Better than what you'd expect from most shippers, Unbeatable Prices.
Written: Jan 09 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cheapest quote if you use terminal-to-terminal, Courteous & helpful staff.
Cons: Not quite on time, Unreliable online tracking, Long hold period at origin terminal
The Bottom Line: Given the options, they are not bad, unless you have great expectations.
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| demhai's Full Review: Dependable Auto Shippers |
After reading all the reviews here, I decided to take my chances with DAS. Given their low rates for terminal to terminal shipping, I didnt quite have too many choices in that price range. Luckily, my car arrived in one piece, without any significant damage. Given my already low expectations, I guess I would have to be one of their few satisfied customers.
Firstly, I had a good experience when I tried to place my order. I got an instant quote online, and emailed them about it. I got an immediate response from one of their representatives with a direct number to call him. When I called him, he was indeed very helpful and setup my order right away. Then, I had to cancel my order due to some unavoidable circumstances, and DAS credited back my charges right away. They did ask me to fax them a simple cancellation form. When I finally decided to do the move again, I called the same person, and he setup the order again just as quickly. This time around, I was charged a higher amount, but an email got most of that refunded back to my credit card.
Since I chose terminal-to-terminal, I had to drop off the car and pick it up myself. The origin terminal was close by. However, the staff there were a bit clueless, and it took forever to get the paperwork done.
I was promised a transit time of 14 days, but unfortunately, my car sat in the origin terminal for most of that time. This was the part I hated most. My car has always been garaged, and there it was sitting in the open, in a scary part of town for about two weeks. To a caring owner, that obviously hurts. If DAS had better transit management, they would have been able to tell me when to drop off the car, so that it got picked up in a day or two.
When the car finally did move, it took a little over a week to arrive at the destination. So in all the total transit time was well over the promised 14 days. I tried to track the car using their online tracking system, but I must say it is quite unreliable. If you need accurate tracking information, you have to call them and bear with the long hold times. Or just patiently wait for them to call you when the car has eventually arrived.
The destination terminal was about an hours drive from my place, in another shady part of town. And they were only open during regular business hours, which was not quite convenient since I needed a ride. However, the staff there was quite efficient and had the car ready when I arrived there.
The good thing is that the car was still in one piece when I got it. There was one scratch on the bumper, but it wasnt worth the trouble of making a claim for. So I let it go. Also, the front interiors were dirty. Their handlers hadn't taken much care about wearing dirty shoes while driving my car. No big deal, I was planning to get the car detailed anyway.
After having read the nightmares about making claims at DAS, I was happy that I didnt have to go through any of that. I wasn't planning on it in the first place. I didn't buy their coverage, but instead made sure that my insurance actually did cover the move.
In all, I believe there is some risk involved in shipping a car, and just the fact that I got the car back without any damage, was satisfactory for me. Given the fact that their shipping costs were the lowest I could find, and the service wasn't too bad, I think DAS is the best option for most people's shipping needs. I probably wouldn't trust them if I had to ship a Porsche, I am sure I'll look them up again if I ever have to ship my daily driver. I will probably also refer them to friends, however, with a bit of a reservation.
Recommended:
Yes
Punctuality: Showed up late
Ease of Filing Claim: N/A
Lost Goods: No
Amount Paid (US$): 550
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Epinions.com ID:
demhai
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Reviews written: 1
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