Good/Bad experience with Car transport services


http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic68475.aspx 		Print Topic | Close Window

By Doug T - 12 Years Ago
Here is a question I asked on the H.A.M.B. last evening, there is no answer so far.



"Here is the question: there is a web site that will get you specific quotes for transport of specialty cars. I plugged in the data for moving the Falcon from California to the Midwest and got 7 quotes. 6 quotes varied from $1250 to $1050 and one was at $750. I would like to ask on the HAMB if there is any experience with the low bidder which is similar to the other quotes other than price. So can I post the vendor's name and ask for experience or is that a banned activity?"



Is there any prohibition about discussing specific vendors by name on this site? Of course we can PM information around if we do not mention specific vendors by name.
By Oldmics - 12 Years Ago
Doug

I"m sure that you have well figured out that the H.A.M.B. promotes their own.Not that those folks wont do a good job but big time pricey!!!

I have had 5 cars moved in the past year.I shop by price ONLY because all of the cars were in need of restoration.

Essentially the booking service tosses out your needs to multiple shipping brokers.These brokers put your needs up on a computor list and the people who actually move the vehicles will respond.

The dirt cheap prices quoted never happen.Those prices are based upon redicious price per mile figures that nobody will do.Those cheapo broker guys lock you into a deposit contract and dont do anything except sit on your deposit money for 60-90 days.

I usually go for somewhere in the middle pricing.It still takes a week or so to get an actual booking.I got a call on Thanksgiving as I was sitting down to turkey from a confirmed mover who wanted an additional $400.00 on the spot to move the last pair of cars.Needless to say he got blown off and the broker got a earfull.

There just guys trying to make a buck.DAS auto shippers is actually a real service provider.Not the cheapest by any means but I have had 2 pleasent experiences with them.

Depends on the car and the care of the shipping that you need.

Hope this helps,Oldmics

By LON - 12 Years Ago
I don't know the name of the transport company that was used ,but I sure paid the price . I was given a "ball park figure " to ship the T'Bird I bought back in 2010 from Independance KY to Los Angeles . Was assured it would be traveling in a fully enclosed semi ??? The quote was  around $750 to $800 .I had arranged with the guy I bought the car from to send me some photos when they picked up the car .Next ,I got a call from the import agent  in Au to say the car was in Los Angeles & there was no back window  ??? Also the price had risen to $1400 .The transport company swore the back window was "missing "when they picked it up in an open car carrier ??What happened to the "Fully enclosed trailer "???They soon changed their story when I supplied the photos of the car being loaded .They ended up buying a complete rear window with stainless trim and shipping to Australia .Total cost for them was around $1000.It took about 6 weeks for them to pay up .

Lon

By Ted - 12 Years Ago
Doug T (2/12/2012)
.....So can I post the vendor's name and ask for experience or is that a banned activity?"

Is there any prohibition about discussing specific vendors by name on this site? Of course we can PM information around if we do not mention specific vendors by name.
I personally don’t see any issue with using shippers names at least on this site regarding their performance.  Good or bad experiences by a particular shipper do need to be shared simply to make life easier for those that have not had experience with that shipper.  Just keep the comments honest and straight to the facts if there are any negatives.
By Rono - 12 Years Ago
I've only had one experience with an auto transporter, but I learned alot from that 1 experience. It was when I relocated from Idaho to Maine. I dealt with CSL transport which is a broker. That was my first mistake. The timing of the move was critical we were moving from Maine and the car had to be picked-up the week of the move. The day before the car was to be picked up, I got a call from the broker saying the transporter broke down and they had to locate another rig. Since we were moving ourselves, I couldn't leave the car at the house so I had to haul the car 5 hours to a friends house so it could be picked-up by another transporter at some later date. If you can deal with the actual transporter, you will be better off. My bid was also for an "Enclosed" transport, but what I actually wound up with was a soft-sided carrier which arrived 1 month late and the car was covered with dirt. For that service I paid $2,300. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that the transporter also broke off the rear deck antenna which he paid for on the spot when I met up with him in Maine.

If I have to move the car again, Think I use my aluminum car hauler and wrap the car in "road wrap", a new product I found at Griot's Garage.

Rono

By kidcourier - 12 Years Ago
 Two of the largest---INTERCITY LINES, INC. and RELIABLE CAR CARRIERS,I went with Reliable,cost $1200 from Georgia to SoCal but that's enclosed trailer on top deck, some of these are options=$ took 2 weeks from pickup point.KID
By Doug T - 12 Years Ago
Thanks for the comments and ideas, they are very helpful. Here is a listing of the vendors in Price order:

Duo-Fast Transport  $750

Show Time Autotransport $1050

One Shot (?) $ 1100 

And then several others at $1150 to $1236.  These are all apearently real companies that actually have trucks hauling cars around,  not brokers for other haulers.  Also I have used a company called Barnes Auto transport in the past and have been satisfied, but they quoted around $1500. This Falcon isn't all that much to begin with!  So any specific experience with any of these companies?

BTW after reading Lon's post I would have been most willing to help out with his shipment from Louisville.  And I have asked fellow Y blockers to help me a couple times via this site.  Maybe we should have a catagory of "help needed" in different parts of the country and world.  I am not thinking of sending money but just a friendly pair of eyes to look at something if needed.  I would sooner trust a fellow Y blocker than just a photo or discription. 

By rgrove - 12 Years Ago
We have shipped a few cars between chicago and az over the years. Recently i just shipped my dads porsche rs 60 and used a guy recommended by a friend that owns a resto shop. They were top notch, enclosed transport, did everything on time, and matched the lowest price we got on line.

One thing you will likely want is someone that offers door to door service. Its more of a hassle, but it ensures that the car wont be off loaded/reloaded during the process, thus minimizing the chance for damage.

If you are interested i can dig up the info and post.

Thx
By LON - 12 Years Ago
Doug ,

The Y -Blockers help line sounds like a great idea ?? I have used  the services of a few guys on this site before .It sure is cheaper for me to pay for gas ,food & accomadation to check out a car than jump on a plane for 13 + hours and take a week off work ??? I don't mind paying as I know the price of gas these days is not cheap .There are similar services available on the web to check out cars ,but can you trust them ? Have heard of stories where they have told the customer that the car they went to check out for them was a pile of  s&* t,then bought it for themselves ??? I would trust that Y-Blockers would not rip off another fellow member .

Lon

By PF Arcand - 12 Years Ago
Doug T: Just a word to the wise.. A well known 19th century economist was quoted as saying.."if you always deal with the lowest bidder, best allow something for what your not going to get"..
By Doug T - 12 Years Ago
Hi Paul,  several conflicting signals in that bid tab,  The outlayer lowball number, the close spacing of all the other bids and the lack of knowledge of any of the specific vendors.  When I was project engineering we had enough of a data base of vendors and we could write detailed specifications so that we had a good idea of who could deliver the goods.  In this case the spec is simply to get the car to me which doesn't allow for much interpretation. The lack of vendor info is what I am trying to remedy by asking on this site but there are no specific recommendations.  So I don't currently know enough to throw out the low vendor and if I did throw him out I have no criteria to pick a higher priced vendor. All in All a bit of a puzzle.
By pegleg - 12 Years Ago
Doug,

      BBB, I'd check with one or two of the Classic Auto Clubs, CTCI, or the Ford vickie group to see if they can help. By the way, I'm out of the picture for now.Smile