I contacted a broker to ship a Ferrari 550 Maranello from Connecticut to Los Angeles by an enclosed transport. The broker hired a company called DELUXE AUTO CARRIERS from Agawam, Massachusetts to transport the Ferrari.
I have shipped many cars over the last 20-25 years but this was by far the worst experience I've ever had!
Not only did the Deluxe Auto Carriers driver break my driver’s seat and then fail to take responsibility for it, but the way they treated other people’s cars was ridiculous! On top of that, in retrospect, I should have called the police, as I expalin below.
Not only did they not take responsibility for the damage but even when I contacted their insurance company I was told they have a $1000 deductible and that with the repair of my seat just a few dollars over $1,000 I was out of luck!
I asked my Broker if I should put a stop on my credit card payment and they said I should go through their insurance.
That was a mistake!!!! I should have immediately put a chargeback on my card. I trusted my Broker would look out for me. That did not happen and unfortunately it took a while for the insurance “investigation” and by then it was too late to put the stop on the charge.
I watched the guy first climb (literally) through the window of a blue Chevy Impala as the Ferrari was in front of the Impala on the truck. The driver put his feet on the dash and seats as he could not squeeze into the car through the small space between the side of the truck and the Impala's door.
These guys, who speak Russian, are a one truck operation and their truck is rather old and not very sophisticated so loading and unloading nice cars is not their forte!
Then when it came to my car he attempted to slide into the car BACKWARDS, feet first so that his body and face were facing backwards. I came up to the truck and said "let me do it, I'm skinnier and can fit easier." He said no he had it and before I could object further he jammed himself in the Ferrari.
He then backed the car down from the ramps and I inspected the exterior and signed off on the form. I then opened the driver's door to get in the car and immediately discovered the driver's seat switch was broken! The white interior had scuff and grease marks on the door and on the seat and the switch was on the floor right below where it would have been on the seat.
I immediately told the driver he'd broken the seat. He claimed it was like that when he picked up the car. I said that's not true. First, I noted the pieces, including a small pin, were sitting right there below the seat and I'd just seen him climb in backwards putting his foot right were the plastic switch was! If the car had been moved at all that little pin would have rolled away and the switch pieces moved. But because he just broke the switch they were still sitting right there where they fell.
While the car was still behind their truck I then called the owner who shipped me the car and he explained how these guys took an hour to load the car and how they were very unprofessional in how they mistreated a Delorean they were also transporting.
The owner told me how the driver spent a very long time inspecting the car, in and out, and how he would have noted the broken switch laying on the floor if it had been there.
But it gets better! The owner told me he warned them to be careful with the switch because he spent $1,000 replacing it! ($500 for the part and $500 for labor). He even provided me with the receipts to prove he’d recently replaced the switch the driver broke.
I told the driver I wanted to make a claim for the damage. He then says “ you did not put it on the inspection report.”
I say, "what are you talking about? I have not yet taken the car! It is still sitting exactly where you put it behind your truck. Give me the inspection report so I can put this damage on it."
The driver then REFUSED to give me the inspection sheet!!! I asked again and again he refused! The driver was there with his brother. So it was two Russian/Ukranian guys versus me! They literally refused to let me put the damage on the report even though I had not yet taken the car and it was still sitting behind their truck as shown in the photos.
In retrospect I should have called the police. Caught off guard I simply didn’t know what to do under those circumstances. It was clear to me these guys were unscrupulous and untrustworthy.
So its clear they driver broke the Ferrari. I saw the driver climb in backwards and put his feet right where the plastic switch was. I saw the pieces right below where the switch was and, had this happened earlier, they would not still be there. The round pin would have rolled around as the car was transported from Connecticut to Los Angeles, a drive of nearly 3,000 miles! The prior owner confirmed the switch was new when the driver took the car.
Their truck was rusty, it was a tandem truck, and used old fashioned ramps instead of a hydraulic lift. Worse, they broke my car in front of my own eyes then denied it.
I will be taking them to small claims court. Hopefully a little American style justice will make them treat customers and their property with some respect!
Deluxe Auto Carriers Reviews
I contacted a broker to ship a Ferrari 550 Maranello from Connecticut to Los Angeles by an enclosed transport. The broker hired a company called DELUXE AUTO CARRIERS from Agawam, Massachusetts to transport the Ferrari.
I have shipped many cars over the last 20-25 years but this was by far the worst experience I've ever had!
Not only did the Deluxe Auto Carriers driver break my driver’s seat and then fail to take responsibility for it, but the way they treated other people’s cars was ridiculous! On top of that, in retrospect, I should have called the police, as I expalin below.
Not only did they not take responsibility for the damage but even when I contacted their insurance company I was told they have a $1000 deductible and that with the repair of my seat just a few dollars over $1,000 I was out of luck!
I asked my Broker if I should put a stop on my credit card payment and they said I should go through their insurance.
That was a mistake!!!! I should have immediately put a chargeback on my card. I trusted my Broker would look out for me. That did not happen and unfortunately it took a while for the insurance “investigation” and by then it was too late to put the stop on the charge.
I watched the guy first climb (literally) through the window of a blue Chevy Impala as the Ferrari was in front of the Impala on the truck. The driver put his feet on the dash and seats as he could not squeeze into the car through the small space between the side of the truck and the Impala's door.
These guys, who speak Russian, are a one truck operation and their truck is rather old and not very sophisticated so loading and unloading nice cars is not their forte!
Then when it came to my car he attempted to slide into the car BACKWARDS, feet first so that his body and face were facing backwards. I came up to the truck and said "let me do it, I'm skinnier and can fit easier." He said no he had it and before I could object further he jammed himself in the Ferrari.
He then backed the car down from the ramps and I inspected the exterior and signed off on the form. I then opened the driver's door to get in the car and immediately discovered the driver's seat switch was broken! The white interior had scuff and grease marks on the door and on the seat and the switch was on the floor right below where it would have been on the seat.
I immediately told the driver he'd broken the seat. He claimed it was like that when he picked up the car. I said that's not true. First, I noted the pieces, including a small pin, were sitting right there below the seat and I'd just seen him climb in backwards putting his foot right were the plastic switch was! If the car had been moved at all that little pin would have rolled away and the switch pieces moved. But because he just broke the switch they were still sitting right there where they fell.
While the car was still behind their truck I then called the owner who shipped me the car and he explained how these guys took an hour to load the car and how they were very unprofessional in how they mistreated a Delorean they were also transporting.
The owner told me how the driver spent a very long time inspecting the car, in and out, and how he would have noted the broken switch laying on the floor if it had been there.
But it gets better! The owner told me he warned them to be careful with the switch because he spent $1,000 replacing it! ($500 for the part and $500 for labor). He even provided me with the receipts to prove he’d recently replaced the switch the driver broke.
I told the driver I wanted to make a claim for the damage. He then says “ you did not put it on the inspection report.”
I say, "what are you talking about? I have not yet taken the car! It is still sitting exactly where you put it behind your truck. Give me the inspection report so I can put this damage on it."
The driver then REFUSED to give me the inspection sheet!!! I asked again and again he refused! The driver was there with his brother. So it was two Russian/Ukranian guys versus me! They literally refused to let me put the damage on the report even though I had not yet taken the car and it was still sitting behind their truck as shown in the photos.
In retrospect I should have called the police. Caught off guard I simply didn’t know what to do under those circumstances. It was clear to me these guys were unscrupulous and untrustworthy.
So its clear they driver broke the Ferrari. I saw the driver climb in backwards and put his feet right where the plastic switch was. I saw the pieces right below where the switch was and, had this happened earlier, they would not still be there. The round pin would have rolled around as the car was transported from Connecticut to Los Angeles, a drive of nearly 3,000 miles! The prior owner confirmed the switch was new when the driver took the car.
Their truck was rusty, it was a tandem truck, and used old fashioned ramps instead of a hydraulic lift. Worse, they broke my car in front of my own eyes then denied it.
I will be taking them to small claims court. Hopefully a little American style justice will make them treat customers and their property with some respect!