In good hands the whole way
Jodie T.
Submitted this review about
Angels Moving Autos
Review made Live: 3/5/2008 1:59:00 PM
I did a lot of research before deciding on an auto transport solution, and I admit that I was terrified to ship my car after reading about the sorts of things that can go horribly wrong during the trip. But Angels got consistently high marks from many reviewers, and so I decided to go with them. I never regretted it, and would use them again.
Angels is a broker, not a transporter, so they basically work with their network of shipping companies to find a driver who is headed in the right direction and can pick up your car when you need the service. They have a few companies that they prefer to work with because those companies have done great jobs in the past; this was nice to hear, because how on earth would I know which shipping company is better than another? Angels already knows, because they've worked with lots of companies and have whittled them down to the best ones. They must have chosen well, because my experience with my assigned company/driver was great.
Anyway, I started by filling out a request for a shipping cost quote on Angels' website. The number returned was $595 for open transport from Texas to Virginia. I thought, gee, that is the same price quoted to me by other companies who have received very negative reviews. Moreover, Angels' price includes door-to-door service, whereas the other shippers would only deliver to/from a remotely-located holding area where the car would likely wait a while before pick-up. It seemed to be a no-brainer to opt for the better company with door-to-door service if the price is the same.
I called Angels and, amazingly, I wasn't even off the phone with them before they'd already located a driver for my car. How's that for well-connected? I told the woman that's great, but the car wouldn't be ready for shipment for another few days. No big deal; she'd find another driver on a later date. The only disappointment was when I learned that the website doesn't give very accurate price quotes. The total cost turned out to be $825, not $595. That was a pretty significant increase, but since I'd already been pleasantly surprised to learn that the service was door-to-door, I figured it was worth the extra money to have that feature, and to go with a company backed by tons of rave reviews. I post this just to let you know that you shouldn't rely too heavily on the website quoteXXXcall first to get an accurate price.
The company Angels found to move my car was called Jubilee; my driver, David, was great. He called to let me know he was about to pick up the vehicle (from a seller in Texas), gave me updates during the journey on his expected arrival time, and called me the night before drop-off to arrange things. (I gave him directions on how to get to an area near my house big enough to allow him to offload my carXXXwe live in a townhouse community and there's no way an 18-wheeler would be able to get anywhere near our place!) He arrived right on time, and the car was in great shape. Dirty, of course, because it had rained almost the entire trip, but no worse for the wear. It took the driver only 5 minutes to offload it and show me the paperwork for signing. He was prompt, professional, and very nice to deal with. It took 5 days to get the car from Texas to Virginia, which was just perfect as far as my own planning went. As other reviewers have noted, be prepared to pay the driver in cash for the balance due; Angels charges your credit card $225 up front to make the reservation (at least, that's what it was in my case), but you must pay the rest to the driver. Make sure you plan to get to the bank to take out enough cash. (Angels told me all about this ahead of time, so it was no problem.)
All along the way, Angels also called me to confirm the pick-up and drop-off schedule, and to confirm that the delivery went well and that the car was in good shape upon arrival. I truly felt that, all along the way, I had someone to turn to if anything went wrong. Angels was very upfront and honest with me when I booked the serviceXXXthey said it's not that things never go wrong (nothing is perfect in this world, including the shipping business); it's that Angels works hard to make sure that, if things do go wrong, they help you deal with the problem. I suppose it helps that they use trusted shippers whom Angels knows are honest and easy to deal with. But, in any event, I am happy to report that I didn't have to worry; I had no problems whatsoever.
One thing I'd like to mention is that I was at a loss as to whether to tip the driver. So I asked Angels beforehand what to do. They said that tipping is not required or expected, but usually appreciated. They suggested that, if I wanted to tip, the "price of a dinner" would be a good benchmark. Now, in the DC area (as in all big metro areas), a dinner can cost $250 and up, but I figured the driver didn't have time to make a reservation at a 5-star restaurant before getting back on the road to deliver his next car, so I decided to give him $50. ; ) I still have no idea whether that's considered generous or cheap, but David seemed pleased in any event. I throw this in just in case someone else is wondering the same thing.
All in all, Angels was terrific, Jubilee was terrific, and David the driver was terrific. I will definitely call Angels next time I need to ship a car.
