Car shipping is (still) a shit show

"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
08/19/2019 at 17:29 • Filed to: TQ3, Car Shipping

When last we left off, I was struggling to find a shipper to take my car for something even remotely resembling a reasonable sum, and trying to up sell and/or scam me in the process. It was great fun.

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Luckily my dealer friend (Joseph) had the ability to list the shipment on “the board,” I assume the same shipping/ dispatch board the brokers use, but I didn’t ask. To increase our chances of getting a good deal, George and I listed our cars as a joint shipment, with Joseph acting as middle man so we wouldn’t learn what each others’ cars are.

We started the bidding at a cheeky $1,100 total for both.

Days went by. Got nothing. Not shocking, but still a bummer.

Ok, how about $1,400?

Nope.

Ok.... how about $1,900?!

Success! We got a well reviewed transport company booked in to pick up Friday (8/16) in the morning. Redwood Auto Transport*. Cool.

Thursday afternoon, we dropped off the cars, somehow avoiding seeing eachothers cars, and eagerly awaited news.

Friday

Morning turned into afternoon and still we’d heard nothing.

I texted Joseph. Apparently the shipper called and rather than 8AM it was going to be more like.... 8PM. Or maybe Saturday. Never mind that they were picking them up at a business... that all seems reasonable. Wait... no... the opposite of that.

Saturday

Well 8PM came and went... as did 8AM the next day.... and 10AM... and noon...

At this point Joseph was blowing up this guys phone and getting nothing.

The driver had ghosted us.

something something millennials something something

Joseph cancelled the dispatch, left a bad review, and requested his listing fee be refunded. I asked him to repost the shipment for $2,200.

Ten minutes later we had a new shipper who would be there on Sunday.

Sunday

Around 10AM I get a call. It is the shipper. He is in Dallas and driving up now. Should be there around 4PM.

Ok cool.

At 5PM I hadn’t heard anything, so I text Joseph. Turns out the carrier “broke down” and was going to be more like 7PM. Sure.... that’s what they all say.

Also apparently Redwood Auto Transport had finally got in contact! He too, allegedly, broke down, (seems to be going around!) and didn’t have cell service blah blah blah. I’m not really inclined to feel bad for this guy, so he was told to go away.

Against all odds at 7PM a very badly damaged auto transport showed up at the shop and began loading the cars. Apparently one of his front tires blew out and took most of the front fender with it. The upside is he made it. The downside is without a front fender he can’t drive at night.

Not ideal, but at least the cars are on the transport.

And now we wait...

So with all that two of the cars are on the way. My guts tell me this isn’t the end of it, but we can hope it is....

*Ordinarily I wouldn’t name but eff that guy. Also I refrained from googling the name before he flaked, but now it appears the “company” is just a dude in a truck... and he doesn’t appear to do it often. Spiffy.

DISCUSSION (11)

facw > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
08/19/2019 at 17:37

I get the distinct sense that most of these shippers are just dudes (or dudettes) with trucks, especially the ones towing single level trailers with pickups.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > facw
08/19/2019 at 17:51

Yeah. I guess the point of brokers is to gloss over shit like this. This has been enough “fun” to rule out shipping a car again except for under the most extreme circumstances.

DutchieDC2R > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
08/19/2019 at 17:57

The cover photo is in my hometown, near where I work (Rotterdam Central Station).

Is this only domestic shipping?

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > DutchieDC2R
08/19/2019 at 17:58

Yup. US to US. 2000 miles. Not what I would consider a tall order.

HammerheadFistpunch > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
08/19/2019 at 18:05

reminds me of shipping the cruiser, though the prices I guess have gone WAY up because I think I paid ~$700. Seems like “breaking down” is a VEEEERY common problem with shippers. My shipper “broke down” in Idaho for nearly a week and caused me to miss the “ must delivery by” date by a long time.

DutchieDC2R > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
08/19/2019 at 18:09

Reading about the trouble youre having with the shipping companies, I thought for a second you guys were importing cars from abroad...

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > HammerheadFistpunch
08/19/2019 at 18:13

Thanks. That really helps with my anxiety on this one.

Please excuse me while I scream “i t’ll be fine” uncontrollably until I pass out. U nrelated.

My consolation is we’ve shipped cars before (4 total) and it was fine. Also expected delivery is Thursday, which is a full week before we need the car. Not saying this means anything, but.... heh.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
08/19/2019 at 18:42

Between careers in 2006ish , I put my former GMC 3500 dually and a borrowed 53' trailer to use hauling cars for a time as a hotshot hauler. I focused on the more expensive end of the business along the lines of a classic car needs to be somewhere at a certain time, or “your three car professional drift team needs to be halfway across the country for an event at what time?”, and correspondingly charged a couple of dollars/mile to move stuff that showed up at a specific place at a specific time no matter what... If they’re charging that much to do a shitty job today, I might be in the wrong business working in academic research libraries.

blacktruck18 > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
08/19/2019 at 18:50

I work in l ogistics and deal with some very well know trucking companies. I can assure they are only marginally better than how this guy sounds.

Tripper > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
08/19/2019 at 19:11

Same issues with the 02. No trouble to get it from Amsterdam to Baltimore, but a nightmare from Boston to Philadelphia

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > facw
08/19/2019 at 19:17

To make it even worse, the folks getting jobs from brokers are trying to out compete each other over pennies per mile. It sets up a race to the bottom kind of scenario.