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After a long search, I located a pristine, low mileage 997.2 S MT in TN, paid the asking price, and arranged for Allied Auto Transport to ship it to CT. The cost was competitive and the car was picked up promptly, for an estimated 3-day trip. Five days later, after dozens and dozens of phone calls, emails, and texts - often with no response for 48 hours - the car arrived, with a different trailer, semi and driver, late, COVERED in diesel fuel from a leaking truck above it on the transporter, and with a new dent in the driver's door. The Bill of Lading that had been modified to show a dent in the passenger door, though there was none on the car or on the Bill of Lading given to the seller. I promptly sent pictures and requested to file an insurance claim, but have received no acknowledgement or communication back from them in 24 hours.
It seemed likely that at various points during the transport that the people in the Allied office didn't know where the car was, or who was driving the truck, and were as unable as I was to contact the driver and receive a response. The lack of communication was infuriating, and what kind of professional delivers a car looking like this?
I would consider reporting the damage to your own insurance company. I think they would pay for your repairs and then they would go after the trucking company to reimburse them for the damages.
Im assuming you can get a Bill of Landing from the seller that shows no dent. I would get the car detailed ASAP as you have to show some sort of abatement to prove you tried to stop the damage.
If you get to it soon enough, it will only dissolve the wax, not the clear coat.
Back to the dent, if you get the BIL from the seller showing no dent, that is your smoking gun. Open a complaint with BBB with a link to your photos and the sellers BIL. You should be able to obtain Allieds insurance Co. File a claim with them and get quotes from Authorized Porsche Collision centers. The total claim should include dent repair and detail to remove the diesel and rewax.
My only advice on shipping companies is to do your research and ask if they own the trucks and have them send you a copy of their insurance. You might think a $350k policy is awesome, but not so awesome if the truck is carrying 4 exotics. You are under insured at this point.
Most shippers are order takers, brokers. They take your order and farm out the load to the lowest bidder.
Last edited by captainbaker; 05-20-2017 at 05:57 AM.
absolutely unbelievable. i'm sorry that you had to go through this! is are no legal ramifications at all for this 'company', considering the lying, damage of property, and blatant falsifying documentation???
id also get the car detailed thuroughly right away.
We ship over 100 Porsche cars per year through our facility.. We have been our own brokers for years, and handle the tasks ourselves.
The car shipping business is shady, and we have to be very careful about vetting shippers. I typically have one blunder like yours every 2-3 years, even though we watch like a hawk. One key is for the person shipping the car to video the driver, and the whole car at pick up. We even interview the driver on film, ask his name, and etc. Then we do the same with the whole car, and the dispatch sheet. At that time the driver knows he is screwed, and that the person at the destination will have all this as ammo against him. This makes them do their best, generally, as they know it can;t be argued with.
That said, if a car shows up like the one in this thread, do NOT sign for the shipment, leave the BOL "open" and then start the claims process. Once you sign, you are screwed.
That said, we spend so much time shipping, that I've considered doing it for other people, since we have a list of 60 shippers in the Continental USA that we know are good, and have hauled dozens of cars for us. If anyone wants to know the scoop on a shipper, let me know, as I have the back door entry for the review portal, and can see what real reviews a shipper has.
That is terribly sad, and infuriating. Puts such a damper on the whole "yeah, my new car is here!" thing. I hope she is good as new soon, and thanks for sharing your story as I am learning a lot from it and the advice given by the others who are experienced in shipping.
05-19-2017, 07:56 PM
Allied Auto Transport - Beware!
