automobile shipping companies

Jim Rosenthal

Supporter
In a previous post, one of our members enquired about who other Forum readers had used to ship vehicles, and their experiences. I answered that post with favorable reports about Passport, Intercity, and DAS (Dependable Auto Shippers). I also included an unfavorable report about VIP, who damaged my Ferrari after taking three weeks to ship it from Denver to Annapolis.
Several weeks ago I purchased a Mercedes 280SL in Reno, NV, and arranged with DAS to bring it to Maryland. The car has been in transit now for two weeks, including a week in which it was left outside in Texas (despite an agreement with DAS not to leave it outdoors at all). The delivery date, which is today, clearly will not be met. Several calls to DAS offices have produced no results, and no one is clear on where the car actually is; some say North Carolina, some say South Carolina. In these days of GPS tracking, evidently they can pinpoint the car's location to a radius of about ten feet- but not which state it's in or which direction it is moving.
I would not ship anything with Dependable Auto Shippers again; I have found them to be unreliable, disinterested, and several employees were probably lying in statements they made before the move in order to get the business. (the 'promise them anything, deliver what we damn please' school of customer service) If you are looking for transport of a vintage car, at this point I am down to only two carriers as mentioned above; PP and Intercity. All of these carriers seem to have occasional difficulty with routing and punctuality; the two mentioned above are the best, although not perfect. Dependable is undependable. I just hope the car arrives in undamaged condition; trying to pursue a damage claim with a company that acts like they do is a possibility I don't even want to contemplate.
 
Very interesting....when I shipped my e-type they gave me a pin number and a web address I could use to determine exactly where it was in transit by the GPS transponder on the truck. It seems in the last 2 years things have changed.
 
I just shipped my ERA GT from CT to Houston. I elected not to use Dependable as the two big events in the Northeast were really pushing back the potential delivery schedule. I had inquired to the list and received a number of side recommendations. I ended up selecting one of those recommended and had an okay experience.

Pickup was a day late, delivery was on time and car undamaged. No communication during two 48 hour periods. Glad its over.

Chuck
 

Jim Rosenthal

Supporter
I did get a PIN number and have been able to track the car on their site. The problem is it doesn't move for days. They phoned today (in response to another inquiry as to when the car was arriving) and confirmed that yes, the car HAD been in NC and had gone back to SC (this is the opposite direction from Maryland) and no, it wouldn't be here on time, and maybe Monday, they thought. Delivery was due today. At this point I just want the car in one piece and will settle the other issues with them later, but I would not use them again.
 

Jim Rosenthal

Supporter
OK, I looked again and it's in Richmond, Virginia, so there's hope for the delivery tomorrow. There is an informal SL group meeting Sunday. This is what you do when your GT40 isn't done/rolling/running yet....come to think of it, there's a spare 6.3 V8 engine around here, if I put that in the GT40 I could take the same car to Mercedes and GT40 meetings. And be disgraced at both, no doubt... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
There is nothing worse than entrusting a vehicle to a shipper and then being left hanging. It happened to me several years back with a car I shipped. It supposedly left the seller's in an enclosed semi, headed "directly" to me; after several calls and a lot of yelling it arrived almost two weeks later, on the back of an open "dovetail" transporter. And yes, it was damaged. A hard lesson learned, to be sure.

I have used both Intercity Lines and Enclosed Vehicle Transport, and was totally satisfied with both. I shipped a Cobra replica from Oregon using EVT earlier this year. The car arrived in Texas in five days (quicker than they estimated), and I was given the cell phone number of the driver, who stayed in constant contact. When the car arrived it wouldn't start (due to an electrical problem unrelated to the transport) and the driver helped me push it about five hundred yards to my garage. He even called two days later just to see if I had been able to get it running. It's nice to deal with people who actually care about what they do--
 

Jim Rosenthal

Supporter
Bob, would you mind posting a phone number or contact for EVT? I would like to have them in my list for the next time. I'd rather stay away from DAS.
 
Jim, here is their website: http://www.enclosedvehicletransport.com/

Ask for Kevin, and mention my name, and hopefully he'll give you the kind of deal he gave me. When I shipped my Cobra most of the "major" carriers, including Intercity, declined to even quote it because it was such an out-of-the-way point of origin. Given that, I fully expected to be robbed blind by whatever carrier I could even get to give me a quote, but Kevin was very good about it all. They use only late-model dually pickups, with gooseneck enclosed haulers. I like two things about that: One, they carry no advertising whatsoever, which means that potential car thieves have no idea what's inside, and Two, the smaller size vs. a semi means that there are potentially fewer cars to be picked up/dropped off before they bring you yours.
 
Following is an ad in the latest "Snakebite Bulletin" of the Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC). Please note that I have not used this hauler and don't know anything about him, so proceed at your own risk. However, he owns an original 289 Cobra so obviously understands and appreciates the kinds of cars that we are involved with.

"SAAC charter member & owner of CSX2112 since '74 offers enclosed, secure auto transport anywhere East of the Rockies. Not a single accident & not a single claim against me in 6 years of hauling. Never even a scratch! And I charge less than other enclosed haulers because I travel cheap. Free winching. References. Jim Gould, 9 Rusfield Dr., Glenmont, NY 12077 (413) 750-0770."
 
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