doublecabmel

I hope this is the right place to post this. I know the 993 section gets a lot of traffic, and all I can do is hope that what happened to me will not happen to anybody else. If I can save 1 car, I will be happy.

I am writing this and posting on numerous car forums. I am a car enthusiast and I enjoy the automobile. Though I am very particular about my cars, I understand that not everybody is as concerned. However; what happened to me is completely unacceptable and illegal. Here is the story: I purchased a 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo in Indiana. I went looked up several shipping companies in the area and I came across Autobahn in Lemont, Ill. The owner sounded fine and assured me that my car would be picked up the next day. And the car was picked up the next day. Notice I say "picked up" and not "picked up on a truck." That's right, my car was DRIVEN over 50 miles and then parked where it sat outside, got rained on and eventually was picked up. In addition, my car did not arrive within the 10 days as promised. IT was over one week late! When I would call and ask the whereabouts of my car, I would get, "let me call driver," and then I would get no return call. In fact, this was the only time I have ever shipped a car, and I did not have the driver's contact info. My car finally arrived and was delivered to me BY THE DRIVER! Nothing like a smelly Russian driving my almost new Lamborghini. Where is the truck I asked? "Down the street," I get. After I got in my car, that looked as it had been DRIVEN in a snow storm from Indiana to Los Angeles, I went looking for the truck. No truck. I then went immediately to my detail shop where I had to have the clear bra removed since it was stained. This cost me a significant amount of money. I contacted Autobahn and they blew me off. I then contacted VISA and filed a dispute. The nice people at Autobahn fought the claim and said that I and the ER doctor (previous owner) lied and that there was no way the car was driven 50+ miles and that the car was dirty when it was picked up from his house (rather an estate with a private detailer who comes to the house). I am posting this as a warning to all fellow car enthusiasts! NEVER use AUTOBAHN TRANSPORT!

Washabi

good looking out. I've only used a shipping company once when I purchased my first NSX from TX and although it got here on time (and on a truck), there was absolutely NO communication during the transport and the truck driver destroyed the front end when he was removing it from the trailer.

CorrdoBrit

Sorry to hear yet another story like this. Unfortunately I don't think its all that uncommon. The trouble is that a lot of these 'shippers' are merely brokers and will book your car onto any transporter going through the area at that time. Ultimately its the quality of the driver/truck that determines a happy shipping outcome. I would suggest anyone using a shipping company be sure to ask if the driver is an employee using a company truck and not just a contractor. Alternatively work directly with a smaller independent owner/driver operation. I've found these to give 'personalized' service and offer their cell phone numbers so you're in constant contact.

NEK

There goes my idea for smelly Russian driver-scented air fresheners. Back to the drawing board ...

96PCarrera993mg

Wow what a horrific experience! They need to be reported to the BBB.

RodKnock

Reminds me of a Seinfeld episode.

I've used a auto transport broker to great success twice this year. Brokers can hire good or bad independent drivers. Always hire based upon their transportation reviews, so I'll be crossing this one off my list for sure.

tcsracing1

them sons a bitches!

AOW162435

That's Krugerrand.



Andreas

P-daddy

Wow, sorry to hear you have to go thru this ordeal. I had my current 993 shipped last January, and it was a very stressful few days for me. The shipping company took good care of the car, but communication was so so. I can't even imagine how pissed I would be if I was in your situation. Even if they had to switch trucks, your odo shouldn't even clock more than 1 mile, if that. I hope you can dispute this with your credit card company and get some money back.

sdcabrio

Wow, that blows! Thanks for the heads up. I have had good luck with Intercity. Driver cell number, trucks made for nice cars, etc..

I would think 50 miles on a Lambo would represent substantial depreciation (substantial compared to say a Camry.) Hopefully VISA can get the whole shipping charge refunded.

Get it detailed up and post some pics.

badabing

1 for InterCity.

six gun

Not so much !!

I have posted here before (930 forum) about a similar experience with Innercity. They were hired to bring a $80K 1972 T (complete restoration) From San Diago to Boston. They parked the truck 3 miles from my home and called me to say "come and get it" The driver said he did not think road I live on was safe to park on. When I explained that Innercity had been here before, as well as a few other transporters, he said he didn't care.

My complaints to Innercity fell on deaf ears, as they said they had to respect their drivers decisions. (the car arrived in a early spring)--------- read rain and sleet! Its a crap shoot, everything depends on the driver.

PasPar2

I used JP Logistics and had a very good experience. I had a google maps link with the trucks location at all times. The car was delivered from GA to NY in < 3 days. Highly recommended.

Dukerdog

I used Intercity Lines to ship my 993 from PA to TX last year and they were excellent. They did everything they said they would, car arrived on time in the condition it left the seller with exact mileage, communication from both Intercity and the driver were excellent during the whole process. Driver called to say he'd be there in 20 minutes but might not be able to make it down my street and might have to meet me at a parking lot a few blocks away. When I got to the house he was already in front of my house unloading the car. Interesting how customers can have such different experiences with the same company.

wtmmm

+1 for InterCity... I used them this year and was very happy with the amount of contact they had with me about how and when the car would be picked up and delivered.

Sorry to hear Six Gun didn't have the same experience. In my business, taking care of an upset customer is HUGE. In fact just this week in a meeting, we had a customer thank us again for taking care of a problem for him several years ago at our expense. I had completely forgotten about it but you could tell he didn't.