Damaged both vehicles!
Jonathan Bates
Submitted this review about
Motion Express
Review made Live: 6/2/2011 11:21:00 PM
My car and truck were shipped by Motion Express after being setup through a third party broker.
My cars were picked up 3 days before the scheduled pickup date. When I was called by the driver 4 days early and asked to do an early pickup, I called and asked my broker to cover a rental car for the weekend. When I was told that they would, I ordered a rental car and then called back to tell them how much it was. When the manager found out how much a rental car would be, he tried to back out and say that they would pickup on the original day, but I had already paid for the rental. After 20 minutes of fighting with the manager, he agreed to give me $100 towards the rental, saying that the cars should get dropped off early and it would work out on the money I would save by getting the cars early. I picked up my rental car, and the driver picked up my cars the next morning.
My conversations with the driver were very difficult as his English was passable, but not the best. When I asked the driver about delivering the cars early, as 3 days early from the original drop off day would be Memorial day, he told me that his truck was going in for service and I would be getting my cars on the scheduled date. Upon hearing this, I called my broker back and said that I was very angry that I had been lied to about the cars being delivered early. My broker called the carrier again and complained on my behalf, but never got back to me about a solution.
Five days after my cars were picked up, I got a call as I was walking off the plane after flying to NY that my cars would be delivered the following morning. I was very pleasantly surprised, and excited that something was finally going right with the shipment!
The next morning the driver met me in the parking lot of a local Walmart at the appointed time, with both cars already unloaded. To my surprise, my cars and been transferred to a different truck and driver for the trip. The driver seemed to be in a hurry, and tried to pressure me into signing off the bill of lading without examining the vehicles. I told him that I would be inspecting the cars and he would have to wait. I did NOT take out any money to pay him until after I inspected the cars.
The first car (a Prius) had a big scratch in the center of the back bumper, about an inch from the bottom. At first the driver said that it must have been there and the other driver missed it when he picked up the cars. When I insisted that it was not, he went and talked to the other driver in the team, and came back and told me that the other driver admitted to damaging the bumper while he was unloading the car, but didn't think I would notice!
The driver then asked how much I would want to cover the cost of the repair, and offered me $100. I called the local dealer's body shop and described the damage over the phone, and was told that it would be between $300-350 to repair and repaint that portion of the bumper. The driver seemed very upset by this, and offered me $200 with the explanation that "it will be cheaper if you don't go to the dealer to get it fixed." I have had all of my maintenance done at dealers and recorded to keep the resale value of my car high, and told the driver that. When I said that we could call his boss and file an insurance claim to get the car fixed, he gave in and took $350 off the cost of the shipment.
The second vehicle (a Tacoma pickup) had it's front passenger mudflap nearly ripped off. The driver claimed that he had noticed this when he got it from the first driver, and wanted me to file a claim on the damage. He reminded me several times not to mention the damage to the Prius to his manager when I called about the Truck. I listed the damage to the truck on the bill of lading, signed it and kept a copy for myself. I also took several photos of the damage with the driver present. I paid the driver the remaining balance and he went on his way.
(To the drivers, if you read these reviews: If you had only come forward to me about the damage to the Prius up front and said that you would take care of it, I would have been much happier with your honesty. I even would have still tipped you for your honesty and the speedy delivery. Your attempt to hide the damage from me is why you did not get a tip that morning.)
I called the brokerage company to report the damage, and was told that I would have to take it up with the carrier directly. When I called the carrier, the manager was very gruff on the phone and acted as though I was trying to scam him. He asked several times throughout the conversation if the damage was listed on the bill of lading at pickup, and if I had listed it on the bill of lading at delivery. I told him that I had recorded it and taken photos. He asked me to email him the photos and said he would get back to me. Two days later he had not returned my call, so I called him. I was told that he had seen the photos and wanted an estimate from a shop to do the repairs. I just got the dealer yesterday and was quoted $140 for parts and labor. I sent the estimate to the email address they gave me and am still waiting to hear back.
