Transportation of private automobile

Tom Submitted this review about Magic Carpet Auto Transport
Review made Live: 3/27/2010 10:51:00 PM
Car was scheduled on 3/3/10 to be picked up on 3/5/10. I was instructed on conferene call with carrier and broker to call the driver on the afternoon of 3/4 to confirm he would be on schedule to pick up the car on 3/5. I was told on 3/3 by the carrier dispatcher the driver should not have a problem picking up the car in the am on 3/5 as I had a flight scheduled to return to Texas at noon. When I called the driver on the afternoon of 3/4 he said he was not aware of the pickup and didn't have any paperwork for it. I gave him the information on the pick up and he said he would be able to pick up the car on 3/5, but would not be able to be there in the morning. I told him I wanted to be there for the pickup but it was not imperative and I didn't want him having to come later in the day after I had left to stop the pick up. The following morning I received a call from the broker wanting to know why I called the driver, because I confused him and he thought he only had a 2 hour window to pick up the car. So the company redispached him to another pick up and my car didn't get picked up. I did as I was asked to do and then told it was my fault it got screwed up. It was 3/9 before the broker found another carrier to haul the car for the same rate that was quoted by the first carrier. It was 3/18 before the carrier actually picked the car up although I was told it would be picked up on 3/17. The car was scheduled to be deivered to me in Texas no later than 3/22. The truck broke down 2 times between Washington and Texas. Some of the cars the driver was scheduled to pick up in Arizona were cancelled due to the truck being broke down. So when the truck was repaired the driver was redispatched to other cities to fill up the truck in place of the pickups that were cancelled. The driver finally dropped off my car on 3/26. Although there were several delays and rerouting of the truck both the broker and the carrier dispatcher did keep me well informed of all of the issues. Their communication was excellent even though this trip seemed doomed from the beginning. The driver was courteous when delivering my car to me. The carrier did discount my rate by $75 for the delays which I thought was a good gesture. And other than the car being extremely dusty (this was an enclosed unit) it arrived with no damages. It was a 2500 mile trip from Washington to Texas and a lot can go wrong in that many miles. But hearing news of more delays was sure better than not hearing anything. I think both the broker and carrier did the best they could given the problems that were encountered along the way. If you are looking for a good rate and good communication, I would recommend both the broker and the carrier. If you are looking to get your vehicle delivered in a short amount of time you might want to go with a carrier with a higher rate that might guarantee your vehicle will be delivered within a set time frame.