The Real Thing

Ronald Woodbury Submitted this review about 4 Corners Transport Services
Review made Live: 3/24/2009 10:36:00 PM
4Corners is an excellent bet in a crazy business - they are the real thing. If you are new to auto transport, you have to start by understanding that the structure of the industry is nuts: no outside agency regulates; you are on your own, choosing a pig in a poke. In this context, I chose well - perhaps lucked out.

This is the way it works - or doesn't: You hire a broker not a carrier. You pay the broker up-front ($179 in my case). The broker engages the carrier but has no apparent legal responsibility thereafter - and the carrier could (and apparently sometimes does) leave customers in the lurch. You have to pay the driver to get your vehicle, even if it has been trashed. And you had better document damage with before-and-after notations on the forms. All in all, it is a scary business where you, the customer, feels like the victim.

In my case, however, thanks to 4Corners, the transport went well overall, and I attribute that to the extremely responsible and responsive staff, Jeff and Ellen. Jeff explained everything up-front and answered all my questions. But even he was not informed when the driver changed from the one he told me. The new driver, meanwhile, had a minimal command of English and for that reason, I think, was not good at keeping me informed of his schedule. Talking on the telephone is the hardest thing in a foreign language. And, while arriving the scheduled day, the driver did not arrive until 10:15 pm, four to ten hours late, depending on how you count. Then he claimed both that the car had damage "too much to list" and because it was night, it was too dark to "inspect."

Ellen, however, kept on the driver and the carrier, was totally on the ball, called me back even way after hours, and intimidated the carrier and the driver such that the latter actually called ahead when he should have and delivered the car, dirty but on time. For Ellen and 4Corners I have nothing but praise. A best bet.