gas/tolls) to go from one end to the other..it seems trucking is hands down the better deal. Maybe you had the back of the truck filled to the rim with your personal items, even then, unless you had really expensive items in the back, items you dont want to leave at the mercy of airline checked baggage, then "maybe"..

 

It wasn't for a car. I was moving furniture and had multiple stops. For a car, I'd stick it on a transport and fly.

 

I just got $3600 with Budget with the car trailer (all wheels up). Granted I chose two arbitrary places in NYC and SF, and granted I don't know your travel dates, but with Budget, it was a 16' truck, not the small one you had with Uhaul, and right now, Budget Rental Truck is offering 25% discount. I believe my price was with a 20% discount. One POD will run you about $3200; the car you said was $1500 to ship. So for $4700, you get your car shipped, have to pay for a flight (around $350 at best), so that makes it about $5000 with no driving. With driving, it is $3600 plus gas, plus hotel rooms for how many nights you will be driving (5 nights x $80 = $400); so now I'm up to $4000 and you have to drive and put a couple of hundred dollars in gas in the truck. So by my quick math, it looks like renting a truck and towing your car will save you about $500. That's not worth the headache to me. For me, we'll be selling all our furniture before moving across the country next year (again). I'll buy all "new" furniture at the other end. Something else for you to consider in case you can downsize the size of the POD with your personal goods.

 

Burntz- not sure i follow your figures..so i said between $1200-1500 to truck Fit off-season (so lets assume $1350) then lets assume $500 for air ticket, then additional $300 for checked luggage (and that is very generous as airlines like alaska charge $25 per checked luggage under 50lbs)..maybe an extra $100 to rent a truck to get my suitcases home from the flight..so my tally comes to$2200-2300 give or take a few bucks with the " truck & fly " scenario.

 

Inquire further from the transportation companies about whether your car will be inside a transporter or if it will be outside in the open on a trailer. I believe the trucking companies that transport cars on an open trailer are just hauling cars locally- not cross country.

If your car is transported in a transporter, you probably won't need protective film for the hood. If needed, just use small bubble- bubble wrap. Cut the bubble wrap just wider than your hood, open the hood and wrap it around and close the hood gently. Cheap fix and available everywhere.

I live in the Bay Area and suggest you keep your car. Low mileage cars are hard to find out here. Besides, sell your car back there at a lower price, buy out here at a higher price and then pay Ca. sales tax of 9-10% and then you still don't know the history of what you bought. Sounds like a lose-lose-lose-lose situation to me.

The registration of your Fit in Ca. is probably going to be easy. Once in Ca., an out of state smog check will be under $75.00. Set an appointment at your local DMV office and take proof of insurance, your car, car license plates, N.Y. registration and title, if you have it, and anything else DMV tells you to bring to the appointment. Don't forget your check book- Ca. loves it's fees and taxes out here. Confirm smog equipment questions NOW- as to what might be needed to be added to your car once in Ca., before you make your decision as what to do. A simple call to Ca. DMV will answer all your questions.

 

I still like the whimsy of the thought of a cross country Luis and Clark style journey. Meh- i was also unaware of how expensive one-way U-Hauling is.

 

Our escape from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Not quite cross country, but a relatively painless trip. For a protective film, how about this stuff? 20' x 100' 6 Mil Husky Brand Shrink Wrap - White
by Poly-America
Link: http://a.co/d/j0maw8q

 

Thanks for the illustration and link..if you dont mind sharing, how much did the whole affair cost you ?

 

re: Poly wrap, i like the idea i can't see myself spending $160 to just cover the hood with poly material..albeit with a lot left over, hopefully i can find it somewhere in much smaller size. Cheers

 

Another thing i was pondering on today was if shipping via train is anything less/more expensive..

 

For the wrap, you may be able to just tape a bunch of heavy-duty lawn trash bags to it.

 

re:black trash bags, that might just be the cheapest possible route. If all else fails..