Don't Be Afraid to Keep Calling, You'll Be Glad You Did
Alex Goodno
Submitted this review about
AmeriFreight Car Shipping
Review made Live: 6/2/2014 8:11:00 PM
Bottom Line: My experience with AmeriFreight was good (3 stars); my car was picked up and arrived at its destination within the estimated window. Persistence was definitely required, but overall I was pleased. Below I’ve broken down the experience to help any future customers.
Customer Service: This was a mixed bag for me. After reaching out to AmeriFreight for a quote, I received an email from Graham with an estimated price. As directed in his email I called AmeriFreight to further discuss their quote. I left a message with Graham but never heard back. After waiting a few more days, I decided to call the AmeriFreight office directly (not Graham’s line), and after a few more messages, finally reached a sales representative (not Graham). I ultimately decided to go with AmeriFreight based largely on their reviews both on transportreviews.com and their Better Business Bureau rankings. However, I spoke with a number of other carriers whose sales staff seemed much more customer oriented; quickly returning my calls, reaching out to me, answering questions, etc. It was only after finally deciding to move forward with AmeriFreight that I heard back from Graham. That said, once Graham contacted me I had a decent time getting a hold of him. Yes persistence is required as he doesn’t always call back immediately, but once you have him on the phone Graham is an honest broker. He tells it as it is, and seemed to genuinely care about getting my car to its destination on time. Perhaps the only other subpar experience with Graham (aside from trying to get in touch with him initially) was when I received my first offer from a carrier. Graham called me and told me of a potential carrier but at a higher price. It told him that I needed to talk with my wife about the price and would call him back within the next 10 minutes. I called him back exactly 5 minutes later but he wasn’t there. After multiple calls over the next two hours (I was persistent because Graham had previously mentioned the need to confirm as soon as possible), I was finally informed (again by calling the AmeriFreight main line) that he had stepped out a few hours prior. Knowing that I was going to call back in 10 minutes, I was disappointed he didn’t bother to wait for my reply or direct me to call someone else with my response. Not surprisingly, the carrier had moved on by the time that AmeriFreight finally contacted them. Lastly, I was never contacted post delivery to ensure that everything went smoothly.
Pick-Up / Delivery Time Estimates: AmeriFreight was very up front about the process. If you listen to the sales rep and read through all the fine print, there shouldn’t be any surprises. They were clear that my car would likely not be picked up on the first day of availability but some time over the following 5-7 business days. As advertised, I didn’t get any carrier interest until day 5 and the car was picked up on day 6. Also, the car was delivered within the 2-3 day window quoted to me, arriving 2 days after pick up.
Quoted Price: The vehicle shipping industry seems to take the same approach across the board, so I can’t ding AmeriFreight too much for the price fluctuation. That said, future customers should be aware that quoted prices are not solid. The price quoted to me was $665, and I wasn’t surprised when I had to pay more to get carrier interest. Personally I’d prefer a quote that’s more likely to move the car than wishful thinking, but again this seems to be industry standard. My final price to move a car from South Carolina to Massachusetts came in at $1020. Of note, AmeriFreight honored a $30 discount on my deposit as an active duty military member. Also, AmeriFreight never charged my credit card until a carrier had been scheduled and when my first carrier fell out, they were quick to refund the deposit until a new carrier was eventually found.
Overall: I list this experience as good, 3 stars. Future customers should realize that reviews on this website are slanted towards 5 stars because carriers push for that when contacting the customer for a review post-move. However, in my opinion a 5 star review means everything was glowing from start to finish: great customer service from the beginning to end, price quoted equals price paid, and delivery on time. Ultimate price paid was $355 higher than quoted. As well customer service was a bit lacking; requiring a lot of persistence on my part. That said, my car arrived at its destination on time and in good condition. AmeriFreight was very open about the process, and as such I will likely use AmeriFreight again for any future vehicle shipments.
