yashagrawal

I am posting this here, as the question about shipping recommendations is frequently asked. I shipped my 2 year old SUV from the east Coast to the West. Car-Go Autotransport did the shipping, on the way they had an accident in NM. My relatively new SUV was damaged.

They (Car-Go Automotive and their driver from AMPM Transport) refused to pay the 15000$ worth of damages. They carry minimum insurance from Midway Insurance and were willing to pay only 4000$ worth of damage. My SUV now has a severely tarnished Car-Fax. Luckily State Farm paid the damages, but they (Car-Go and their agent AMPM) refuse to pay diminished value claim, even though NM recognizes it.

If they come up with the proper payment, I will post on this site, otherwise beware of these companies. Forget the diminished value claim, they did not even cover the full damages, were willing to pay only 4K worth of repairs from a body shop with a labor rate of 35$/hr using non-OEM parts. They have not even paid my deductible from State Farm. WORST experience of my life.

Bottom line is when shipping a car, pl. consider what they will cover when there is an accident and what kind of insurance they carry.

Para82

I will never use them, in fact I don't think I will use anyone. Rather fly in and drive it home myself.

sambb

this is a good post, because there are risks to national transport. I have purchased from half way across the US, but I would be willing to pay a premium for a local car always.

workhurts

What kind of damage?

yashagrawal

Wind shield broken, damage to both A-pillars, mirrors broken, damage to sides and roof. The car was in a container, got banged up when the truck had an accident......

AngelsTransport

It is so unfortunate how many of the people in this industry run dishonest businesses. We have worked for 12 years to build a carrier base of quality drivers whom operate an honest and quality business. They are out there, but for the every day consumer they do not know how to find them. We can help!

ADias

Porsche uses Reliable and InterCity to ship their cars to events...

Linnm

I would have let my insurance handle the whole mess. Did you involve them?

Tcc1999

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Liability insurance (or bonding) can be expensive so I guess that is one way a transporter will cut corners and offer a service at a lower price than another carrier (who may have proper insurance). I guess this is just another question to ask (and documentation to obtain) when researching car transport.

jhbrennan

Agree - I would think if OP had collision/comprehensive coverage that his insurance company would take car of this and then subrogate against carrier's insurance.

Petza914

I've shipped with Reliable twice (KY to WI and then WI to SC) and they were great to work with. The WI destination was a little remote so there was some lead time involved with the pick-up from there, but they set that expectation in advance, very carefully inspect the car on pick-up and delivery. They're the only ones I'd use from now on since I've had 2 positive experiences with them and their prices for fully enclosed transport are what I consider to be reasonable - so no need to risk transport with an unknown, although I'm sure there are other good companies out there.

yashagrawal

I did have comprehensive insurance with State Farm and they paid promptly. What my insurance did not pay was the "Diminished Value" claim which they wanted me to claim from the shipper's insurance. The point is the shipping company and or broker should carry sufficient insurance that I would not have to use my own insurance.

However, the less than stellar business practices of AMPM Auto Transport as well as Car-Go automotive do not end here. Here are some newer developments.

1. Just to recap, I hired Car-Go Autotransport thinking they were the actual movers, they certainly pretended to be so and they do move cars themselves. Now they shirk off responsibility claiming to only be the poor broker.
2. Car-Go Autotransport set me up with AMPM transport who picked up the car. Here's the kicker, the bill of lading has the company named misspelled in the title as AMPM TRASNPORT. However, in the actual text on the bill of lading they use both spellings AMPM TRASNPORT and AMPM TRANSPORT!! The tel# and address of AMPM TRASNPORT and AMPM TRANSPORT are the same.
3. Now when State Farm's lawyers are going after AMPM TRANSPORT, they claim that AMPM TRASNPORT is an already bankrupt company and they have nothing to do with them.

So Car-Go the "broker" was using a bankrupt company which does not carry insurance to transport my precious car. BTW, I paid top dollar for transport in a container. Car-Go cannot claim to not be in on the scam. AMPM TRANSPORT claims that the TRASNPORT company is not theirs (even though they share tel # and address !!). I am now exploring if there are any Federal agencies where I may complain.

These questionable brokers and shipping companies need to be exposed.

halo777

Oh man... what a nightmare

Grumpstump

That is ridiculous! I have no idea how they could cause that much damage, much less refuse to cover it afterward. It sounds to me like maybe they weren't carrying the proper amount of insurance, as someone else mentioned. I've never heard of Car Go, but I thought AmPm was one of the more reputable shippers, at least in the Midwest. I think you can file a report with FMCSA when things like this happen and they can do an investigation if they feel that something was done wrong. The NHTSA might be worth contacting too. Personally, I've used A-1 Auto Transport in the past (three times) and been happy with them & I'd recommend them as well. It's too much of a risk going with an unknown when dealing with something as valuable as your vehicle. Sorry to hear about what happened.