Comments on: Auto Transport Options

By: Bill Bacer

Bill Bacer — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 04:23:21 +0000

So, I called 7 Brokers on Dec 15th to get 4 cars picked up and delivered to a collector who bought them for his kids for Cristmas, Now, I got some good rates, some of them TO GOOD if you know what I mean!!!, but all of them told me that 99% of the car carriers were shut down for the holidays, 3 of them told me that they would send a “Wrecker” to pick them up and store them until after the 1st of the year???? What a joke they were, they just did not get it I guess. Then, I found PARAMOUNT’S info right here on this page. I called PARAMOUNT and talked to WONDERFUL lady (Teresa) in the vehicle transportation dept, she gave me a good rate, I said “lets do it, when can you have them picked up and delivered to Dallas?” She put me on hold, came back and said after we get some paperwork done that I can have a truck there is 2-3 days and deliver before Christmas eve. GREAT just what i needed!! the next day there driver called and said that he would be here tomorrow, and thats just what happened, This fine driver showed up during a MAJOR SNOW STORM, just as promised, loaded all the cars with care and concern in 16 degrees and a howling wind, He was perfect! I recieved a call today (Dec 20th) from the buyer, he was so pleased and happy (just as I am) with the service that I got from PARAMOUNT!!! A word of advise…..Don’t call anyone but PARAMOUNT.
THANK YOU TO THE WHOLE CREW AT PARAMOUNT!!!!!!!

By: Jeff Caldwell

Jeff Caldwell — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:36:28 +0000

Nice blog…I just moved my 2008 Mustang from NYC to Las Vegas, Nv and used Paramount Transportation Services…you know the movie companys transport division, I wanted my baby transported in a closed trailer (yeah I know the factory shipped it in a open trailer) so nothing happened in transit. I did a search on line and got hundredes of links, and like all of you I found out they were brokers with no trucks. I was told that Paramount would be my best bet. I was so happy with there customer service, tracking, and there 5 star fleet driver I had to pass it on. If you are looking to ship your Baby, look them up. http://www.paramount-transportation.com

By: Jacob Puleo

Jacob Puleo — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:27:25 +0000

Good article. If you want good information on auto transport, you should check out http://www.shipride.com... they have a lot of articles and tips and helped me out in my search for a shipper.

By: JoAnne Bennett

JoAnne Bennett — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:30:44 +0000

A very interesting post, I too was faced with the delima on how to get my car across the county. I was told about Paramount Transportation Services, by a friend of mine who is a car collector, That they specilized in VIP’s, that they transported the Movie Stars cars…..and I thought what the heck, I know that they will be expense, but lets see what the high end would be. I got there rate, called 12 others, (Some were brokers) I can’t believe the rates that I recieved……I went with Paramount Transportation Services, The rate was BETTER than all the others, the customer service was great, There driver treated my car as if it was his, I got to track my car on there web site. There person on the phone who I talked to never mislead me, and even called 24 hours before my car was delivered, and then 3 days after to make sure I was happy. I would recommend them to everyone. Here is there website http://www.paramount-transportation.com

By: Frank Johnson

Frank Johnson — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:23:58 +0000

As with any service business, you have to do your homework. I got quotes from a number of sources and the lowest price wasn’t the best deal. The low bidder had a very long pickup window which meant that they might pick up my car any time during a two-week period. I couldn’t live with that. For about $75 more I got a guaranteed pickup appointment on the day I wanted and it was well worth it. I dealt with AA Automovers in NJ http://www.aa-automovers.com and they did a fine job. I’m sure there are other companies that do equally well, but I also spoke to some that were unpleasant and didn’t seem to care about what I needed. I picked AA primarily because of the pickup window issue, but a friendly salesperson helped.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:35:26 +0000

I absolutely agree with Maria – post Feb 2007. Stay away from Autotrail Transpoter / An Eastern Connection. I needed a car moved and did the research. I was fooled into thinking this was an honest company. I was assured my car would be picked up by May 15th. It wasn’t. Every time I called I got a new excuse. I can’t tell you how many other people have contacted me saying they were told the truck broke down. When I reached them on my last day before moving, I was yelled at, hung up on twice and told I would be met in court for cancelling the order. I was told that apparently I was stupid because I hadn’t read the contract which says they don’t have to pick the car up at all. I later discovered that this company is only a broker and they have stiffed so many truckers that the truckers will not do business with AEC. I immediately disputed the charges with my credit card company and luckily won. In June, a man from this company called me up and harrassed me. He claimed he was a lawyer and my credit card was being investigated. I asked for his name, he would not give it to me. I asked for his phone number and he gave me the AEC 800 number. This is the worst company I have ever encountered and I am very suprised that they have been allowed to remain in business after all these years of swindling the public. Apparently writting to BBB and NY State does not matter. It is sad that anyone else should ever have to go through the torture that so many already have.

By: Lee

Lee — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 19:43:14 +0000

In my honest opinion, and some experience in the auto transport industry. I believe the reason behind all this bad service in the auto transport industry, is that of too much competition. Everyone knows gas prices has gone up since the beginning of the new century. What you the consumers do not know is that the average price for you consumers to move your vehicles has not gone up these past 20 years. In fact, the price has gone down. Considering inflation, cost of living, the weakened American dollar and the fact that diesel fuel is about 2.5 times more expensive now than it was 20 years ago. Add the extra competition between all these auto transport brokers.

What you get is a lot of overworked truck drivers that is underpaid, forced to drive longer and further in their old trucks which will break down, because there is no time to keep the trucks properly maintained. And on the auto transport broker side, most of them are understaffed and forced to work more hours dealing with unhappy customers more often because these trucks are breaking down.

Let me give you and example, if I was a truck driver and I can carry 8 mid sized sedan across country and I get paid $700 for each car, moving them from coast to coast, I’ll be making $5,600. Yet it’ll cost me between $3,000.00 to $3,500.00 one way. Subtract the net profit with fuel cost and I’ll be making 2,100 to 2,600 one way. Now during these transports there is a chance I might damage your vehicle. From my experience the average cost is about 600 to 900 dollars for repairs. Now a lot of these drivers will likely have a family and bills to go with them. So the drivers are basically bringing home $11,200.00 a month. Now lets subtract cost. 30% tax for being self-employed so from $11,200.00 which comes out to $7,870.00. $6,000.00 for gas, maybe $800.00 to repair any damages to a customers vehicle, God knows how much to maintain the truck and the trailer. A measley $1840.00 after driving cross country and back.

From what I’ve seen these auto tranport brokers come and goes because they are quoting you consumers a too low of a price. And so these auto transport brokers have to close business due to no profits.

The average lifespan for a newly opened restaurant is 2 to 3 years. Only a small percentage of all the new restaurants opened stays in business beyond the average lifespan. I’m seeing the same thing with these auto transport brokers. The best ones in my opinion are the ones that are ran by ex-truck drivers and have been around for quite some time. Remember the old adage, “you get what you paid for”.

By: Pam

Pam — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 08:57:00 +0000

I would not personally use VIP Auto Transportation EVER again. They are only a broker, and I finally got my car after 6 weeks, and then the driver informed me that I owed him MORE than the quoted price. They also have several complaints with the BBB. Look them up before you place an order!!

By: Lisa Bass

Lisa Bass — Mon, 14 May 2007 03:28:10 +0000

Hi Y’all,

A few months ago I moved from Breckenridge to Boston for graduate school. At the time, the drive would have been too time consuming and the fuel really expensive. I had looked around the internet & via the BBB, but as someone mentioned before, http://www.transportreviews.com/ is the best place to find reputable auto transporters. I settled on 1st Call Auto Haul http://www.1stcallautohaul.com/ because of their reviews and because they own their own trucks. Eric Sailer was extremely helpful and my car arrived 4 days after it was picked up. Total professional- Hope this helps.

By: Maria

Maria — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 08:27:45 +0000

STAY AWAY from Autotrail Transport / A Eastern Connection! Check all the negative reviews under both company names! http://www.transportreviews.com/company/autotrail.asp
There are numerous complaints on the BBB site as well.

They are extremely sneaky and trick customers into their lies and unfair business practice. They charge you all sorts of fees, yell at you if you have to deal with them, make you feel guilty, and hang up on you! STAY AWAY from this headache! Companies like these should not be allowed to lie to people and cash in millions of dollars from unsuspecting customers.

If you are another unfortunate victim of this company, post your reviews, file a complaint on BBB’s site, contact FMCSA, do whatever it takes! Your time and effort will be much appreciated if it can prevent others from falling into the traps of this aweful company. I don’t know all the laws but I certainly think that this type of business practice is illegal. Cheating and lyeing should not be tolerated and Autotrail/A Eastern should not be in business!

By: Francis

Francis — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:25:29 +0000

Definitely look at http://www.transportreviews.com/ as mentioned above. I’m actually looking to ship a car from roughly LA to Seattle as well, and my best rate so far from a 5-star rated (from Transport Reviews) company is $655 from Monstar Auto Transport (http://monstarautotransport.com/).

I’ve had other quotes lower ($565) but the peace of mind that comes with other people’s good experiences are worth the extra cost in my opinion.

By: Markus Diersbock

Markus Diersbock — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 19:36:45 +0000

Advantage Auto Transport has been my client for 12yrs, and they’ve
been in business since 1979.

I can’t get you a multi-car discount, and they have their OWN trucks,
have their own zero deducable insurance.

Many other companies just broker and have no insurance.

AutoGain.com is run by a former employee.

Try them out, Chris:
http://www.carmoves.com

By: Lisa Lee

Lisa Lee — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 00:52:55 +0000

I’ve seen UHauls with a car being carried in the back. I’ve thought of doing that (driving the UHaul w/ all my stuff and having my car carried in the back of it) for if I move from L.A to Colorado. I know it’s not as nice or convenient as flying it, but it’s the poor man’s way to do it.. maybe? I havent checked into the price yet.

By: Raf

Raf — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 16:54:49 +0000

Check out this site for reviews of transport companies before you plunk down your change: http://www.transportreviews.com/

We used it to decide which company was going to ship my BMW from PA to CA about 2 months ago. We paid $1100 for it, BTW.

By: John

John — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 16:53:12 +0000

Chris, I had excewllent reswultsw form Specialty Mobile Systems, an auto trq