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Just got off the phone with ABF to see how much shipping will cost me for the finishing kit.....


$609.35

And that's with a terminal pickup! Unreal!

bullojm1 wrote:Just got off the phone with ABF to see how much shipping will cost me for the finishing kit.....


$609.35

And that's with a terminal pickup! Unreal!

Make sure that they are applying Van's discount. I was quoted $550 to terminal in East TN. This was after I reminded them to apply Van's discount.

By the way, I will never use ABF again after the way they treated my wing and fuse kits.

What have your prices been running with the other kits Mike?

My wings and fuse were pretty consistent at $260-290...but you're another 600nm or so farther than me (in a straight line anyway) from Van's.

Chad-

As I recall, the wing kit was like $350 and the fuse kit wasn't much more than that...*maybe* 400-450. Right now I am talking to ABF to see how much less it would be to pick it up at an ABF center in PA, which it is enroute to now.

Like Brian said...is the Van's discount applied?

Never asked, always assumed....you know what assuming does....makes and @ss out of me and me!

Mike,

Ask Vans to get a quote from FedEx Freight. I used them to ship my wing and fuse kits to Blue Ridge, GA and the price beat ABF by quite a bit.

I'll be able to offer a quote for the finish kit when it ships in a two weeks.

smithhb wrote:Mike,
Ask Vans to get a quote from FedEx Freight. I used them to ship my wing and fuse kits to Blue Ridge, GA and the price beat ABF by quite a bit.

Bret-

I should of talked to you about 2 days ago....the kit is already in the (in)capable hands of ABF. Oh well, nuttin' I can do.

OK, get this....before the Van's discount, shipping would of been $1,405! $600 doesn't sound so bad now!

bullojm1 wrote:Never asked, always assumed....you know what assuming does....makes and @ss out of me and me!

When they had my fuse kit, I called them to ask what the price was so I could have a check for pickup and they quoted me almost a $100 more than Barb did.

Bottom line is that they were not applying the discount and once I forced them to check to see if it was applied, all of a sudden the price dropped.

Even if it is enroute, make sure they are applying the discount.

cjensen wrote:What have your prices been running with the other kits Mike?

Chad-

I pulled out my old ABF receipts for the wing and fuse. Wing was $265.89 in March '06, Fuse was $245.06 in March '07 (both terminal pickups). According to Van's sheet on the kit size/weights ( http://vansaircraft.com/pdf/weights.pdf ), the finishing kit is lighter than the fuse (15 lbs or so), but the fuse box is about 10" wider and taller. I would take Bret's advice and call Barb up to see if Fed Ex freight would save you any money. $600 is a lot more than I was expecting to pay for shipping this sucker .


Be prepared to bend over!!!!!

A step ahead...I emailed Barb before lunch to have her make a note to contact me with quotes from both ABF and FedEx next month.



Also remember, you (and me) won't have the weight of the cowl in that box either...it'll be lighter yet than Van's says.

cjensen wrote: Also remember, you (and me) won't have the weight of the cowl in that box either...it'll be lighter yet than Van's says.

The quoted shipping weight for me was 300 lbs. I didn't figure the cowling would weigh that much. It also doesn't make the box any smaller because IIRC, the cowl goes under the canopy. Chad -- I am glad I could get my finish kit first so you could learn from my mistake!

Yeah, the size of the box is the same, with or without the cowl, and I think the majority of the charges come from how much space it takes up on the truck. I was just curious if there was a difference in weight. The cowl probably weighs 15 pounds or so, don't you think?

I love it when I can learn from those that have gone before me!

I don't remember where I read this, but I seem to remember a discussion on shipping rates before. The finish kit is shipped as "plastics" as opposed to whatever the other kits are labeled, and the rate goes up because of that. Any one else heard of this?

My wings and fuse were about 250-275 each, But finish was 550-- Was told the canopy changed the rate catagory. This was shipped to Baton Rouge, La. Merry Christmas!!

Hmm...never heard that one. I thought aircraft parts were aircraft parts. Anyone else know?

I just got my fuse kit ($233 to IA, pickup at terminal). The ABF paperwork called out "AIRCRAFT SKINS, METAL NOT BENT NOR CURVED UNFINSHED"

Dunno but all fuel is up in cost now.

1 year ago mine was about $500 I wanna say.

CJ

I used Partain to ship my finish kit and it was $550 if I remember correctly. The other kits I had shipped ABF and they ran around $250 - $300. Supposedly Partain was $50 cheaper than ABF. It took it a long time to get here but the driver was a good guy. I don't know as I would use them again due ot poor communication. Had I been in a hurry it would not have been good.