Andy @ Capitol Auto Transport & Pioneer Auto Express EXCEEDED my expectations
Eric Kaul
Submitted this review about
Capitol Auto Transport
Review made Live: 2/23/2010 11:43:00 PM
FYI - This is a very long review and a testament to Andy's provision of EXTREME customer service!
I purchased a BMW from a fellow enthusiast in Valencia, California on February 5th . My colleague also recently purchased an S4 from Cali and was the victim of hood damage through his experience with DAS. He said that if he had to do it again, that he would do more research and go through a broker whose reputation was on the line. After registering my information with a website, I found myself inundated with emails and phone calls from every direction. All from eager brokers, looking to get me slotted into some Central Dispatch board, for an upfront fee. At this point, I was frustrated and started to do my own research. I spent about 4 hours at Transportreviews.com just reading feedback… In any case, I narrowed my search down to 5 companies/brokers who seemed reputable and sent them an email… As it happened, only one of these brokers was more than willing to send me multiple screenshots of the Central Dispatch board identifying pickups in California and dropoffs in Boston, MA, WITHOUT requiring a signed contract and non refundable deposit. Guess who?! It was Andy from Capitol Auto Transport. After exchanging emails with multiple screenshots, I determined that the key to getting my car when I wanted it with little to no hassle was to have Andy offer a REASONABLE fee to the auto shipper. The last thing I wanted to deal with was having a lowball broker quote a “too good to pass up” fee quote and then worry about whether they would have lined a shipper in a timely fashion. Andy’s realistic view of the auto transport process was in stark contrast to the other brokers. Actually, when I told him about the broker who guaranteed my car would be transported on the top in the second position for the ENTIRE trip, he laughed and said that it’s virtually impossible for a broker sitting in their basement in North Carolina to guarantee the position of the car with whomever the transport company ended up being. I also appreciate how Andy was more than willing to take all of my phone calls after hours so as to work around MY schedule and he kept me informed with respect to who he would pick for the job. Did I mention, that Andy didn’t charge my credit card for his $185 fee UNTIL the car was delivered? I appreciated his trust in me with respect to this arrangement. I can understand if any broker would want to lock the customer in with a contract, so that the customer wouldn’t try to cut out the broker! For me, Andy’s $185 fee provided me with the mental comfort that he would be actively managing the project from the time the shipping company picked up the car from the seller in Valencia, CA to the time it arrived at Foreign Motorcars of Quincy, MA.
In any case, after reviewing the Central Dispatch screenshots and noting that the lowball fees of $600 to $725 were not being picked up by any of the shippers. Based on this knowledge, Andy and I agreed that $800 with a known milestone tip of $50 to the driver would not only result in a timely pickup and dropoff, but also ensure that the car would be a VIP pickup. Right now, you are crunching the numbers and saying that I overpaid ($800 + $185 + $50) – but, seriously, if your broker was upfront and forward about the shipping fee, his broker fee and the thought to offer a guaranteed tip to the driver – Wouldn’t that be better than kicking yourself later on, because the other broker who offered a lower quote, had to change the price at the last minute, because no shipping company in business to make a profit would have taken the job for the $100 to $150 lower fee that you were paying?? Plus, aren’t you trying to preserve your car/truck and ensure that it has no scratches or dents upon arrival? The net/net is you are paying Andy for his service of project managing/ensuring that your car arrives its destination as it departed.
As for the other part of this team? Andy recommended Pioneer Auto Express out of Carson, CA for the job. I was initially hesitant about Pioneer after reading some bad reviews about them – but honestly speaking – the reviews were more about timeliness as affected by weather and minor driver to customer miscommunication. With respect to Andy’s recommendation for Pioneer, he quickly put me in touch with Tyler, a part owner of the company. He served as our main point of contact at Pioneer Auto Express. I suspect that the $800 offered by Andy was the reason I was treated as a VIP customer from the initial pickup to the time it was delivered to me in Quincy, MA. Tyler provided me with his work phone and cell phone, and made sure to call me and email me if I wasn’t available to keep me abreast of the pickup, in transit and delivery details.
All in all, I had a very positive experience with both Andy of Capitol Auto Transport and Tyler of Pioneer Auto Express. My car arrived in 9 days as promised by Tyler. The seller noted that Tyler provided an adequate window for the car to be picked up. The seller also noted that Pioneer sent a flatbed truck to his house because the transport truck was unable to navigate his neighborhood. Additionally, the driver of the flatbed truck provided me with pictures of the car before being loaded, during the loading and after the wheels were chocked and belted to the truck! Now, that’s called extreme customer service!!!
In any case, after this experience, I would most recommend Andy for his project management skills and for his ability to leverage his established relationships with companies such as Pioneer to deliver the ultimate, hassle free experience for a customer with interstate auto transport needs!
