Shipping a Car/National Auto SUCK!

Draglink and I did a trade on my 35 for his 62l
We called around to HAMB board shipper but they were a bit spendy. We checked on the internet and went with National Auto Transporter. They gave us a pick up date and shipping dates that worked for both of us. We based the business we were going to do with them based on a certain price AND certain delivery dates....



WE GOT SCREWED. they picked up the 62 early by 5 days and the 35 early by 3 days. Not really a problem but they gave both of us no warning. I had to leave work to get my 35 on the truck.



I have e-mailed them a couple of times looking for status on the 62 but have not got an answer (even though they have an online tracking). I called on Friday and they said that they will call me back and let me know when the car is going to be here. No call so I called them. they told me that they should have it to me Monday or Tuesday. I called Monday and was told 24-48 hours. Well I called to day and some "Customer Service" guy tells me that he called my cell phone and told me that it would not be deliver until the 29th.



WHAT!!! What do you mean that I am not getting the car until a week after I was promised this car would be here. When I asked him what happened he said that’s just the way shipping goes and that when they told me it was going to be here on the 22 that was an implied estimate not a for sure date. When I told him that I based the shipping of the cars on the date he said read the contract there is nothing that says that it is a firm date. I told him that I expected him to honor the date he gave me or at least be close to it.



THESE GUYS ****. they are rude and really don't care about customer service or honoring their verbal commitment.



I just got off the phone with the actual company that is hauling the car and they said that they told National that there was a delay and that they should have called me. Unfortunately nobody called me. I am pissed. When I asked the "Customer Service" guy if he would consider crediting some of the money based on the fact that they missed the delivery date by more than a week he said" Why would I do that"?



Cause ***hat referral business is the backbone to your business and I am not pissed...



Don't use these guys. Ship with someone else. I should have used BenD....he was a lot more money but he is a man of his words....

 

ALL automobile shipping companies pull this ****(meaning they keep putting you off,,then when they DO pick it up they call when they are like 2 miles from your house)....i have never delt with a shipping company that HASNT pulled that,,,

UNLESS,of course.. it is a private individual doing the shipping

 

"The bitterness of poor service lingers long after the sweet taste of a cheap price"

"If you want nice fresh oats, be prepared to pay a little more. If, on the other hand, you want oats that have already been through the horse, they can be had for less."

The voice of experience.

Hope your cars arrive in one piece!

 

I was thinking the same thing... at least he saved a little money.

 

i pay extra for less headaches...

next time just save a few hundred extra and use ben or jim - the money you are saving cannot be that phenominal.

 

That ****s. BenD would have costed more but it's just him and your car on a trailer, not some company with a big truck and some dumb*** logistics guy who'll gladly blow you off for a week to get another car on the trailer heading that direction.

Another company I've done business with is based out of Wisconsin very near by, Countryside Auto Transport, the owner is a car guy himself and I've had nothing but good dealings with him.

It's all a cl***ic case of you get what you pay for. I hate to be the douchebag who says that but it's true.

 

...DAS

 

I learned my lesson. BenD was a lot more money but it would have been owrth it. I know for sure never to work with a broker and work direct with the shipper.

 

Cheaper isn't always better, last year a company 10 times the size of us underbid us for GM freight, they can't provide the service we did.
Now GM is having us haul the loads the big company can't handle for the same amount they were paying us before.

Quality costs!

 

The freight buisness is CUT THROAT....Your car has probably been on and off the trailer a number of times to fill it up and drop em off...Reliable Auto transport is the best in the buisness but by far not the cheapest......

 

I also have had so much problems with brokered transporters. I had a customer's vehicle on a transporter for 5 weeks and 5 different carriers had it. He was livid and I also wound up charging him for about 6 hours of telephone time. First off, I told the customer that we do not offer in-house transportation on distances of 500 miles or more because it is not profitable for us. I had given the customer the name of the transportation company that I use but he felt their price was too high so he chose DAS (Dependable Auto Shippers). Because he lived in a gated community, they sent a roll-back to pick up the inoperable vehicle. Same scenario you guys listed as the car was picked up a day or two early and my customer was out of town.

Long story short, the carriers kept giving the run-around telling him and I where the vehicle was but then it would be in another state within a few hours. Finally he issued a stolen vehicle report on the vehicle and it was amazing how people started jumping through hoops. He is a man with strong financial means and lacking in extra time to pursue it so he did not press charges, but I would have liked to see just how far they would have gone before they settled out of court.

I am also more amazed at how these companies that broker these loads even get their payment to the ones that actually haul the vehicles. Here is the way that I understand how these broker boards work. DAS quoted the move at $1299.00 from LA to eastern Tennessee. Because it was overheight and not a good candidate for their "stack & pack" type rigs, they brokered it out on a load board offering like $1100.00 for a company to pick it up at their terminal in LA. Company "B" looks on the internet at this board and see's it is going to Tennessee so he goes by and gets the vehicle. On the way from LA to Phoenix he gathers a couple more cars but when he gets to Phoenix he decides that he needs to go to Chicago instead. He leaves the car at a terminal in Phoenix and puts the vehicle on the load board again for $900 to go from Phoenix to TN. A few days later some fool is heading to Dallas and because he has an empty slot he goes by and loads the car. Once he gets to Dallas he puts the vehicle offat a terminal there and again the vehicle makes the load board. With the available balance to take the car from Dallas to TN only at $500.00, the vehicle sets and waits until someone decides to take it. Problem is that no one wants to take it at 50 cents a mile so it sets another week until the originating shipper can track it down and find someone to load it. Usually what happens is the originating broker finds a hauler and says I have one car that needs to go to eastern TN and then they need that hauler to go on to someplace like Charlotte to pick up two cars heading to Detroit. About one time of a customer putting up with this nonsense, they choose a small one or two car carrier. I am paying $1.10 a mile for up to 500 miles and about $1.00 a mile for trip over that. My carrier gets about $2200.00 to ship from Tennessee to LA but it is almost on a direct path door to door. My customer never batted an eye for the return trip expense!! Wonder why??

 

Sorry to hear you're having problems guys. I'm not perfect by any means and with only being able to haul one car at a time it's nearly impossible to beat the big boys on this type of deal. Your hauls were literally coast to coast both ways and I live in the middle so it's just a matter of cir***stance.

JimC and I get asked this alot. We're not big shipping concerns at all. We pull with pickups and 18' carhaulers one at a time unfortunately, but the trick is we can absolutely guarantee personalized service this way. I've got a growing family, gr*** to mow and cars of my own to build so I won't run 5 days a week because I can't. It's not fair to my family.

Anyways, good luck with it guys, I hope it all turns out.

Ben

 

I feel your pain, I have a 30 ford supposedly in transit from "car movers usa", no ones calling me, or telling me much, it ****s. Anyone used them before?

 

you and jim still rule... human or not

ps - got your pm, will reply soon

 

Brent, you got it down pat ,when the rate gets down too low from the load being brokered out to many times no one wants to take the end delivery.
Then the car may set in some out of the way drop lot until they find someone desperate for a load headed home.

 

exactly, i would have saved up some money for Ben. Ben will make sure it gets to you. if you call him to find out where your car is at. guess what, you'll be talking to him not some customer service guy that doesn't care. i've met Ben and JimC. i would only trust them two to deliver my stuff.

i hope it works out and bring it out to the BBQ.

 

Agreed with the bad servcie. Ive called the contractor 3x yesterday and demanded a return call from the guy who set up the contract and NOTHING!
Im sure we'll get our rides but its just such a let down to be ready to recieve your NEW ride and be told it was gonna be another week.
As fro BenD and StevieG sure theyre service is much better but due to gas prices there quote was about a grand more. So understand it was about money this time and well I guess service didnt factor in.

 

I am now on the war path. I have post about these guys on a couple of forums and boards. Anyone have a suggestion on other boards I can post this message on. So far I have posted on:

Ford Barn
OSR
RuffRodders
Hotrodder
Ebay
Craigslist

I am sending the company e-mails with the links to the other boards just to prove a point. This kind of **** really pisses me off.

 

what are you hoping to get out of bashing them all over the web? are you hoping that they will drop the price on the shipping? or are you out to set an example out of them?

that goes to show how word of mouth is stronger. i've learned in business that a happy customer will referr you to a few people, but a pissed off customer will tell everyone he knows about the bad service.

man that ****s with what's going on with your car. i hope it works out.

 

Not surprising....they try to keep their trailers full and moving cars, so sometimes if its a long haul to your destination , youre the one getting screwed on delivery time.

Been there, done it TOO many times.....

Sorry bro...

 

I was in the car hauling biz for three years...'88 to '91. I had a three car rig..an old U-haul van (one car) pulling a 40' tag trailer (two cars). I got into this deal thru my brother who had a vintage car dealership and resto shop. He was in cahoots with another "big dollar" collector in Detroit. They were so frustrated with the big guys...Horseless Carriage, P***port, Reliable and others that they HAD to go another route. promised p/u and delivery dates were way off...damage was common.

I was dedicated to their operation...four dealerships and five restoration shops between my brother and his partner. I charged 60 cents per mile for any car that COULD have been hauled on an open trailer (projects, drivers, auction cars) and 80 cpm for show cars, high dollar stuff, etc. I also babysat cars at shows and auction...I did a lot of shows...Pebble Beach, Auburn/Cord/Deusenburg in Auburn, IN, Amelia Island and others.

When I had an open slot, I solicited biz at the auctions and shows for an extra car to haul.

Most of my moves were direct seller to buyer.

I got out of the business when the car market got soft and the big guys started cutting rates...A coast to coast move went from $2200.00 to $600.00 almost overnight. The final straw was having millionaires having cars shipped and I'm supposed to take credit cards...I had over $40K on the books..I got most of it but I got sick of chasing people for my money. At the end it was "no cash...no car"...

 

after a harrasing phone call to ME from there said Customer service guy. he hung up on me refusing to forward me to his supervisor.
I called back asking for the supervisors name and the secratary informs me its a small company and they dont use last names. I said thats insane and she then said YOUR MOMMA and hung up on me?????
hahaha
My GOD

 

BWHAHAHAHHAHA i'm sorry for laughing. i know you guys are going thru some serious stress but man that's some funny ****. roflmao

i have to remember to say "your momma" when customer calls asking about his car.

 

After that I just decided to let it go.......I mean where am I gonna get with a company that will pull that kinda ****? Not 1 not 2 but 3 of them....Hell the "owner" is the ring leader....Ill just sit back and hope our rides make it here safe

 

I believe I'd get posession of my car before I started bashing anyone... yer askin' for it.

 

Agreed................. but the odd part is that they subbed out the contract to another company. Of course it was in the contract "didnt you read that" ahahh
well Im done and Shiffty's gotta be winding down...............but we will YES we will see to it that THE WORD knows about this injustice........shhhhh after my truck gets here shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

I don't give a **** about the money really. What I care about is that they ain't doing what they said they would do. In my world if you give someone your word it means a lot. These guys have totlally screwed us now that they got their money.

I gotta mellow out till I get my car but I honestly don't think anyone will mess with it since the "broker" has their money and has washed their hands of the whole thing. The actual shipping company is professional and has been pretty helpful.

Bottom line is these guys and National have gotten under my skin and now I gotta itch to let everyone know how they do business.

 

Sorry- I feel your pain. I've been there.
FWIW I just had a good experience I'll relate here. I needed a car moved from Bub**** Maine to the Bay Area and BenD couldn't get there anytime soon, so I used an outfit recommended by a buddy that worked out great.
Demoise Trucking out of South Carolina (864) 609-9390 shipped enclosed for a price significantly better than the "Bigs". Good communication and on-time pickup and delivery.

 

So the question comes back again, if the vehicles have not arrived as promised, AND if they will not call you back, THEN file a Stolen Vehicle report with your local authorities. This ain't no different than you letting me use your car and then I don't bring it home like I promised. You call me and I avoid you because I know I have wronged you. What do you think the DA is gonna say when he hears about this? I would ask the shipping company for their ICC authority so that you can file with the FHwA. Trust me, you will see action -- 'specially if them or their subs ain't got it!

Below is my hauler. Since I also had difficulties from the larger companies I opted to get into (part-time) car hauling as a extension of my shop. I just cannot afford to run it any longer as expenses for me to operate it is more than what I can get it done for by the small guys. I can make a little and they can too. I think we all have learned a lesson in this along the way haven't we?

 

I remember the original posts when you both made the trade.

You were excited.

Had a good deal on transporter.

I am sorry as I can be it has not worked out.
Any company or buisness, or person who fails on their commitments gives those who will do a good job a bad name.

As Ben said, neither he nor I can compete with the big haulers on price.
What we can offer and provide is a door to door dedicated haul. Your interest , vehicle, parts, or what ever we agree to haul is ours. We load like it is ours, care for your articles on the trip, and deliver when we say with in a short time. We can and do give you service you deserve.


Again, sorry for the way you have been treated.
I sincerely hopes it all works out for you and you both get the vehicles in great shape.
If Ben or I can ever help you, please give us a call, email, or pm.

Jim