Pretty Dependable, I must say.
Written: Apr 01 '01
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Pros: Reasonable prices, timely delivery, better service than most
Cons: Lack of communication, confusion on pick-up
The Bottom Line: Good job with the move (most important in our book), they were timely, and handled our car well. A little expensive, but worth it.
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| narenji's Full Review: Dependable Auto Shippers |
Auto Shipping/relocating is sometimes a black hole- you don't know what you're getting into, and there aren't many resources to help the prospective customer. These shipping companies are lightning quick to send out testimonials on their behalf, trying to tempt you into taking them up on their services. My girlfriend and I fell for that the first time we shipped her car through A To Z Auto Shipping back in 1998, and this time we did more research and found more information before agreeing on a shipper. Dependable Auto Shippers (DAS) had gotten better reviews than most, and their customer service was professional and knowledgeable from the start. Their website is quite impressive as well.
After the initial connection was made through the phone, they sent us a brochure and more information on the shipping process. They didn't send any glowing testimonials, and that was a surprise. Their prices were reasonable, but definitely not the cheapest. We were very much hoping that the addage "you get what you pay for" would come true. We thought we got a good deal with A TO Z, but ended up paying through the nose and then some for the awful service.
We chose terminal-to-terminal service, not only due to the lower cost, but we found door-to-door to be more inconvenient. The pick-up and drop-off windows tend to be extremely large, and you waste time waiting for them to come to your house to pick up the car, and again waiting for them to drop the car off. The terminal-to-terminal service holds the car at a terminal before and after the transfer, and you can go pick up the car at your leisure. The only problem with terminal-to-terminal is that the terminals can be quite far from your residence.
Our car was going to travel from Boston to Los Angeles. We dropped our car off at the terminal in a town about 15 miles south of Boston, and did the paperwork. A relatively nice couple of guys handled our car, but they smoked a lot, something I didn't like. They told us that the car would be held there till Friday or Saturday before a DAS truck came to pick them up (we dropped off the car on a Thursday in June 2000). They told us that it would take about two weeks to get to LA. We were fine with that, because we ourselves were traveling from Boston to LA with a Budget Truck, towing our other car, and driving cross-country. They gave us a tracking number, so we could check the progress of our car through their website.
We tracked the car, and the website was updated daily. Once the car arrived in LA, we didn't get a call from DAS. We had to call the terminal ourself to get the confirmation. When asked why we weren't contacted, their reply was that "things were crazy around here." We picked up the car from Carson City south of LA, again a place far from where we were living (in Glendora). When we got to the terminal, it turned to be their LA area office. There were quite a few people milling about, and we learnt that all of them were waiting for their cars. DAS was woefully understaffed that Saturday, and there was only person to bring the cars out to us. It took a good 30-45 minutes to get our car. Fortunately, there was no damage on the car, and DAS had given it a good wash.
We were happy that they had washed it, because when A To Z gave our car to us, it was filthy, with oil from the car above leaking onto our hood, etc. A washed car also makes it easier for the owner to point out damage to the car. Our keys were put onto a DAS keychain and returned to us. The total process was so much more painless than our experience with A To Z, and we were both glad for that. DAS should have communicated with its customers a little better, and their pick-up location needs to be more organized to handle its customers. Other than that, they did a good job and I would use them again if the situation presented itself. They do cost more, but in our opinion, they did a vastly better job.
Recommended:
Yes
Punctuality: Showed up on time
Ease of Filing Claim: N/A
Lost Goods: No
Amount Paid (US$): 875
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Epinions.com ID:
narenji
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 - Top 1000 |
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Location: Glendora, CA
Reviews written: 99
Trusted by: 33 members
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