Auto Transport info?///
Has anyone used a Auto/Truck Transport Company? What was your experience?
- Thread starter Gene Lambert
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Had my 200 transported to me from CA to VA. If I remember the company it was freedom auto and was really happy with their price and how quick they delivered
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- #3
Thanks
Just be careful giving your phone number to the online quoting systems. You'll suddenly get inundated with phone numbers from all over the country..
Also maybe see whether anyone in classifieds is offering that service. I know on Pirate there is a whole section for it.
Also maybe see whether anyone in classifieds is offering that service. I know on Pirate there is a whole section for it.
@Riverrunner is the owner of summit auto. Great guy, great service, fair pricing. He’s shipped a few of my trucks back and forth across the county a half dozen or so times now. Highly recommended.
One more recommendation for mudship.
- Thread starter
- #10
Thanks for all the info
Most companies put it out on a trucking logistic listing for bids .. and then truckers then bid and post the pickup and delivery date.
Meaning the company you call sub-contracts the delivery, so just because someone had a good experience with a company doesn't mean the next person will.
Or you can just put it out for bid yourself (and save some $$) .. and like mentioned above .. use a temp phone number.
Most cars for sale on ebay list trucking logistic companies for shipping or getting bids.
Meaning the company you call sub-contracts the delivery, so just because someone had a good experience with a company doesn't mean the next person will.
Or you can just put it out for bid yourself (and save some $$) .. and like mentioned above .. use a temp phone number.
Most cars for sale on ebay list trucking logistic companies for shipping or getting bids.
How would you suggest someone "put it out for bids" themselves? I'm curious to find out.
Thanks @krice118 we've been in contact.
To put the vehicle transport up for bids you can go to places UShip.com fill in the info "enter the market place" and then sit back and wait for a bid you like.
The bids usually start high then become lower. You can also check the feed back the companies have received, as the low bid is not always best.
You will get A lot of emails so best to set up some one time email for it.. and same for the phone number, you will get a lot of calls so best to list some temp phone.
The bids usually start high then become lower. You can also check the feed back the companies have received, as the low bid is not always best.
You will get A lot of emails so best to set up some one time email for it.. and same for the phone number, you will get a lot of calls so best to list some temp phone.
Uship, as well as others recommend on the forums, are 99% brokers/freight forwarders. That means they find a driver and add a couple of bucks on top. Oversimplification, it’s like paying someone to find a taxi for you. But if the taxi doesn’t show, or shows late, or charges you more when delivering you, or causes damage, good luck. It’s also similar to dealing with a real estate agent, except you don’t actually get to see the house first. You really don’t know what you’re going to get. And ultimately, the broker has absolutely ZERO control/input/authority. They’re just brokering a deal.
Uship is a good place to start, but to find actual owner/operators that is. 99% of the folks there are brokers/freight forwarders/logistics companies. You have to pay close attention, dig and view profiles to see who/what you’re really dealing with. What you’ll also notice is that many of the companies have as many cancellations as positive reviews! That means they constantly “book” jobs that they can’t deliver on, or in which it starts to look so sketchy that the customer cancels and goes elsewhere.
I ship $300k-$700k, highly sensitive shipments (1 item at that price), on dedicated air ride trucks, and I’ve dealt with brokers and forwarders for years. I import from overseas as well as Canada as an FDA “medical device manufacturer,”and ship all over the country. I’ve got a 400k insurance claim out now on a damaged shipment that’s ultimately going to be settled via federal court, with a forwarder in the middle. It happens. With autos it’s not as big a deal because you have your own car insurance. But your insurance doesn’t cover the trucking company being scum bags and costing you a lot of time and money, delays, increases, no shows etc. You’re on your own, at their mercy.
Some (brokers) are great people, but at the end of the day, they’re just a middle man and they really can’t do anything if there is a problem. Try calling your broker when the truck calls and won’t be there for 2 more days, and then, another day or two. They can do nothing to help. Or call when the driver wants to drop your truck a couple days early or a couple days late, oh, and now it’s cash only and the price went up $300. Try calling your broker to straighten it out, because while you do they’ll drive off with your truck and drop it in storage and you’ll pay for it all... But maybe you can find a broker that only has a very limited number of companies he’ll work with, but that’s unlikely. Problem is, you almost certainly won’t be able to get a list of who they might book with to then research those companies. And even if you can, researching the actual companies is very difficult because they operate under DBAs etc.
Not trying to be Debbie-downer here, but I’ve sadly seen a lot. And not only have I shipped a lot professionally, I’ve shipped my own vehicles around the country numerous times. At least 5 in the last few years. And I’ve been privy to quite a few others. And the problem is that just because someone had a good experience with a broker or even a few someones had good experiences, the realty is that each shipment/customer is ultimately being dispatched to a different trucking company each time, and so past good experiences are definitely not guarantees of future good experiences, because again, it’ll be shipped with a different trucking company the next time. Ultimately unless you can contact an actual car hauler, you’re going to deal with a broker. It’s just unavoidable. And so the best defense is to be prepared and know what you’re dealing with so you know what questions to ask. As I frequently say: if you’re not surprised, you can’t be mad.
Uship is a good place to start, but to find actual owner/operators that is. 99% of the folks there are brokers/freight forwarders/logistics companies. You have to pay close attention, dig and view profiles to see who/what you’re really dealing with. What you’ll also notice is that many of the companies have as many cancellations as positive reviews! That means they constantly “book” jobs that they can’t deliver on, or in which it starts to look so sketchy that the customer cancels and goes elsewhere.
I ship $300k-$700k, highly sensitive shipments (1 item at that price), on dedicated air ride trucks, and I’ve dealt with brokers and forwarders for years. I import from overseas as well as Canada as an FDA “medical device manufacturer,”and ship all over the country. I’ve got a 400k insurance claim out now on a damaged shipment that’s ultimately going to be settled via federal court, with a forwarder in the middle. It happens. With autos it’s not as big a deal because you have your own car insurance. But your insurance doesn’t cover the trucking company being scum bags and costing you a lot of time and money, delays, increases, no shows etc. You’re on your own, at their mercy.
Some (brokers) are great people, but at the end of the day, they’re just a middle man and they really can’t do anything if there is a problem. Try calling your broker when the truck calls and won’t be there for 2 more days, and then, another day or two. They can do nothing to help. Or call when the driver wants to drop your truck a couple days early or a couple days late, oh, and now it’s cash only and the price went up $300. Try calling your broker to straighten it out, because while you do they’ll drive off with your truck and drop it in storage and you’ll pay for it all... But maybe you can find a broker that only has a very limited number of companies he’ll work with, but that’s unlikely. Problem is, you almost certainly won’t be able to get a list of who they might book with to then research those companies. And even if you can, researching the actual companies is very difficult because they operate under DBAs etc.
Not trying to be Debbie-downer here, but I’ve sadly seen a lot. And not only have I shipped a lot professionally, I’ve shipped my own vehicles around the country numerous times. At least 5 in the last few years. And I’ve been privy to quite a few others. And the problem is that just because someone had a good experience with a broker or even a few someones had good experiences, the realty is that each shipment/customer is ultimately being dispatched to a different trucking company each time, and so past good experiences are definitely not guarantees of future good experiences, because again, it’ll be shipped with a different trucking company the next time. Ultimately unless you can contact an actual car hauler, you’re going to deal with a broker. It’s just unavoidable. And so the best defense is to be prepared and know what you’re dealing with so you know what questions to ask. As I frequently say: if you’re not surprised, you can’t be mad.
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Two weeks ago I had my new to me 2015 LC shipped from a dealer in Texas to my home in California. The LC showed up with 140 more miles on the odometer than it left the dealer with, and a cracked rear deck spoiler from an obvious impact. Upon delivery I didn’t initially see the crack but I did notice the mileage. The delivery driver said, “I only drove the car no more than ten miles, the full tank of gas proves it.” After discussing this with the transport company they (promptly) agreed to a settlement.
After my experience I recommend the following:
- Upon vehicle pickup, have someone take lots of high resolution pictures all around the car, to include the inside and a picture of the odometer. Try to get a picture of the hood and roof too (more on this in the next section). Make sure on the bill of lading the odometer reading is documented (mine wasn’t).
- Upon delivery inspect the outside AND inside of the car thoroughly, to include Inspecting the roof and hood (things fall from the top to bottom decks on car carriers, like tie-downs). Inside inspection will reveal things like grease smudges in A-pillar fabric that are hard to get out (as I found).
- Hand wash the car as soon as possible. Sounds a little silly but there’s no better way to find imperfections and I never would have caught the impact crack in the rear deck lid spoiler had I not done this. Allowed me to file a prompt claim.
Hope this helps.
After my experience I recommend the following:
- Upon vehicle pickup, have someone take lots of high resolution pictures all around the car, to include the inside and a picture of the odometer. Try to get a picture of the hood and roof too (more on this in the next section). Make sure on the bill of lading the odometer reading is documented (mine wasn’t).
- Upon delivery inspect the outside AND inside of the car thoroughly, to include Inspecting the roof and hood (things fall from the top to bottom decks on car carriers, like tie-downs). Inside inspection will reveal things like grease smudges in A-pillar fabric that are hard to get out (as I found).
- Hand wash the car as soon as possible. Sounds a little silly but there’s no better way to find imperfections and I never would have caught the impact crack in the rear deck lid spoiler had I not done this. Allowed me to file a prompt claim.
Hope this helps.
There are numerous carriers that ship for the big auto auctions like Barrett Jackson, I'd start with them if you are looking for reliability.
Yep go with actual transporters not brokers is sound advice
Joan at Parker Auto Transport did a good job delivering a vehicle from LA to Denver for me. I only used them one time and I was happy. Very reasonable price
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