Here's the same review I left on Yelp:
4/5 for communication
5/5 for delivering the car in perfect condition
2/5 for timeliness
So, let me tell you my experience with United Auto Transport, which ranges from a panic attack to absolute shock (in a good way).
I used a third party auto shipping service quote website to have our Focus shipped from West Palm Beach, FL to San Francisco, CA. I put the details in on a Thursday, received around 10 quotes that Friday and made a few calls to the carriers to understand the logistics and how the whole process worked. I didn't actually read reviews before hiring a company. Definitely, read reviews.
The weekend rolls around and I start panicking as I need to have the car shipped that Monday. If it doesn't arrive by the weekend, my wife's won't be able to get to her new job (the whole reason we needed to ship her car out anyway).
No one answers the phone on the weekend. Literally none of the carriers. In a bit of a fluster of thinking I wouldn't be able to get the car shipped ASAP, I went with United Auto using their online service to schedule and at least get something going for when everyone was back in the office on Monday.
I called first thing Monday morning, 6am PT / 9 am PT, to see if I could coordinate a pickup time the same day. James answers, tells me he can get the truck either that day or by no later than the following morning, takes my deposit of $100 and says I'll get a call a couple hours before they are expected to arrive.
No shows up that Monday afternoon so I give James a call who says it's going to be the next morning. The next morning a driver does arrive at 1pm, inspects the car, puts it on the truck and off he goes. Magic! Or so I thought.
A couple hours later my father in law gets a notification from Sunpass. He was billed for 12 axels (or whatever a truck has) all the way down to Miami, the opposite way of where we expected the truck to go. He gives Ernesto, our trucking coordinator, a call to see what the heck is going on. Ernesto says the truck has mechanical issues with the lift and they have to get it serviced and it may take a day or two. This is when I start freaking out.
I hop on Yelp, read all these negative reviews, and immediately assume that my Focus is going to be sitting in a lot for two weeks in Miami or shipped out for parts. Obviously, there was nothing I could do at the time, but I literally had a panic attack questioning myself as to who I had hired to move this car.
The next two days I called Ernesto a few times and the same thing - the truck is still being fixed, etc. At this point, I had 0 hope and even called our insurance company to ask what happens in this situation if we never get our car. I realize now that most likely they were waiting to fill the truck with more cars before they left and most likely I would have never known had it not been for Sunpass. I get it but it still sucks.
Now it's Friday. That morning, Ernesto calls me to let me know to expect the car Monday or Tuesday. I literally did not believe him given the truck left Friday and thought he was just telling me this so I wouldn't bug him. But given the circumstances, I would be ecstatic if the car arrived Monday or Tuesday even though it was promised by end of weekend.
So, I patiently wait through the weekend and Monday afternoon I get a call from Ernesto. The truck is in CA and I need to meet the driver between 830-930am the next morning, depending on traffic. Still, I'm in disbelief and didn't think that the car was actually going to arrive, but the next morning the truck shows up with two drivers and my jaw just drops.
I paid the driver, signed off on the car, checked the mileage and gas and went on my way. Everything worked out well and the car was in the same condition that it was dropped off as. Overall, not bad. And honestly, had I not found out that the truck was sitting in Miami, I probably would have never had a panic attack and assumed it just came a day or two late.
if you hire this service, and they are reasonably priced, make sure you allocate 10 days at the maximum. It took them 8 from the time we coordinating to move a cross country.
