Company Response Review Report Review
2nd Experience. Overall, very good.

Jim Minervino Submitted this review about Ship a Car Direct
Review made Live: 7/11/2014 2:56:00 PM
This is the second time we've shipped a car via Ship A Car Direct. The outcome was excellent but we have learned a lot about shipping cars in the process. Here are some things to note:

First, the shipping BROKER you use matters, especially if/when things don't go as planned with the company actually picking up the car. The broker needs to be responsive and on top of things. They need to put your interests first. They need to choose shippers that are reliable.

That said, they cannot MAKE the shipper show up or show up on time.

We have learned that there are many good drivers out there but there are more losers than there should be. On this particular shipment, I'll spare the gory details, but we waited 8 hours beyond the pick up time including getting a call that he was "just coming up our street" - we waited around for 3 hours after that call and he never showed and never called. He rang our doorbell at 9am the next morning (the nerve of him!) but we didn't bother to answer it.

We called Ship A Car Direct and talked to Matt (our contact) and he apologized and assigned us a different carrier. That carrier did a great job from start to finish.

From talking to others and our own experience we have learned that shipping companies (and their drivers) operate in a very different world than most of us. When they give you a pickup window, you should hope they honor it but also plan to be around for an extra 4 hours. Just because you have an urgent appointment to get to and just because you've communicated that to the shipper, I can tell you that they don't care. They will arrive when they arrive.

Ship A Car Direct was on top of things and very responsive when we needed them. I would have given them an Excellent rating but I have to hold them partially responsible for the no-show driver since they chose the shipping company. I would use Ship A Car Direct again as, based on the experience of other people I know who have shipped cars, my experience with the actual shippers is not unique. (Imagine if the broker sucked and the shipper sucked too?)

What a weird industry...
Shipment Details
Origin State:
Washington
Pickup:
Late
Destination State:
California
Delivery:
On Time
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
379754-LH
Quote or Order Cost:
$700

Company Response
Michael Strickland from Ship a Car Direct Submitted this response.
Response Date: 7/11/2014 7:09:00 PM
Thank you for the thorough feedback, Jim! You cover a lot of really good points for shippers! Sorry the first carrier assigned was a dud. We have a Do Not Use list and we do vet our carriers, but sometimes a carrier we have had good luck with in the past lets their standards slip and we have to find out through our customers. Glad the second carrier was great!