In 1997, I shipped a Toyota Camry from Miami to Los Angeles. My dad selected the company, with the cost at the time about $675 or so. I don't remember. That's irrelevant. What is important to note is that this experience was horrible, and added to the list of friends and acquaintences that have had nothing but terrible experiences shipping vehicles. In 1997, my Camry arrived 10 days late and just two days before a planned vacation to -- of all places -- the place where the car was shipped from. A driver was switched out in Dallas on the drive west, and the cars sat on the trailer for a while before getting to a terminal somewhere near Pasadena. Then, the car ended up not being washed and finally sent via a flatbed truck to my office -- very late in the day. The car was fine. It just took forever to get it.
That's why I was very apprehensive when it came time to ship a car from L.A. to Miami in August 2006. I thought about just driving it across the U.S., but I already have 27,000 miles on a car that I purchased in April 2005. Plus, moving takes time and driving across the U.S. was not going to work out. So I started looking into auto transportation companies. I went online to investigate, and I signed up for quotes through one website dedicated to auto transports. I immediately got bombarded with emails from eager commission-based sales reps that wanted to push a deal ASAP. One Long Island-based company insisted they were the best, and that I should just go and book it with them -- especially if I wanted to "lock in the price." Whatever. Then some guy named Rickey sent about five poorly written emails soliciting my business. Better yet, a St. Augustine, FL company sent a text message that seemed as impersonal as the service they likely provided.
Because my ex-roommate worked at a moving and storage firm, he referred me to the company he recommends his clients -- Dash Auto Movers Net Corp. Please note that there is another company that uses Dash in its name. They evidently are bad.
Dash Auto Movers Net Corp. more than exceeded my expectations. They did not say one thing and then do another. In fact, my car was picked up earlier than hoped, but this worked out in the end. Companies will ask for a 10-day window, and I was planning on leaving L.A. tonight. After booking with the window set to Sept. 11-20, I immediately got a call from Dash saying that Sept. 11 was a good day. My reaction? "Whoa!" They agreed to pick up the car on Sept. 12 instead, and they came late in the afternoon.
I was under the impression that, based on what Dash said, Albert from A.C.A. would be picking up and delivering my vehicle and that terminals would not be used. Indeed, this was the case. However, my only contact with Albert was via the phone. Please note that this is somewhat normal : big trailers are not allowed on some residential streets, such as the one in the San Fernando Valley I lived on, so a guy with a flatbed truck picked up my car and presented to me a bill of lading. As a side note, I forgot I had paid a $90 deposit via the phone with Raquel at Dash.
My car was gone -- I was quite nervous. I was told that my car would arrive within 7-10 days when I made the booking with Dash, so I started to make my travel plans for flying to Miami. It was a good thing I waited to book the plane ticket until the car was picked up -- I was told the car would likely be in Miami by Monday!
I didn't believe it, and most of my friends said there was no chance my car would be there on Monday. But I booked the redeye flight from L.A. on Sunday so I could be in Miami first-thing Monday morning, in the event my car would be delivered that day.
My friends were wrong. My car was not delivered on Monday. It arrived in Miami the day before! In just five days, my car was there. But I wasn't. I was still in Southern California!
Through some maneuvering and a few phone calls, a potential nightmare was easily taken care of. My car was dropped off at a tow and storage facility on Sunday night, at no charge, and the next morning i paid an additional $30 for a flatbed truck to take my car directly to my dad's house as originally agreed to.
Now, DASH says they will do door-to-door service and that they do not use terminals. This is correct. So why did I have to pay $30 more to get my door-to-door service? Because Albert was prepared to deliver the vehicle Sunday night. He did me a favor. I thank him for his service.
On Sept. 12 at 4pm PT, my car left my place in the San Fernando Valley. A few personal items were in the car. On Sept. 18 at 11am ET, my car arrived at my dad's. NOTHING was wrong with my car. It was a little dirty, but I noticed no scratches. My belongings were fine too. Aside from a needed car wash, my car was EXACTLY the way I had shipped it.
I took it out for a test spin around my dad's neighborhood. My car was in Miami, along with me!
Should I need to ship a car again ( I don't plan on it, actually!), I will certainly call Dash and ask if they can work with Albert and Luisa at A.C.A. again. I cannot say more about their super-fast and super-great work.
Thanks, Dash!
