People read reviews that are bad.....it's just a fact. If I wanted to write a review that everyone would read, I should have picked a different broker - because Alice did everything right! And so, no one will probably read my review.
Something to know about shippers is that they actually arent - at least not what you would typically think when you hear the word "shipper". The guy who comes to pick up your car is the carrier, and Red Carpet is the broker. Another thing is that a quote really isn't a quote - it is a guess. So you lock yourself into a guess. They are guessing how much the carrier wants in order to ship your car. If they guess low, you still have to pay more, so lower is NOT better, as it may go up considerably when it comes time to ship - or worse, they may not be able to ship it at all.
Because of that, read the reviews, pick a number that is in the middle of the guesses, and most importantly, choose a broker that is nice to you on the phone. The broker is your contact - if something happens during the shipment do you want to be on the phone with a gruff salesman who is trying to close the deal or someone who is genuinely concerned about your satisfaction? This is why I chose Red Carpet. The reviews were generally good, and Alice was the first person I spoke to who answered my questions without trying to lock me in to some deal. She actually gave me quotes from 3 different locations. Other broker companies were only interested in getting my deposit.
There were three things that I didn't like, and none of them are huge. Overall I was very satisfied. Yes, I will probably call Alice Directly if I need to ship a vehicle again.
A couple things I would change - Red Carpet's quote has a little asterisk next to it - your quote is actually $30 higher than they tell you verbally, and when you write a review (good or bad) they will refund $30, so their quote is contingent on your behavior. I didn't like that because I was $30 short when the car arrived, which is embarrassing. I went back to my email quote and didn't see any details other than the words "after rebate". In a world of instant rebates, I did not think there would be additional requirements or that I would need to wait 6 - 8 weeks for a check. Yes, I'm still a bit peeved about that.
Alice was not generally available when I called, which is understandable from a company that spends the day on the phone. She always called me back promptly, however, they do not have voicemail. No voicemail? Didn't voicemail become a staple of phone based businesses 20 years ago? I didn't like that at all, either.
Red Carpet doesn't charge a deposit until a carrier accepts the bid. Well, thats what I was told anyway. According to my bank, they took it right away. Red Carpet says it was just an "authorization" - my bank told me that it was a charge. Ultimately, it is my bank's opinion that matters, if they say it is a charge then it is a charge since they are the ones controlling my money. Either way, I was going to pay them, but Im glad I had the money in there to begin with! All that aside, Red Carpet was great. I have my car, and I couldn't be happier. The carrier was accommodating, too! If you compare them to other brokers, you will be impressed!
