Grizzly Auto Sales and Transporting
Rob Hartley
Submitted this review about
Grizzly Auto Sales
Review made Live: 6/26/2005 12:46:00 PM
I am just finishing up an ordeal with a transporter that damaged my 1969 Suburban. I purchased this vehicle from a gentleman in Northern Cali (I’m located in Pensacola, FL). It took over a month to get somebody to ship it. Most of the stuff you find on the web are actually brokers who try to connect you with transporters. Some guarantee you “quick” service but there was nothing quick about it. The way they (brokers) work they will give you a low quote and then you have to wait until a transporter agrees the amount minus a commission. Anyway, the company we dealt with said they would do it for $890 and after about a month they finally told us that the vehicle was located to far from an interstate (it was in a smaller town about 80 miles from RENO, NV and I70). So they “suggested” we raise the price to $1200. Guess what, a transporter (Grizzly Auto Sales: David Pierce owner/operator) jumped on it the next day. He also said that the vehicle needed to be brought to Reno, which the seller agreed to do. In Laffeyette, LA (about 350 miles from my house, the transporter blew the engine in his semi. He called and told me (and the owners of the other 8 vehicles he was hauling) that he didn’t know how long it would take to fix his rig or get a new one. I said no problem just keep me informed on what was going on. After about 10 days he finally had a new truck and started on my way. He was supposed to arrive around 5:30 PM, but some problems along the way caused him to be late. He asked me if there was a parking lot that he could get his truck into and I suggested a bowling alley that was close to the interstate. He told me he would call when he got there. Around 10:30 PM, he called and said that the parking lot was full and he couldn’t get his truck in there and told me to meet him at the on ramp of the interstate to which I agreed. I was starting to feel bad for the guy, since he had so many problems, so my wife and myself made him some dinner and took it with us. About this time it started to rain (pour is a better description). When we arrived (now around 11:30 PM) at the pickup point, it hadn’t slowed down. The suburban was unloaded behind the semi. As I was walking up on the passenger side of the Burb, he got out of his truck and walked to meet me. We shook hands and he suggested getting in the suburban to fill out the paperwork. I started to walk around to the driver’s side of the burb, but he said that the door was “sticking” and that I should get in on the passengers side. I did this and filled out the bill of laden (without really reading it). I gave him the food that we had brought and he thanked me for being so understanding since some of the other owners had not. He then left and continued his trip to Miami. When I got home, I tried to open drivers door but it was jammed. When I finally got it open, the bottom of the door was about an 1 ½ inches below the rocker. I started looking at it and you could plainly see that the bottom of the door and been hung on something shoving it forward (see pics). It was so bad that it separated the door skin from the inner door frame. At this point I was very aggravated that the transporter hadn’t said anything, but it was 1 AM at this point, so I decided to wait until the next morning to call the transporter. He didn’t answer my first call, but finally answered my second one. He stated that he thought he had hit something when he was backing it off of the trailer, because it slid off of the ramp (I figured out later that he knew what he had done because you could see damage in the door jam that was caused by someone using a pry bar on the bottom of the door). He said he would take a look at the damage when he came back through my area in a couple of days. When he finally called, he said that he would be coming through my area at 2 AM so he wouldn’t be able to meet me. He told me to get some estimates/pictures and mail them to his business. I sent the stuff to him. Waited a week and no response. I called and left messages. When I finally got in touch with him, he said he would call back. He didn’t. So I filed against his insurance. When they called him, of course he denied it. Well two months later here I am, his insurance won’t pay because I signed the bill of lading and he denied doing it. My insurance is going to cover everything but my deductible. They can’t go after him because I signed the paper (Dave cussed my insurance Rep for 20 minutes). So bottom line, I was stupid, naïve, gullible, easy and did I say stupid. I hope this will prevent others from having to go through a similar ordeal. Summarized are the following lessons learned:
#1. Do your research, find a reputable transporting company.
#2. When you search the internet for a transporter, find out if you are dealing with a transport company or a broker. Cut out the middle man, go straight to a company.
#3. Beware of owner operators. I caveat this with, I'm sure their are a lot of small guys out there who do a great job, but if you get a bad one, you have little recourse.
#4. The transporter only covers your vehicle with cargo insurance, and the rules and regulations are different than auto insurance. They are only required to cover damage above the transporters deductible. Even if the insurance company pays their part, the transporter could refuse to pay its deductible.
#5. If someone is handling the shipping on the other end (seller), make sure you read all the paperwork prior to them signing it, because bottom line you will probably have to be the one who deals with any problems encountered in shipping.
#6. Make the seller take photographs and video tape the vehicle with the transporter present when the vehicle is being picked up. This will protect you and them!
#7. Never, never, never accept a vehicle in the rain or at night! They may tell you have to pick it up, but you don't. I was told by the insurance adjuster this is one of the oldest tricks in the book (I forgot to read that book!).
#8. If there is damage, DO NOT agree to let them take care of the damage themselves. The best thing you can do is note the damage on the shipping bill of laden and then file a claim with your insurance (you pay them to look out for you). Most insurance companies provide 30 days of automatic coverage for newly acquired vehicles up to the amount you have on currently owned autos (verify this with your insurance company). If you don't want to file with your insurance, at a minimum, file through theirs, but refer to #4.
#9. Never break rule #7!
#10. If you can go get it yourself, go get it!
#11. Did I mention never break rule #7?!!
