Impatiently Waiting for my '87 Chevy Caprice Wagon

I can really empathize with your furstration. We've been waiting for months for the bodyshop to call and take our wagon in for the work she so desperately needs.
Dennis does have a good point here. If the car is already half way to you maybe you could have the car towed the rest of the day. But perhaps if already have a deal with a member for their car perhaps it's best left as it is.:confused:

 

Oh Fannie, I'm sorry to hear you have to wait for work. I'm guessing that's the only body shop that will do the work, and I've been there. There is one decent mechanic in our town, and he just closed up shop. Luckily, I've got a friend who's as good as our mechanic to help.

And if "my" wagon was half way, I would go drag the beauty home with chains over my shoulders if I had to, but it's not. The seller drove about 75 minutes, and we drove 7 1/2 hours there. We visited a friend on our trip, so it wasn't entirely wasted, but that means that I have to get it back. The car from another member here is roughly 1200 miles away, so I'm running into the same problem there. Both overheat and aren't drivable as is, so either way I'm in the same situation. That's the hard part - I could fix them on my turf, with my tools and my garage (or better yet, my engine guy), but I need to get them here, and that cost kills my budget.

I don't want to drop my drama on this lovely bunch of people, but we recently had an issue with our beautiful child in public school, and our only option was to put her in a private (and very expensive) school to keep her safe. Part of my "justification" in getting the wagon now is that I'm going to need it for carpool purposes because the private school is 15 miles away one way. Plus, my kids could not WAIT to ride "backwards" in the third seat. So.... we'll see. If I can get a towing price that stays in my budget, then I'll make it work. If not... I'll have to sit here and drool after your cars a bit longer.

 

Now here's a suggestion: Do you know anyone with a good pick up truck? Most pickups, and I am including Suburbans, Tahoes, Avalaches, etc. in the classification, are rated for 7,000 pounds of trailer on the factory hitch. Given that, a car trailer from U-Haul is about $30 a day and you'd need it for 2 days. All in all, my guess is you are looking at about $500 maximum to get your wagon home if you don't have to pay the mileage for the use of the truck for 2 days. For that distance, yes you could use a dolly, but remember to remove the driveshaft or you will cook the transmission long before you get home. Where are you located, and where is the car? Wonder if there is anyone here on the Forums who could help out. Good luck!

 

We've definitely considered the hitch and tow, but all we own is minivans rated for less than 3000lbs. We've got odds and ends of friends with trucks, but none we would feel comfortable asking to borrow for this kind of road trip. And in our small town, our U-Haul doesn't have a truck for rent (and I'm afraid to ask how much time it would take to get one here).

I'm up near Sturgis, South Dakota (home of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally!) if anyone is in the mood to help.

 

I'm kinda in the same boat. I've already got a wagon, but I've found one I want badly. It's only 2500 miles away. The wagon I've located is fairly rare. In the past couple of years of looking at wagons (before & after I bought mine last year), I've never seen another one. And it's a 2-owner all original survivor from 1976.

I know how impatient one can get. But, what you're looking for is not too hard to find. Obviously, not as easy as a modern day mini-van, but they do come along fairly often. I'd wait it out, and find something closer. I had considered many wagons before I bought mine, a lot of them requiring shipping. After about 6 months of searching, my wife and I were able to drive 45 minutes from home to pick up my current wagon.