Company Response Review Report Review
Poor Communication .. Underquoted

ML Submitted this review about Magic Carpet Auto Transport
Review made Live: 7/23/2013 2:49:00 PM
So this was my first transport experience and lets just say it was NOT a smooth one. Overall my impression of the industry is that you as the consumer have little to no control over the process other than to accept what you are asked to get the job completed. I think in the future I will not transport my car again or try a different company or be more direct with the knowledge I now have.
Let me start off first and say I started initially trying to contact another company to arrange my transport and that was a disaster. The transport broker yelled at me over the phone and then stalker dialed me after I told him i didnt like his tone and was not going to be requiring his services. I would just reference the last section of Magic Carpets Owners comments to know who that person was. That review was very accurate.
Anyway, on to magic carpet ... it started well with my broker calling early and often to get my business and line me up to get listed. However, past that point things fell of the cliff. I almost never heard back from my broker and I had to call him multiple times just to get any information on where we were in the process, not good customer service. My first available date came and went, by 10 days, and I had to leave town for my move. So pickup was later than expected.
The worst part of the whole experience was the gross underquoting for my transport. I would warn people that the quote you get is NOT the cost you are going to pay. It is just what the broker thinks you will need to pay to get a transporter to pick your car up (or the price they tell you to get you listed by them). Well that price was initially $1200. Well, after my 1st avaulbale date has past by a few days, my broker now said that if I wanted my car moved before october I would have to pay $1700!!!! Thats $500 more than I was intiially quoted. I realized the price could change a little but not that much! I realize it is all a supply and demand businness, demand was up at the time and the number of transporters does not change so naturally price will also rise. My beef is that the broker should have known this, i only booked my transport listing 4 weeks prior. I called around to other companies and they verified this was the going rate for my transport at that momnent so I didnt feel like I was being robbed (kinda) but I was not very happy about setting false expectations. I eventually said ok and got my car picked up (before october).
The transporter was the next issue. The broker is supposed to find a reliable transporter. That is their job. the transporter got my car to its destination earlier than I expected which was nice, but communication was also poor on their end. The transporter called me to pick up my car without my broker telling me he had contracted someone and who they were, so how was i supposed to trust that X transporter company was the one contracted? They did not speak very good english (and that is being generous). They drove another persons car off the transporter to come pick mine up. My car also had a few miles put on it after delivery. Since I had dropped the car at a family member house and it was 2115 at night I asked them to knock on the door when they arrived, they refused and wanted the person to come out to them. Next I did not hear from them for 4 days giving me any update on timing for delivery, so I called. Amazingly they had already driven across country (apparently they tandem drive) and my car was in the state. They said they could deliver the next day in the afternoon and they would call 1-2 hours ahead. The next day I get a call at 0700 saying that my car is ready for pickup and they want me to come get it from them 10 minutes away?? I had not gone to the bank yet to get the cash out for delivery so the driver had to wait 3 hours for me to get there with the money after the bank opened. I wish i had know they would be there that early, I would have gotten the money earlier. The bank teller was really inquisitive why I wanted soo much cash soo early in the morning.
Luckily I was reunited with my car (that was not a forgone conclusion in my mind) and it was just a little dirty with only a few new scratches (which is much better than I anticipated).

In review I would just say that communication is very important. The broker owes that to you for their fee. The transporter they contract would hopefully be someone they use often that is reliable and also communicate with you. And lastly, dont book a low quote company like I did. I feel like that was a tactic to get my business or just shows lack of knowledge on the part of the broker on going rates for the time of move.
Shipment Details
Origin State:
Virginia
Pickup:
Late
Destination State:
California
Delivery:
Early
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
CaseyJ
Quote or Order Cost:
$1700

Car Condition
  • Vehicle was dirty
Company Response
Terry Williams from Magic Carpet Auto Transport Submitted this response.
Response Date: 7/24/2013 10:08:00 AM
We try to move the cars for our customers at the lowest price possible..sometimes the quotes given may not reflect all rate increases.. carriers pick the loads based on what is offered and can call in and counter the quote with what they want to take the load.. we never pass on a carrier but bring all offerings to the customer but we do not require the customer to except the carrier or his price.. that is always the customers choice.In our industry rates can change daily.