Our two cars arrived ... eventually....
Written: Aug 03 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cars arrived without damage; clean and washed. The pickup and dropoff drivers were very nice.
Cons: It took over a month to get a car.
The Bottom Line: Drive across the country if you like the scenery.
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| rajesinger's Full Review: Dependable Auto Shippers |
My wife and I moved from Pittsburgh PA to the bay area
in California, and since we have a 1 yr old child, we
decided to ship our two cars and fly across the nation.
We shipped a Subaru forester and a Nissan Maxima with DAS
from Pittsburgh, PA to the bay area in California in July
2004. The Subaru arrived after 32 days and the Nissan
arrived after 22 days. However, the subaru left 7 days earlier than the Nissan !
Both arrived in good condition without any damage.
All our phone conversations with DAS went fine, but we
did have to wait a while on hold sometimes to get to
speak with someone. The customer service people were
very polite, but other than telling us our estimated
shipping times, they weren't very helpful.
The online tracking program worked fine with the Maxima,
but the Subaru tracking didn't work because the truck that
was shipping it apparently didn't have a tracker installed.
Our Subaru was apparently late since the truck hauling
it died in Utah and was in the shop for a while.
If we had known it would take so long, we would have
shipped our cars much earlier. Alternatively, we would
have hired a truck to SPECIFICALLY move our vehicles
directly from Pittsburgh to California, without any
intermediate stops. But, that would likely be more $.
We are only moderately satisifed with this whole experience.
Granted, they charge about $1200 per vehicle, and this is
about what it probably would have cost us to stay in hotels
to drive across the nation. However, it probably isn't
a good idea for DAS to estimate that the vehicles will
arrive in two weeks when the real estimate in the busy
month of July is more like a month.
Our State farm agent assured us that we were covered for
shipping damage, so we didn't buy any additional insurance.
However, it seems other people have had damage problems
in the past. We didn't.
Interestingly, the local terminal that gave us our cars
mentioned that DAS has FIRED a number of drivers for poor
service, and that is likely a factor in shipping delays.
Overall, if I ever have to ship with DAS again I will
do the following:
(1) Ship well in advance as DAS doesn't have any
set schedule in stone for when they will get your
car to you. Their paperwork is all one sided in
their favor from a liability standpoint. It seems
you are taking a chance with them.
(2) Double check that the auto insurance will cover
damage. If not, GET EXTRA INSURANCE.
(2) Try to find a smaller company who will transport
your car directly from Point A to point B. Can't
say how to get a reliable person through.
I hope this info helps others. We were not very happy
with this whole experience, and we are very reasonable
people.
Recommended:
No
Punctuality: Showed up late
Ease of Filing Claim: N/A
Lost Goods: No
Amount Paid (US$): 2500
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Epinions.com ID:
rajesinger
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Reviews written: 1
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