I recently purchased a 1967 CS and am having it shipped tomy house. I ended up going through abroker who was very good to deal with; however, the transporter that took thejob is absolutely horrible. The contractI was given by the broker stated that the car would be delivered on FridayDecember 20 + or – 2 days. The sellerwas contacted by the transporter on December 18 and the car was picked up thatafternoon. I contacted the transporteron the morning of the 19th to establish some sort of time line withthem. Upon calling I was told the car isbeing delivered that day between 2 and 3 pm and that I would receive a phonecall an hour before they arrived. Wellas I am sure you all can guess 3 pm came and went and no phone calls. So I called them to find out the location ofthe driver. I was told the truck brokedown and they were going to dispatch another truck out the following morning (Friday,12/20) to pick up my car and then deliver it to me. Again the driver would contact me beforearriving. I had also inquired whereexactly the truck/car was wondering about its safety and they were not able totell me other than it was in New Jersey. Friday comes and by 3 pm no phone call so I take it upon myself to callthem to find out what is going on. Uponcalling I am put on hold for a solid 5 minutes. Finally the dispatcher gets back on the phone and gives me a phonenumber for the driver and tells me to call him to find out where he is. I next call the driver and speak to him (as Iam speaking to him it I am thinking I am talking to Bob Marley as I can hardly understandhim). The driver informs me that he isbroken down on the side of the road and is not going to be able to pick up mycar at its undisclosed location and deliver it to me. After receiving this newsI become even more uncomfortable with the situation and I contact the brokerand inform them of the situation. Thebroker contacts the manager at the transporter who in turn calls me and tellsme that a truck will be sent out on Saturday 12/21 at 8am to pick up my car fromthat undisclosed location and have it to me by that afternoon. Frustrated at this point I asked thetransporter if this truck will also breakdown since the first 2 trucks havebroken down. He replies back with “whatare you talking about there is only one truck that is broken down” and I tellhim about the driver I spoke with. Heinformed that there was no truck that was dispatched on Friday to go get my carfrom the original broken down truck. Apparently the number that the dispatcher gave me was to a mechanic thathe told to tell me that bogus story.

On Saturday at 5pm I get a phone call from the driver thathe just left Harrisburg PA and was heading to Atlantic City NJ to get my carand he would deliver it to me that night, around 9-10pm and would call me anhour out. At 9 pm I get the call and heunable to off load my car from the original flatbed because the transmissionwas blown and the PTO could not be engaged. The driver informed me that they would have to have the truck/car towedback to Harrisburg PA where they would somehow offload my car to another truckand deliver it to me.
I contacted the broker today and informed them the status ofthe delivery. They contacted thetransporter and the manger indicated the same story the driver from Saturdaynight stated. He also indicated that thecar would be delivered tomorrow (12/24) afternoon. Something tells me that the car will NOT beshowing up tomorrow. I can only imaginethe condition that this car is going to arrive.

Moral of the story do your best to find a reputable transporter or even better transport the damn thing yourself. I am kicking myself for not just taking thetime off and getting it myself. I guessit is one of life’s lessons. Sorry aboutthe rant I just hate to see anyone else go through this experience.

 

Wow quite the run around. I would be going over the car with a fine tooth comb when it finally arrives hopefully undamaged.

 

The guy next door to me got a mustang it had the front bumper strapped to and pulled out of whack a dent in the driver side quarter . Driver doctored the papers to look like it was like that when he picked it up took some time and anger but he got them to pay for it.

 

I plan on looking the car over in great detail before they take it off the truck. Anything that I see that does not belong will be listed on the bill of lading. I had the seller take photos of the car before it was shipped and he got pictures of it on the truck so I have documentation what was and wasnt there before transporting. I will be making a forma complaint to the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration on this transporter once I receive the car.

 

Be very cautious when signing any paperwork until you are able to inspect the car. It may be a release that could bite you.

 

Typical. This is my biggest fear when buying a car sight unseen, and also relying on some gypsy to deliver it to me! Good luck!

 

Post the name of the shipping company and/or broker so no one else makes the same mistake. Also, for future reference, if you do a "google" search on said shipping company, i.e. "ABC shipping reviews" you can read about both good and bad experiences, it helps weed out the rif-raf.

 

I had a small problem with my Toronado. Here's the post.
I had my latest acquisition shipped from the left coast. It came during a snow storm. To say I was unhappy is an understatement. The seller told me it was coming enclosed and then said it was coming open. I agreed. It taught me a valuable lesson. Pay for your own shipping. Don't have it included in the purchase price! He is now paying for the detailing that it needs. I see it tomorrow hopefully all cleaned up! OY!

The car had been through a major sh*tshow. The ad said it was an A/C car, it's not. The ad said it had a tach, it doesn't. I have to come up with a number for the seller to reimburse me. Any thoughts? Like you said, ship it yourself.

 

CQR you are 100% correct. I got some really good information from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Asociation regarding the signing of the paper work.

 

The broker has been very helpful in this matter. I used Excellent Auto Transport which a Mother and daughter company. Both Bernie and Sonia have been a pleasure to work with.

The Transporter is called We Can Transport (Clearly they CAN'T)out of Harrisburg PA. Unfortuantley, I did nto get the name of the transporter until after the Broker set up the deal. Once I did I googled the name and really did not come up with anything other than one review which was negative.

 

Until you actually see the car, you really can't say anything about what might have happened.

In defense of the shipping company, stuff happens. Trucks break down. Weather turns bad. Etc. I wouldn't be too judgmental about the company until you actually see what they deliver. The car might be and very likely will be fine, and all of the above will have been for nothing.

No shipper would be in business for five minutes if his service was routinely poor.


I had a very good experience shipping my '67 Delta 88 from Ohio to New Mexico. I worked with broker who had an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau site. Of course, I had no idea what actual shipping company I would get because brokers list the cars they have for shipment, and shippers sign up to take them. The shipper I had was great. When he got here, he had the car sitting in the most protected spot on the open carrier to try to keep as many rocks, road debris, etc. from hitting it. He said he put it there deliberately because he wanted to do right by it.

 

Jaunty I do agree with you on waiting till I see how the car arrives. However, if you were hearing some of the things I have been hearing from them you would probaly be concerned and uneasy also. I alos agree that things happen along the way but my response is be proactive and let your customer know ASAP. A simple phone call goes a long way. I do disagree with you statement "No shipper would be in business for five minutes if his service was routinely poor." There are pleanty of companies that have been in business for years that just suck but they are still in business.

 

Let me amend my comment and say that no reputable broker would be in business if he continually arranged for cars to be transported by shippers with a poor record.

I do agree about the phone calls. There is no excuse for not keeping the customer informed.

 

Jaunty my broker is awesome, they have been helping me deal with the transporters and their BS. I would use the broker again for sure. Its the transporters I have beef with.

 

But you have no control over this, correct? The broker makes the arrangement with the transporter, not you, and I don't believe there is a step in the process where you get to approve or disapprove of the transporter they've selected. At least, that's not been my experience.

 

I suppose. My broker called me up and said they have a transporter that would take the job for the $ amount we set. I guess I could have asked the tame of the transporter at that time and done a quick Google before the broker issued a contract to them.

 

Unfortunately, a broker is just that. You are not dealing directly with a company that does the actual job. The shipping is farmed out to the cheapest bidder with the equipment capable of doing the job. I lucked out when I had my '70 shipped to me. The shipper was honest and trustworthy, and he even shipped it enclosed for half the price of the open transport quotes I was receiving. His communication was excellent. I wish the seller himself had been half as honest. If he had been, I wouldn't be looking down the barrel of a frame-off restoration.

 

Shipping a car is always a dice roll taking your route. Hopefully it turns out ok.

 

Update:
Still no car however I was able to speak to someone today at the transporter office, of course I had to call them. They are hiring another company to flat bed their truck back to their yard in Harrisburg PA; however, they cannot find anyone to make the move. They also informed that they will be using a fork lift to take my car off the broken down flat bed, WTF!!!!!
I pleaded with them not to use a forklift and asked them if they could find alternative way for off loading the car. As someone that has extensive knowledge and experience of using heavy equipment and rigging equipment for overhead work I know there are a lot of people out there that attempt things like this and result in an epic fail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es8WIclBqK4" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es8WIclBqK4

So it has been over a week for my car to make a 5 hour trip from Maryland to New Jersey. I am still kicking myself for not just making the move myself. Like they say hindsight is 20/20.

 

About 10 years ago I purchased a 67 Delmont CHP unit in California. The fellow had a 40 foot flatbed trailer with a winch and ramps, so far so good but he lost his ramps between there and here. He stopped at a lumber yard and picked up a couple of 2x10 planks! I said no way that would work so when he arrived I hired a tow company to come out with a rollback wrecker to off load my car. Otherwise it was an OK move.

Henry

 

I offered to hire another company to send to the undisclosed location of the broken down truck to offload the car onto another wrecker but they said no and would not release the location of the truck. Just seemed shady to me but I am hoping for the best.

 

I would think they could set the truck back up to a loading dock, roll your car off, bring the other truck in, and roll your car on.

I've seen plenty of cars moved with a forklift though and as long as they are careful (and the forklift is large enough) it won't damage the underside.

 

I hired American transport to move my 65 442 that I bought from northern California to Ohio,the broker gave me transporters number as soon as they knew who was picking it up,he let me know when he picked it up and when it would be delivered ,had it to me in 3 days but I did fire three other companies that said they was going to pick it up and never got there, sound like way to many excuses if its only 5hrs away I would take care of it myself,no way I would let them use a forklift on the car,that tells me you don't want them to handle it cut your losses,threaten to get the police involved and federal motors admin just to scare the **** out of them if they wont give location of car, the broker is not being standup company if he wont tell you where car is, starting to sound like theft good luck,ps if I was closer I would help you get with my own trailer

 

How did they get the car on the flatbed?

 

For Post #19, I sure hope at (19 seconds into video) that the parked car was empty... Otherwise, they were looking at a really bad day, not just a bad day!

 

I would be calling the cops right now. If someone had my property and didn't deliver it as per a contract, THEN refuses to tell you where it is! Well in my town they call that theft. It's a crime. Call the cops. It will certainly get someone's attention if nothing else.

 

 

I should clarify, roll back. Rather than flat bed.

 

I spoke to my broker today and they are trying to get the location out of the transporter now and I will just hire someone locally to go and get the car off their truck and bring me the car. My cousin is a NJ Trooper and I have him also looking into this matter as well.

 

Sounds to me you should be getting a refund also...

 

Well I finally got theowner on the phone today at the transporters office. I am told they are going to send a rollbacktruck tomorrow to the undisclosed location and they are going to do whatever ittakes to off load my car and then I can transport it myself. I then asked the important question, “Wherethe hell is my car?” and all I got was “The driver will call you tomorrow withthat information.” I was then told bythe owner that he would not charge me at all for this transport.

We will see if this indeeddoes happen tomorrow. If it does not Iwill be contacting the local police department in PA to report a stolen car andthen contacting the US DOT to report a complaint where they will investigate thiscase and the company. The broker I hadused for this move has been doing her part as well, phone calls and emails tothe transporter with the same lack of response that I had received. She had also contacted Central Dispatch,which the internet service transporters use to get these jobs, and made themaware of the situation and they are also looking into the situation. I willkeep my fingers crossed that this all actually happens tomorrow. I will keep you all posted.

 

You are a patient man I would be in my car heading towards Maryland looking for my car with a really big attitude.

 

The broker may have been very good to work with but they are the ones that got you into this mess and they should be working their butts off to get this resolved. They should have known who they were dealing with. I would be in Maryland looking for my car. Sorry but you are really getting jacked around. Good luck on this one.

 

x2

 

I agree. I was under the impression that the broker only worked with people they knew. I specially asked that question to the broker and was told yes. I did bring that up to the broker and believe that is why they are so involved.

 

Finally this saga has come to an end; however not without a few twists. Basically the transporter abandoned their truck at a house that they were dropping off another car. After a week of the truck sitting in front of this persons house they contacted the police and the truck with my car on it was impounded. I was able to get my car without being charged. I made the 2 hour drive back home and she is in the garage for a long winters sleep. Never did I think in my wildest dreams would I go through such an ordeal to get a car transported from Southern Maryland to Northern NJ.

MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHO IS TRANSPORTING YOUR CAR BEFORE YOU LET THEM TOUCH IT!!!!

 

Wow, glad it all worked out.

 

Thanks Eric. I'm glad it's over and it worked out for me too.

 

The main thing is the car didn't get damaged.

 

Holy Cow....amazing ....glad to see she's safe and sound!