Car damaged in shipping - option?

ultradriver10000

ultradriver10000

Forum Member
So I snagged a 2003 suburban off a buddy of mine in Houston. The truck is pretty clean, but does have a few minor scratches and dings from being ~20 years old.

I logged into UShip to get quotes to have it shipped. This company MARVEL AUTO TRANSPORT bids like $900. Mind you I have a picture of the truck and it says its modified (Lift kit and 35" tires). I accept their bid and arrange shipping, they say its going to be like $200 more because the truck is oversized. UGH WTF ok so I pay that too.

When the truck arrived I noticed what looked like scratches down the passenger side. I told the driver and he said it was just dirty and that I had to sign the release if I wanted to take delivery of the truck. Ok well I definitely don't want him driving around with it more, so I sign it. I take pictures of it and wash it, taking more pictures. I had to leave for Florida the next day and travel all day. I call the company the following day. They say they aren't responsible and that all claims have to be made in 24 hours. Then the lady says I probably scratched it washing the truck. Like are you f-in serious? I have some before pictures where you can see evidence of plant matter stuck in the trim. Then she says "well its an old beat up truck anyways"

So far I disputed the paypal and my credit card charges. I'm thinking about getting a few quotes to have that side fixed/re-painted and taking it to small claims court, just because the way they've handled this. What are your thoughts?
 
Well 2 things never go with the lowest bidder if they have no feedback or references. Dispute the charges for damage. Make sure you look up reason codes for the dispute. Condition 13.3 Not as Described or Defective Merchandise/Services. That one sounds about right. You should at least get your $1100 back. Good luck. Oh and Uship is a crap shoot btw.
 
jspec said:
Well 2 things never go with the lowest bidder if they have no feedback or references. Dispute the charges for damage. Make sure you look up reason codes for the dispute. Condition 13.3 Not as Described or Defective Merchandise/Services. That one sounds about right. You should at least get your $1100 back. Good luck. Oh and Uship is a crap shoot btw.
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Yeah I see that now.

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First thing, get a signed affidavit from your friend, the person
who handed it to the shipper.

Second, get your before shipment photos and after shipment photos
together.

Filing in small claims court is really very easy & cheap to do, just make
sure you're ready to prove your claim (including repair costs from a
professional garage).

3 things to keep in mind. The advantage in small claims court normally
goes to the person filing the claim. When its a individual verses a company,
the individual gets the advantage.

So technically, you might have both advantages. Lastly, don't count on this
happening, but many times a company that won't respond or pay up, does
after they are served the small claims court papers.

Never tell someone; "I'm gonna sue you". Just do it.

I hope you follow through on this. The reward of satisfaction is for those
who take a little time and well, see it through.
 
FYI, the last transport I had done was with this family owned company,
I was happy with price & service.



Motor City Hotshot .JPG
 
4Gas$ said:
First thing, get a signed affidavit from your friend, the person
who handed it to the shipper.

Second, get your before shipment photos and after shipment photos
together.

Filing in small claims court is really very easy & cheap to do, just make
sure you're ready to prove your claim (including repair costs from a
professional garage).

3 things to keep in mind. The advantage in small claims court normally
goes to the person filing the claim. When its a individual verses a company,
the individual gets the advantage.

So technically, you might have both advantages. Lastly, don't count on this
happening, but many times a company that won't respond or pay up, does
after they are served the small claims court papers.

Never tell someone; "I'm gonna sue you". Just do it.

I hope you follow through on this. The reward of satisfaction is for those
who take a little time and well, see it through.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information, I am going to 100%. If they were nice about it I would have just hit it with a buffer and take it with a grain of salt.

This is the day it left Texas freshly washed and waxed.


htown 3.jpg

htown.jpg

htown 2.jpg

htown 1.jpg
 
Oh my! I'd bite down on this like a pissed off pitbull!

While its fresh in your mind, write down the quotes from
the company, like "its just an old junkie truck".

It does not matter that you can actually prove what they
said, but state who said what, when and where and say
approximately when not certain. You will sound credible.

Brother I sure hope you the very best with this. That is a
beautiful truck!

I hate to say this, but you might check your shipping paperwork
to see if it states something like; "in the event of any litigation,
"all claims must be filed in the state of xxx, in xxx county".

You might even try calling Motor City Hotshot and ask them how
they would handle such a problem with a shipper.

Keep us posted on this, I for one truly want to know how this
works out.
 
I think the chargeback is your best bet since even if you win you might not be able to collect (or it's more work than it's worth). Best of luck with it. I've only had one car shipped, enclosed, and it got dropped off late at night and I had no way to inspect it either but it came out okay in the end.

4Gas$ said:
FYI, the last transport I had done was with this family owned company,
I was happy with price & service.



View attachment 86495
Click to expand...

I used them for my Galaxie and was happy but in my case it was brokered out. I think she called me three or four time before someone actually picked up the car but they made sure to let me know what was happening.
 
ShadowRuleZ said:
I think the chargeback is your best bet since even if you win you might not be able to collect (or it's more work than it's worth). Best of luck with it. I've only had one car shipped, enclosed, and it got dropped off late at night and I had no way to inspect it either but it came out okay in the end.

I used them for my Galaxie and was happy but in my case it was brokered out. I think she called me three or four time before someone actually picked up the car but they made sure to let me know what was happening.
Click to expand...

Same with me, they brokered the deal. but it was still cheaper than
I think I could get, plus the company I was dealing with, who was the
one on the hook, was only a short 30 min drive away and not in some
other state. And yes, she was a very nice lady that kept me informed
the entire time of the transport.
 
Did you happen to catch the mileage of the truck when he pulled it off and when it was shipped? Thats a ton of scratches. Looks like it was tested before being delivered.
 
I scratched my truck just like that pulling out of my buddy's driveway trying to maneuver around another car and rubbing the pine trees branches.
 
capone said:
I scratched my truck just like that pulling out of my buddy's driveway trying to maneuver around another car and rubbing the pine trees branches.
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ugh. good point. That would suck for everyone if that literally happened driving down the last road to make it to the delivery location. I see a ton of trees and branches, that if they stuck out enough, could easily do that.
 
capone said:
I scratched my truck just like that pulling out of my buddy's driveway trying to maneuver around another car and rubbing the pine trees branches.
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That's instantly what I thought as soon as I saw the photos and that the truck was on the top rack of the hauler. 100% went into tree branches.
 
4Gas$ said:
FYI, the last transport I had done was with this family owned company,
I was happy with price & service.



View attachment 86495
Click to expand...



Gary and Jenna are top tier when it comes to moving vehicles. they are not hauling themselves right now as they got an offer on their truck they couldnt refuse. so they are all being brokered out with people they have worked with for the most part who are also top notch.
 
kammi10 said:
Gary and Jenna are top tier when it comes to moving vehicles. they are not hauling themselves right now as they got an offer on their truck they couldnt refuse. so they are all being brokered out with people they have worked with for the most part who are also top notch.
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Great to hear Sir! I rarely recommend a company, so when I do
its because I think they are a notch above, happy to see you
agree, then again, I hear you are "top tier" in the insurance
field, so no wonder you'd keep like company!
 
4Gas$ said:
Great to hear Sir! I rarely recommend a company, so when I do
its because I think they are a notch above, happy to see you
agree, then again, I hear you are "top tier" in the insurance
field, so no wonder you'd keep like company!
Click to expand...

some may say so but im sure there are other who dont feel the same about me hahaha. but you cant please everyone.
 
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