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Smart Shopper Car Transport Companies
101 messages, Last post on Aug 18, 2009 at 4:45 AM
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Replying to: dansantee (Jul 02, 2005 10:33 am) |
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| I had my car shipped by The Car Carrier (based in Pasadena, CA) from Santa Barbara, CA to outside of Boston, MA. The car was delivered within 2 weeks, but the customer service was ABYSMAL and the pick-up/delivery schedule was not even close to timely. I almost had to delay my move because they were late in picking up my car, but didn't keep me updated. I had to call them about 30 times to get any kind of answer. I left complaints with the receptionist and specifically requested that a manager return my phone call, but I'm still waiting. The driver was rude and largely unavailable by cell phone. PLEASE DON'T USE THIS COMPANY! | |
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Replying to: elf2 (Jul 26, 2005 5:15 pm) Terry 
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| I need to ship my car and motorcycle from new york to florida asap | |
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Hi, I promised that I would give a review of transporting my car. It was almost cross country. I did a lot of research about the pitfalls of using an auto shipper. A lot of it has to with with (lack) of insurance coverage during the shipment, delays, and of expectations of the customer. I looked at both companies using brokers to ship their autos and companies that own their own trucks to ship the auto. I checked BBB online for both the companies setting up the shipment, and of their broker that actually shipped the car. I was really anxious after finding that insurance by anyone wouldn't cover things like cracked glass, rocks hitting the car during the transport... A friend told me, "well, don't ship it then, drive it yourself! And even if you do drive it yourself, these things could happen (but then my insurance company would cover it)." So I changed my expectations. I then hoped for minimizing risk, not a perfect transport of my car. I picked a broker company that used auto transport shippers, rather than a company that owned their own trucks. The company that owned their own trucks said that they could control their drivers and have a better shipping experience. What they don't tell you is that they could have your car on their lot for weeks, until they get the number of cars needed to fill a truck that would be going to your destination. A shipper that uses a broker has a choice of many companies (they seem to have favorites), so they can have more control over the arrival dates. When A-Z told me that they would use Pioneer Auto Shippers, I asked for a copy of their insurance paperwork (you have to ask for a copy of the insurance). That gave me a lot of information--like their location. I think that even a phone number was listed. My research also showed that people expected the car to be picked up just before they were going to leave town, and it sometimes didn't happen. One woman left her car on the street, awaiting pickup after she left town. The auto transporter was delayed in getting her car picked up, and she got a ticket on street cleaning day (A-Z did pay for the ticket). After seeing these problems, I gave the auto shipper almost 2 weeks leeway, even though they said they only needed 3 days. IA-Z told me that the car would be picked up between Tues 8/9 thru Friday 8/12. That was many days ahead of my plane flight. When 8/9 came around, I called A-Z for pickup date. They said I would get a call on Thursday, and the call should be picked up on Friday. So I didn't plan to be at home to receive the call on Wednesday ( I didn't have the cell phone--it was at the destination). Wednesday afternoon, my answering machine said there was an immediate transport for Thursday morning, and could I call Pioneer? I called, but they had filled the transport. They said they would pick up the car on Monday. I asked why they wouldn't pick it up on Friday,as promised. He was honest and said that my car would only sit on their lot over the weekend, so I might as well enjoy it on the weekend. They picked up the car and said that it would be delivered about the time that I got to my destination. A transport company that owned their own trucks boasted that they would pick up my car with a small flatbed, and not the big truck, but Pioneer (subcontractor) did the same. They said 7-10 days. After 11 days, I called Pioneer, and they said "you told us that you didn't want the car delivered till after you got to the destination." That was not true, because someone was at the destination the whole time, with the cell phone number they were given. They were buying time. We got a call from the transport driver on a Saturday night, telling me he would be there on Monday. We were able to call him back later on because of caller ID on the cell phone, and this proved to be very helpful. We told him that we had it set up that he would drop off the car in front of an auto dealer, because the destination street was too small. He called us when he came to town, and said he was at a Kmart off the highway. My car came in perfect shape. It seemed all kinds of answers dawned on me when I got my car. My car was probably the first car picked up for the next transport and they had to wait for the rest of the cars to be added. The driver (and the dispatcher of Pioneer) had thick Asian accents, and were hard to understand. But what I did realize is that this is a business of unexpected delays. When my driver got to about Tennessee, it was pouring rain from Katrina. He had to stop for the night, and that delayed him some. There were delays in getting my car picked up because it's just the nature of putting together a transport. I realize that I could have called A-Z when I found out that my car wouldn't be picked up on the 12th, but that would have possibly made them change brokers and possibly delay pickup even more. A-Z had told me that Pioneer is reliable, and my main concern was getting the car delivered in good shape. People asked me how I would get along without a car (in a town that doesn't have great mass transit), but I managed. I was in a city where I knew the way around and had friends. I could order groceries over the internet. I made it work ok for awhile, and I knew I wouldn't be leaving town without my car being picked up. I hope this information helps someone in the future. |
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