Horror story -
Written: Feb 08 '06
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Pros: ??? price?
Cons: going 0 for 2 leaves a bad taste in your mouth
The Bottom Line: Caveat Emptor. Are you the gambling type?
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| cow2215's Full Review: Dependable Auto Shippers |
Another thumbs down, "good lord, take the women and children and hide" for DAS:
We recently moved from Boston to the Bay Area (Los Altos). I read LOTS about auto shippers, and decided in the end to go with DAS...it was tough, because just about every mainstream auto shipper has bad feedback somewhere, so I figured that at least DAS owns their own trucks, which is theoretically better than the middle-man/distribution agent model in terms of accountability, right? I just chalked it up to a roll of the dice as to whether or not something would happen to our cars in transit.
Ironically, at one point I threw up my hands and decided that I would just pay for premium white-glove service from Intercity Lines - $1850 for enclosed, door-to-door transport. Unfortunately, by that point (mid-December), they were already booked to the end of January, so that idea went out the window.
So: I opted for terminal-to-terminal transport, dropping off at the Burlington "terminal" (a 3rd party towing company) and picking up at DAS' San Lorenzo terminal, for $1250, enclosed transport, with insurance. We have two cars, so I dropped the first one off 2 weeks before our move, figuring that it would get there roughly when we would.
I opted for the valuation coverage ($100 deductible) offered by DAS, even after reading about how one can use existing auto insurance as coverage. Rationale - I figured that with a low deductible, it was no-hassle, peace of mind insurance.
First yellow flag: When dropping off our first car at the terminal, I noted an open carrier with the DAS logo on it, loading cars. Hmm, I thought, that's a cherry Aston Martin on the top, as well as a nice late-model Benz on the bottom. This was after having sounded out DAS multiple times as to whether or not I'd get enclosed transport for our cars. (We have two 2001MY BMWs, and BMW advises against chains-to-chassis tie down; DAS's own website won't allow you to choose open transport for a BMW, and they swear up and down over the phone that that means you'll only get a closed transport.) Now, I'll admit I was foolish to call and expect an explanation for why some driver decided to top-load an Aston Martin on an open carrier, and I sure didn't get any explanation that held any water. ("oh, no, that's not right, I'll have to look into that..." Maybe they did actually use an enclosed carrier for my transport, maybe they did for the terminal-to-terminal portion ( my car first went to Jersey where it sat for a few days), or maybe they just didn't. I'll never know...
So, the car started moving about a week later. (Here I'll pause and say that, based on all the horror stories, I had low expectations about the timing of delivery. Ultimately, it took about three weeks, but that was over the holidays, so I wasn't expecting much better.) That's when the story got really interesting...
I received a call on Saturday 1/7, from what was probably the driver, saying that I should call XXX at DAS at the following number. Well, no one at the home office works on the weekends, so I'm left to wait and wonder for two days as to why someone would be calling me out of the blue like that. Visions of my car crushed to rubble or burnt to a husk dance through my dreams...
Come Monday, I get a hold of the person, who turns out to be an adjuster. "Well, I received a message from the driver, that says that there was some damage to your car, the rear bumper and trunk are damaged. Apparently there was some driver error, where his foot got stuck between the gas and the brake." and that's all the information I get... She has no idea how bad it is, I really have no idea how bad it is, and the nightmares continue...
The car arrives in San Lorenzo on Wednesday 1/11, and I breathlessly call the terminal after the online tracking function shows that it has arrived. The girl says, "yes, it's ready for pickup." "What about the damage?" I ask. "(innocent/clueless) What damage?" (I kid you not) So after explaining that the ruse is up, I already know that it got smooshed by the jackbooted hamfisted driver, they agree that it's messed up. In fact, the adjuster has pictures taken and has them sent to me. The back was hit by what was probably an SUV, because the plastic covering on the bumper is cracked and pushed in, as is the rear quarter panel of the body (metal)...the trunk lid is also bent, and no longer closes.
In order to try and play the game smart, I go ahead and get the names of two reputable body shops in the area, and have the car looked at. Both quotes are within spitting distance of each other, $4600-4800.
Now, at no time did my adjuster represent anything other than the damage was indeed DAS's fault and they would cover the cost of repair. But just when you think you're home free, the Kafkaesque madness begins...
Over the next two weeks, I have DAS's independent local adjuster come and evaluate the car. The quote gets sent to my adjuster, who waits a few days to tell me that it's too high for her to approve (>$700), so her supervisor has to approve it. 5 days and 3 calls later, she informs me that it's so high, that her supervisor's supervisor (I'm not kidding) has to approve it. Meanwhile, we only have one car in CA, so I have to drive it, with a bungee cord holding down the non-functional trunk, and the rust beginning to set in in the areas where the paint cracked from the bent sheetmetal.
I was beginning to have a bad feeling about how things were going, so I contacted my own insurance company. Our adjuster at Hanover was *shocked* at what had been going on, so she joined the fray and said that she'd take care of the whole thing. What's more, after she communicated with DAS, she said that she would waive our deductible given that DAS was admitting fault.
I first confirmed with local insurance agents that a claim through my own insurance wouldn't affect my rates going forward (perhaps something to do with the fact that i wasn't within 1000 miles of my car when it happened, let alone driving it??), and so I decided that I would make my problem someone else's problem.
Most pathetic part? We receive our second car two weeks later (we shipped them in staggered fashion), and I'm actually ecstatic that it looks un-smashed. Of course, on closer examination, there are several scratches on the driver's side doors, fairly deep, and the side turning signal (just in front of the door seam at mid door level) is broken. Still, it feels like a victory. Of course, when the body shop looks at it, they quote $2000. (A whole 'nother can of worms - body shops are apparently like weddings, it's a thousand bucks minimum as soon as you walk in the door). That's ok, my Hanover agent is happy to take on this one as well.
So that's my story. I guess I just rolled the dice twice and busted both times...so why does it feel more like I was playing with loaded dice? In retrospect, paying even twice as much ($2K) for transport seems reasonable for the peace of mind it would have brought...
Things I learned:
- ask your insurance company (preferably a claims agent) about your coverage. If it turns out that you need to make a claim, your existing insurance may actually be quite useful. I was originally hesitant to try the own-insurance strategy that others have advocated because our local sales agent said that our minimum deductible was $500, but it turned out that once I actually made a claim, the adjuster considered it a zero-deductible claim. Not sure if other insurance policies/companies would work differently, but it makes sense to check and see if your policy waives your deductible on not-at-fault claims.
Recommended:
No
Punctuality: Showed up on time
Lost Goods: No
Amount Paid (US$): 1250
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Epinions.com ID:
cow2215
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Reviews written: 1
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