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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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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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Please avoid RKB Auto Transport. I had a terrible experience with this company. My car was delivered two days late with over $500 damage to the rear bumper. After repeated attempts to reach the driver, I went to the home office who informed me that he "had been fired." I am out of pocket for more than $500 in repairs and have had nothing but a miserable experience dealing with these folks. Do yourself a favor and look elsewhere for car transport services. |
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Replying to: torpman (Nov 06, 2003 2:43 pm) Anyways, the car should FINALLY be arriving any day now... The truck driver is an independant contractor and I am going to owe him about $700. However, I'm a little worred that the car might be damaged. Moreover, given the fact that they are now about a month late I am very upset with the service they have thus far given me. I would love to just withold the money all together, but I am pretty damn sure that I cannot do that legally and if if it were (which im 95% sure that it wouldn't be legal) I wouldn't be able to get my car back... And I NEED a car. So after that lengthy discussion my questions are thus: 1. What things should I be looking for (aside from scratches) that these drivers may have stolen, swapped out, etc. (It's a 2004 GLI Special Edition Jetta). I'm worried that parts are going to be missing when it finally arrives. I want to be as THOROUGH as possible. 2. If there are missing objects. Rims missing, or anything actually stolen, what should I do? Should I call the cops? Or sign it over and just expect that this "federally insured" transport company is going to resolve the matter with me? 3. If it's damaged; glass broken, paint scratched, dented, etc. should are they going to withhold the entire car from me if I refuse to sign the forms OK-ing the delivery? Or should I just sign the thing "under protest"? This whole ordeal has been a huge nightmare and to say the very least; I am disgusted with this company. (AAA Inc. Las Vegas, NV). If you have had a similar experience with them, I would suggest you file a formal complaint with the FTC. They took them to court once and won, they'll probably do it again if they get enough complaints. So if anyone has any suggestions how about how I can best ensure that I don't sign off on anything that I didn't notice, please respond. Thanks! |
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Replying to: elf2 (Jul 26, 2005 5:15 pm)
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| I need a vehicle shipped from Hawaii Port in Honolulu to Columbus, Ohio. What (reliable) companies are there that specialize in the complete sea/land operation? | |
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Replying to: althea (Nov 01, 2005 8:15 pm) by Allied Van Lines) and would NEVER recommend these clowns. $1800 to move to two Altimas from WPB, FL to Rhode Island. At first M, my representative, was very nice. They told me the cars would be picked up on the 10-11th of November (Thursday-Friday) and that worked great as this was a very rushed work move. We had to rent a car for these days because my wife still had to work. Thursday PM rolls around, no word from the Car Carrier. I called and asked for a general delivery time for Friday. They told me they had left messages with the driver and never heard back from him. Was told I would get a call back..I never did... Friday morning and afternoon comes and goes, still no answers and we were getting a bit nervous as we had an early flight out on Saturday. I was then told it would be some time before 9 pm. Well, at 5 pm the LOCAL carrier called, and said that the driver was no where near our location, and it would be Monday before they could get the cars! We lived in an apartment, and did not know the neighbors so luckily my parents had flown in to help... I called the Car Carrier company to see what they would do to help pay for the rental car since they missed their dates. I asked for a supervisor, and was given the name of the manager. I was told he was "busy" and got the operations manager. He told me that there was nothing they could do to help me with the rental car because they still had to pay the carrier the same amount of money. I was ACTUALLY the one telling THEM the driver would not be there. They had no clue. I asked what would be done, and he said that he would "help us out" by picking the cars up on Monday. Mind you this was 3:00 PST on a Friday afternoon. We went around and around, and finally told him to pick up the cars but we would be lodging a complaint and that my wife would call. He said "tell her not to bother as it won't do any good". My wife comes home about 30 minutes later, and she calls the rep. She was very calm, etc as she works with large account customers for a large brokerage firm. She asked what he would do to put his best foot forward in good faith for missing the pickup window, and he said that he would pick up the cars and that was it. He told her to "stop playing the pity game" and "he does have to deal with this on a Friday afternoon at 3:30". When she asked for his supervisor, he would not tell her. When she asked for the corporate address, he said "why, so you can write and complain? That doesn't make me want to help you out any"! So the local carrier called on Sunday, and told my parents he would be there between 2-4 pm EST. Mind you they are on vacation and have other things to do. They were around the corner at a mall while waiting, and finally heard from the driver at 5:00 to pick up the cars... Sorry for the long first message, but the Car Carrier Company gave me one of the WORST experiences I have ever had in my entire life. The supposed supervisor is never in the office or unavailable, or will be back in "1 hour". I could NEVER recommend these carriers to anyone, and would advise others to take a good hard look at this operation. As of noon on Friday, November 18 I have no idea where my cars are and when they will be delivered. I just called to ask where my cars are currently, got another rep, and said she would call back... I would give them the worst possible rating. Terrible customer service, abusive managers, lack of knowledge, can't keep their pickup times, and would rather drive the cars myself than deal with these people ever again. EDIT-This is an update and edit since I had to remove names etc.. I received a call later Friday the 18th and they said that the driver had a heart attack today and someone else was going to get the cars. They hadn't even left Florida yet! Supposedly they will be here Wednesday, the 23rd. They also said that it takes them 7 days before they even know where the vehicles even were... Amazing.... |
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