Recently, we completed the transportation of a 1950 Oldsmobile 88 car from Doral, Florida to Elk Grove, California. The route spanned 3,027 miles and the cost came to $1,756.00, making for a price per mile of $0.58.
The Oldsmobile 88 was functional at pickup. This is the lowest per mile price ever published by us, and it is one that needs to be understood fully, as it demonstrates what the bottom line of this industry really entails.
The route
With 3,027 miles between Doral and Elk Grove, this is by far our longest route thus far, traveling across the United States diagonally.
Doral is located west of Miami. Travelers travel north on the Florida Turnpike through Wildwood to I-75 and Lake City before turning west on I-10.
I-10 carries travelers for the entire distance south. This includes traveling through Tallahassee and down the Gulf coast to Orange, Texas, which includes passing through Mobile, Alabama, New Orleans, and Houston, Texas, before continuing through San Antonio, Texas, and Fort Stockton, Texas, and El Paso, Texas, all the way into New Mexico, passing through Las Cruces, New Mexico.
From there, the route passes through Arizona’s Tucson and Phoenix before reaching California. Then, travelers follow I-5 north up the Central Valley through Bakersfield and Fresno and Stockton. Elk Grove is found south of Sacramento.
What 58 cents a mile takes
Our lowest published rate is down from $3.34 at the higher end of this range, which works out to about a six-fold spread in rate on the same service and it is not arbitrary. Four elements have to fall into place in order to get down to this end of the spread.
Max distance is by far the most important determinant here. There are certain costs associated with pickup and loading of any load, in addition to security and coordination and delivery. Spreading those over 3,027 miles results in the lowest cost per mile. The very same fixed costs spread over 494 miles yielded $1.72/mile.
Open transport. The open trailer can haul more cars per trip and operates significantly more often than the enclosed trailer.
One standard position in the trailer. The Oldsmobile was a full-size automobile in the year 1950 and a standard-sized one today. It’s not a one-ton service van that consumes space and deck weight capacity.
Two well-developed end-points on a primary corridor. Both South Florida and Sacramento are legitimate markets and I-10 is a major freight route in the U.S. This load didn’t go around anybody.
But it does not need any bargaining. It is not some figure which they have bargained for, but rather one that came out of the calculation when the four parameters matched each other. Just ask any broker about what would happen if no carriers bid on the quoted figure.
Open transport on a seventy-five-year-old car
Most of the classics we’ve covered have been done up enclosed, and for cars of this vintage that is always the suggestion. This guy elected to go open, which he’s entitled to and a reasonable choice for a southern route on an okay day.
It’s pretty simple. Enclosed is a better choice in terms of protecting the car from road debris and inclement weather for the duration of the run, but is definitely higher cost. Open is how most of the cars in this country travel. For cars like this, what tips the scales is chrome, because this particular 1950 Olds has a lot of it, mostly on the grille and bumpers, where the pitting won’t polish away.
That’s how we present it to the customer, and let them decide as opposed to making that decision for them.
Additionally, a 1950 car means seventy-five year old technology. Six volt electrical, and drum brakes without any assist, not to mention no tie-down points on the chassis. Soft straps were used over the tires as a means of tie-down, circumventing the entire tie-down problem. The car was started twice, once at pickup and once at delivery, and nothing else.
Transport summary
- Origin: Doral, FL 33166
- Destination: Elk Grove, CA 95758
- Distance: 3,027 miles
- Service cost: $1,756.00
- Cost per mile: $0.58
- Vehicle: 1950 Oldsmobile 88
- Condition: Operable
- Trailer type: Open
- Route: Doral, FL → Florida Turnpike north to Wildwood → I-75 to Lake City → I-10 west through Tallahassee, Mobile and New Orleans → Houston and San Antonio, TX → El Paso → Las Cruces, NM → Tucson and Phoenix, AZ → Los Angeles, CA → I-5 north through Bakersfield, Fresno and Stockton → Elk Grove, CA
