Two days down, two days back
Four days of driving a year, minimum, and they are not easy days. Interstate 95 in the middle of the corridor in late October is not a scenic route. It is a long grind with trucks on both sides of you.
Snowbird Transport, New England and Florida
Snowbird car shipping between New England and Florida.
One road. Both directions. All season. Lopes Express Shipping owns the trucks that run Florida to New England, and the drivers in them work for us. On this lane since 2011. $0 upfront, no deposit, payment due on delivery.
Driving it yourself costs two days each way, twice a year
You have done the drive. Pompano Beach to Boston is 1,458 miles. That is two long days if you push, three if you stop when it makes sense to stop. Then you do it again in the spring, in the other direction.
We are not going to put invented gas and hotel numbers on a page and call it a savings calculator. You know what a night on I-95 costs better than we do. So here is the honest version, counted in days and effort instead of fake math. You fly. The car rides on our deck. You skip both drives.
Hotel nights you did not plan for
At least one night on the way down, wherever you happen to be when it gets dark. Two if the weather turns or you start late. You are booking a room at 7:00 PM from the shoulder of a highway, which is the worst time to book anything.
The miles go on your car
1,458 miles each way is the better part of 3,000 miles a year added to a car you plan to keep. Tires, brakes and an oil change do not care that it was a vacation. Neither does the odometer when you go to sell it.
Somebody still has to fly
If your son or a neighbor drives the car down for you, he needs a seat home. If you drive it, you are the one stuck with the return trip in April. Ship the car and there is one flight, on a date you picked, with the car already waiting in the driveway.
When to book, and why the trucks get tight
Southbound peaks in October and November. Everybody with a place in Florida wants the car down there before Thanksgiving, and they all want it in the same three or four weeks. Northbound peaks in April and May, for the same reason in reverse.
Here is how it actually works, plainly. Trucks are finite. We run 7 of them and each deck holds what it holds. In peak weeks the trucks on this road run full, ours included, so runs get built earlier and the room left on them goes quickly. Nothing dramatic happens. The calendar simply fills, and the later you call, the fewer weeks are left for you to choose from.
So reserve the southbound slot before the season loads up. Holding it costs you nothing. There is no deposit and no card is charged when you book. We are not going to show you a countdown clock or tell you there are three spots left, because we would be making that up. Call and we will tell you what the actual week looks like.
Southbound, call in September or early October
The lane is still open then. You tell us the week you want to be in Florida and we build the run around it. This is the easy version of the phone call.
Northbound, call in February or March
April and May fill the same way October does. You can book the trip back on the same call as the trip down, which is what the Round Trip Reservation below is for.
What booking early actually gets you
More weeks to choose from, and a driver who is not fitting your car onto a deck that was planned a month ago. It does not get you a guaranteed date. Nobody on this road can honestly sell you one. We give you a window, not a promise.
Round Trip Reservation: book the fall and the spring on one call
You can book both legs on the same call. The car goes south in the fall on our truck. In the spring, the same operation brings it back north. One phone number, one company, the same paperwork at both ends, and nothing paid until each delivery.
A carrier can offer this, and the reason is ownership. Florida to New England is the road we run, both directions, all season, and the trucks are ours with our employees driving them. When we put your April pickup on the schedule, we are writing it on our own schedule.
A broker cannot do that. A broker has no trucks. It can take your April booking today, but when April arrives it does the only thing it is able to do, which is post your car on a load board and wait for a stranger to accept the price. Nothing was ever reserved. You find that out in the spring, standing in a Florida driveway with a suitcase.
One call covers both legs
Fall pickup in New England, spring pickup in Florida. We take both addresses, both contact people and both target weeks while we have you on the phone.
The same trucks and the same paperwork
We own the trucks that run Florida to New England, and our drivers are in them. Same dispatch line, same Bill of Lading procedure. You are not explaining your narrow street and your low branches to a new stranger in April.
You still pay nothing until each delivery
Booking both directions does not mean paying for both directions. Each leg is paid when that leg is delivered and you have looked the car over. No deposit either way.
What actually happens, from the phone call to the Florida driveway
1. You call and we talk about the car and the street
Year, make and model, because a pickup or a large SUV takes more room on the deck and costs more than a sedan. Both addresses. The car has to start, steer and brake, since it gets driven up the ramp under its own power.
2. You get a price, and it is the price
The number we say on the phone is the number written on the Bill of Lading. Our rate on this lane is $1.10 a mile, with larger vehicles costing more. If something about the vehicle or the address turns out different from what we discussed, you hear it before the car is loaded, not after.
3. You reserve, and nothing is charged
No deposit, no card on file, no upfront payment. Payment is due on delivery. That is the entire billing arrangement, and there is no second page to it.
4. The driver calls before pickup
He is our employee, so we can reach him. Door to door means your driveway whenever a full-size car hauler can legally and safely get to it. If the street is narrow or the branches hang low, the driver agrees on a nearby spot with you, a plaza lot around the corner or a wide side street. That gets settled before he shows up, not while he is idling in front of your house.
5. Bill of Lading at pickup, signed by both of you
You walk around the car with the driver. Existing scratches, dents and chips get written on the form. You both sign it and you keep a copy. Then the wheels get strapped and ratcheted down and you can go back inside.
6. Delivery, inspection again, then you pay
The driver calls ahead as he gets close. You walk the car with him against that same Bill of Lading and you both sign it a second time. Payment is due then. If you are still up north, you name someone you trust to inspect, sign and pay on your behalf.
Lopes Express Shipping Inc. Licensed and insured motor carrier, not a broker. USDOT 3013626, MC-30467. On this lane since 2011, with 7 trucks and drivers on our own payroll. Over 15,000 vehicles documented in our digital inspection platform since it went paperless, averaging about 98 a week.
How to get the car ready
- Leave about a quarter tank of fuelEnough to drive onto the deck and off again at the other end. Anything more is weight you are paying to haul, and weight matters on a loaded truck.
- Take the toll transponder off the windshieldE-ZPass, SunPass, whatever is stuck up there. Put it in a drawer or in your suitcase. A transponder riding uncovered down the corridor can read at gantries and bill you for a trip you were not driving.
- Empty the car outWe carry motor vehicles and nothing else. Take out the golf clubs, the beach chairs, the boxes, the garage door opener and anything with your name or address on it. Loose items are not part of what we haul, and they slide around for the whole run.
- Wash it, then write down the damage it already hasA clean car makes the walk around at pickup honest. Take your own look first, and your own photos if you want them, so when the Bill of Lading is filled out you already know what was on that car before it went up the ramp.
- Working battery, decent tires, no leaksThe car is driven onto the deck and driven off it. A dead battery or a soft tire on delivery day turns a ten minute unload into an afternoon. Check them the week before, not the morning of.
- Turn the alarm off and hand over one keyAn alarm going off on a deck halfway down the corridor helps nobody, and the driver cannot silence it. Give him one key, the one that starts the car. Keep your spare with you.
What customers say
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Questions snowbirds ask us
Will the price go up after you have my car?
No. The price we give you on the phone goes on the Bill of Lading, and that is what is due on delivery. The only thing that moves a price is a change in the facts, a pickup truck instead of the sedan you described, or an address on the other side of the state. Either way you hear it before the car is loaded, and you are free to say no.
Do you need a deposit to hold my October pickup?
No. $0 upfront, no deposit, and no card charged when you reserve. You pay when the car is delivered and you have looked it over. If a company wants money from you before a truck exists, that is worth sitting with for a minute.
Can you guarantee my car is in Florida by a certain date?
No, and be careful with anyone who tells you yes. Transit on this lane is typically a matter of days, but weather, traffic and legal driving hours are real things. We give you a window, not a promise, and we call you if that window moves.
I fly down a week after the car. Can someone else take delivery?
Yes. Give us the name and cell number of whoever is receiving it, a neighbor, your daughter, the property manager. That person walks the car with the driver, signs the Bill of Lading and handles payment. Set it up when you book, not on delivery day.
It rides out in the open. Does that hurt the car?
It rides in the same weather it would ride in if you drove it down yourself, on an open carrier, strapped by the wheels. That is how most cars move on this road. If you want it up off the bottom deck and out of the road spray, ask about Top Load. It rides the upper deck for an extra charge.
Once the truck leaves with my car, who answers the phone?
We do, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM ET, at (941) 205-0012. Call or text. The driver works for us, so when you ask where the car is, we reach the man driving it and get back to you. Staff speak English and Portuguese.
Reserve your spot on the southbound run
Tell us the week you want to be in Florida and we will tell you honestly what that week looks like. $0 upfront, payment on delivery, and you can put the April trip north on the same call. Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM ET. Call or text (941) 205-0012, or email info@lopesexpressshipping.com.
LOPES NEVER STOPS