A good experience marred by less than perfect communication

Jared Submitted this review about Ship a Car Direct
Review made Live: 3/13/2017 4:38:00 PM
The actual carrier was TransAuto Logistics. Showed up when they said they would, were only one day late on delivery (11 days vs a 7-10 day estimate). They didn't contact me with status until two days before delivery, although I attempted to contact them via the contact info ShipACarDirect provided. Car was delivered in the same condition as I shipped it. The driver said that cars on the top level of the open carrier have no problems. Delivered in daylight (don't accept deliveries at night) and waited patiently for me to inspect the vehicle and take pictures. The pickup was similarly unrushed and professional.

Ship A Car Direct - overall, a pretty simple process, and they do try to provide a lot of standard information up front, but two major issues for me: 1. increased the shipping price (bid) by $150 and only notified me after the fact. I won't dispute that it was necessary to get the car shipped, I was running up against the outer edge of my own travel window, but I will dispute doing it and then telling me about it afterwards. (I could ask if the initial bid was way too low, and if the pickup window was too short.) 2. Very spotty response to my phone calls. Either didn't respond or called up to two days later. I won't say I got more calls about filling out this review for the $30 rebate, but it feels that way. The damage app was useful, but I only used it for the delivery. (It basically guides you through taking a comprehensive photo survey of your car before pickup and after delivery, with forms to fill out, as well. You can take the pictures without the app, but it's helpful.) It was only mentioned at the very bottom of their e-mails and I guess I didn't scroll that far until delivery. The general delivery of information was otherwise good, all the generic information about shipping a car via ShipACarDirect.

If I need to do this in the future, I'm comfortable using ShipACarDirect. I'll definitely specify a longer pickup window (although I started with a longer pickup window and Gaby felt it was too early- I don't know if that was a poor call or just poor luck), be more skeptical about the cost estimates, be more relaxed about the delivery, and demand better ways to contact both ShipACarDirect and the transport company.


Company Response
Michael Strickland from Ship a Car Direct Submitted this response.
Response Date: 3/16/2017 3:15:00 PM
Our apologies if you had challenges reaching your rep, we also have our 24/7 support line when our reps are not working, like evenings and weekends. For the quote, it is always an estimate of what the final price may be to get your car moved. Certain times, availability, and other factors can always effect the price. You can always give us a call with any questions you may have and we will be happy to help. Glad everything else went well. Thank you for sharing your feedback!