It really does Depend......
CobraJet
Submitted this review about
Dependable Auto Shippers
Review made Live: 4/6/2007 11:21:00 PM
I have used DAS Dependable Auto Shippers on three different occasions. The quality of service from my experiences varied from average to below average. I had one car shipped from California to Texas, one from New York to Texas, and the last from Missouri to Texas. Two of the three cars had fluids dripped on them during transit. All were shipped by open carrier. All were rinsed off, or should I say hosed down upon arrival in Texas.
The DAS authorized depot nearest me is a reasonably clean, well managed, paved and secure impound lot. The location is in an industrialized seedy section of town with no residential housing anywhere near the facility. I have absolutely no problem dealing with my authorized DAS depot. The people there were very friendly once they knew I was a DAS customer as opposed to just another irate tow victim of a parking violation. After all, the DAS customers are paid customers merely picking up their property as instructed. Each time I arrived to pick up my car I was asked to please take a seat while the attendant washes the car and brings it to the front parking lot for my inspection. Each time the car was brought forward dripping wet and left running with the driver door open just outside the waiting area. This may seem unusual, but there are electric gates beyond this point and only a “paid” customer can exit the huge steel gates with a vehicle. All three fuel gauges read E when I picked up the cars. One, I know for sure had at least a quarter tank when it left the point of origin. I don’t know if the truckers siphon the tanks to make up for the weight they are carrying “off the record” or what, but the odometer on the car did not indicate the car was driven far enough to drain the fuel tank. After my first experience of running out of fuel a block away from the depot, I found it wise to bring a five gallon container of fuel with me on the next two trips.
The transport drivers really don’t care one way or the other about any vehicle they are transporting. The transport driver only cares about getting the job done. This leaves the depot people at every stop along the way that have the keys to your car. Your car that may not leave for two or more days from arrival, so it becomes a new toy. It doesn’t matter if the car is registered or not, it will get driven if it is a really cool car, and it will get exercised if it is a really hot car. You have absolutely no control over that. Yes, it is wrong, but that does not stop the redneck or teenage attendant from borrowing your wheels for a couple hours a day. They think nothing can come back on them because the carrier insurance will cover anything that goes wrong, at least as far as they are concerned. I am not suggesting all depot staging stations are like that, but far too many are. I don’t think for a minute my local depot is like that, but who knows what happened at the last three lay over stops?
Internet tracking through DAS for location of your vehicle absolutely stinks. It is anywhere from one day to three days behind. Time estimates are just that, estimates. Drivers do their best to safely go from one point to the next as quickly as possible. Again, you have the expertise of the depot to rely upon when tracking your vehicle. One of my cars arrived at a staging area and sat for five days. Nobody updated the record until the car departed. It then stated arrived at so and so at this time and departed on that day, that time. It was an accurate record, but only AFTER the fact. There may have been good reason for the delay, but I would have appreciated the update as it happened.
