Cheapest way to transport a car Auckland

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Cheapest way to transport a car Auckland - Dunedin?

Batman

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#154433 28-Oct-2014 10:21

Not asking for drivers, but what is the cheapest transport moving people that are reliable, to move a car from Auckland to Dunedin?

I got quoted $12xx for Jeffs by the dealer. (didn't call them directly)

It used to be really cheap!

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#1163393 28-Oct-2014 10:40

Cheapest way would almost certainly be to drive it there yourself. A couple of days of your life, couple of tanks of gas, cheap motel room and a plane ticket home.

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afe66

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#1163396 28-Oct-2014 10:44

Get a student to drive it down ?

But you have to factor in the ferry crossing in the costs and insurance.
1500km say 10 l per 100 km so 150 litres petrol at $2.10 = $315

Ferry from $ 180.

Might just easier to do it yourself but then need to fly up.

2 days - unpleasant though.

A.

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#1163397 28-Oct-2014 10:45

Dunedin to Auckland "couple of tanks of gas" unless its a Hybrid I would budget at least at least 4 tanks .

Demeter

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#1163400 28-Oct-2014 10:48

ajobbins: Cheapest way would almost certainly be to drive it there yourself. A couple of days of your life, couple of tanks of gas, cheap motel room and a plane ticket home.

Plane ticket to Dunedin is around $250
Tank of gas depending on the car is around $130 depending on the car, times by 2
The ferry ride is another $180-$220-ish if I recall
At least $80 for a room for the night, and that's if you have pretty relaxed standards
Food for 2 days, if you live on takeout, about $60-80
2 Days of aggravation, getting stuck behind trucks and dealing with idiots on the road, stiff legs and a numb bum...

It is a couple hundy cheaper than Jeff's but personally, I'd go with Jeff's. That's what I did when I had to get my car from Invercargill to Auckland and I'm glad I did.

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#1163410 28-Oct-2014 11:01

When I was a student down in Dunedin, one of my mate missed his connection flight to Dunedin. On the same day, he went to caryard, bought a car and drove all the way back. All in 24 hours.

He slept while on the ferry.

k14

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#1163413 28-Oct-2014 11:13

I used these guys http://www.picturevehicles.co.nz/ to transport my car from Christchurch to Alexandra a few months back. They were very helpful and the cheapest option from the 3 or 4 companies I asked. They would be worth looking up. They also have an enclosed truck so nice and clean when it arrives.

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#1163417 28-Oct-2014 11:21

You can save $300 on shipping if you drive it from Christchurch to Dunedin. Probably get a cheaper flight AKL-CHC as well. Jeffs have an online calculator that gives the same number you quoted.
Years ago you used to be able to drive to Onehunga wharf and put a car on a coastal shipping vessel and then pick it up at Lyttleton a few days later for about $300. Can't see anything like that anymore, but I only had a brief search. Someone like Pacifica maybe?

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Batman

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#1163472 28-Oct-2014 12:24

lol, no alternatives to jeffs?

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#1163473 28-Oct-2014 12:24

I can find a lot in the phone book but not sure if reliable ;p

ckc

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#1163489 28-Oct-2014 12:33

Try The Car Distribution Group. I've used them for my last three car transports (Dunedin - Wellington x2, ChCh - Wellington x1). They're usually several hundred dollars cheaper than Jeffs. The dealer might be adding their own markup as well.

Shoes2468

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#1163555 28-Oct-2014 13:50

I used to work in the industry, (for Jeffs) which is now owned by palmerston transport. there is only three main players, palmerston transport(Jeffs, Automovements, NZVD), Car Haulaways(car distribution group/HaulPlus, http://www.haulplus.co.nz/index.aspx ,Carr and Haslam I think) and Auto Express(Toll Rail http://www.turners.co.nz/PageFiles/1744/Transport_costs.pdf). Prices will vary even within the groups, I would suggest the first two are on par service/quality wise, and auto express seem to be a little rougher on the gear imo but this could be a result of the cars going into rail cars instead of trucks. Also be aware to check with your insurance as all of the carriers will normally only have limted carriers liability, basically if they total your car/boat etc all you will get is $1500, you need your insurance company to cover the rest. There are also resellers like Captain Transporter these guys basically re-sell palmerston transport services, or whoever is cheapest then add on their margin.

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#1163772 28-Oct-2014 17:02

Either drive it yourself or get a student to do it. There's a big business around camper van relocations now so shouldn't be too hard to find someone to take it.

Pacifica don't call into Onehunga and more so you have to pay crane fees at ports of Auckland and Lyttelton. It's cheaper to use one of the Transfuture car carrier ships.

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#1164734 29-Oct-2014 23:01

afe66: Get a student to drive it down ?

+add increased insurance cost for < 25.

Jase2985

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#1164761 30-Oct-2014 05:31

for a couple of days i doubt the insurance company will charge any more, ive had to do it c couple of times for my sister/soon to be bro in law

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#1164988 30-Oct-2014 13:01

Shoes2468: I used to work in the industry, (for Jeffs) which is now owned by palmerston transport. there is only three main players, palmerston transport(Jeffs, Automovements, NZVD), Car Haulaways(car distribution group/HaulPlus, http://www.haulplus.co.nz/index.aspx ,Carr and Haslam I think) and Auto Express(Toll Rail http://www.turners.co.nz/PageFiles/1744/Transport_costs.pdf). Prices will vary even within the groups, I would suggest the first two are on par service/quality wise, and auto express seem to be a little rougher on the gear imo but this could be a result of the cars going into rail cars instead of trucks. Also be aware to check with your insurance as all of the carriers will normally only have limted carriers liability, basically if they total your car/boat etc all you will get is $1500, you need your insurance company to cover the rest. There are also resellers like Captain Transporter these guys basically re-sell palmerston transport services, or whoever is cheapest then add on their margin.

thanks, the recommended ones were of similar pricing. much more than i'm used to in the past!

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