Transport didn't go but...
Jeff Z in CO
Submitted this review about
Specialty Mobile Systems
Review made Live: 3/4/2005 6:22:00 PM
First off, this is ONLY a review of SMS from a customer service standpoint because in the end, transportation of the vehicle never happened. This was NOT the fault of SMS in anyway, and I won't get into all the details about what happened other than to say DON'T EVER try to pay for an Ebay vehicle with PayPal. It took nearly 4 weeks to finally get my $$ back from them after the REFUSED to realease the payment to the seller (after they took out their 3% fee of course).
Anyway, back to SMS. Like many of you I searched the web and requested quotes. In all I received approximately 15 quotes. Somewhere along the line I came across this website and started reading the reviews. I am I glad I did!! All of the 'cheap' quotes matched up with with transporters with poor ratings. After reading about the 'brokering' process and what not, I determined that I would prefer a transporter that could do the work themselves (although SMS DOES offer both). Additionally, the vehicle had a hard top that was not attached and therefore the vehicle would need to be transported in an enclosed trailer. These facts led me to contact SMS.
I spoke directly with Don Ferris, the owner. Don explained the options available, and what his company could provide. Don was EXTREMELY helpful and accomodating, answering any and all questions I had. As it worked out, SMS was planning to deliver some vehicles to the CT area themselves in their enclosed trailer. This was a PERFECT match because they would be able to pick up the vehicle I was trying to purchase and would transport the hardtop in the pickup bed. In addition, because of the proximity Don was able to provide me an extremely good price by coordinating the moves (about $500 less than normal charge for enclosed transport).
So the deal was set, or so we thought. I paid for the vehicle, or at least tried to. Don went out of his way to try and accomodate the requests of the person selling the vehicle to me (quick pickup) and was able to pull the pickup almost a week. Don tried several times to contact the seller and was always in contact with me. In the end, the seller would not release the vehicle until they got the $$ (don't blame them) which in the end turned out to be the smart move! Don stuck with me over the 4 frustrating weeks the $$ issue was going on and continued to try and reschedule other things to insure a quick pickup. In the end, Don going out of his way for me may have caused issues with other deliverys/clients so if any of you are out there, I am truly sorry! Just goes to show you how complicated this whole car transport stuff can get.
After all this, I have no vehicle but I have most of my $$ back and the deal is dead. SMS did keep $100 of my $295 non-refundable deposit but I feel that is VERY FAIR! Don deserves more than $100 for everything he did and in reality SMS really didn't have to refund me anything. AND, if within the next 6 months or so I find and successfully purchase another vehicle, SMS will allow me to apply that $100 to the transport costs. Don even called me about a possible vehicle I might be interested in from a client that he had just delivered a vehicle to. WOW!
So, although I cannot comment on actually transporting a vehicle, I must say that I extremely please with SMS, Don Ferris, and Dee. They did everything I expect of a company which can be rare these days. Will everyone have the same experience I do? Probably not, but I believe your chances of having a pleasant experience are much greater if you choose SMS than they are if you choose some of the other companies.
Thanks SMS. Thanks Don.
Sincerely,
Jeff Z in CO
