Short version: Use AAA All*Star Discount Auto Transporters if you like to be berated and hung up on and if you like to micromanage the process. Oh, and if you like the quote to go up after verbal assurances it won’t and after you’ve made a non-refundable deposit.
Around May 12th, I placed a car shipping order with AAA. The next day, I called their office to talk to a real human being to get a feel for when the car might be shipped. Paul Baldwin answered. His first question was reasonable and to the point: “WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME?!?” I mean, of course, it’s RIDICULOUS for me to pay a $200 deposit to a company and to want to have the company let me know about the process. Silly me! Well, he set me straight, and I’m forever grateful for his chastening.
It must’ve broken his heart, too, when he showed me some tough love by hanging up on me when I asked if he treated all of his customers this way. If he’d stayed on the line, isn’t that enabling my codependent, needy self? Saved some money on therapy. However firm he had to be with me, though, his loud, angry, Yankee accent helped to soften the blow. Strike 1.
After coming to this website (too little, too late), and after seeing the BBB rating for AAA All*Star Discount Auto Transporters (F), I decided to cut bait. I emailed Lisa Cooper to cancel. I called several times as well, to no avail. She somehow never saw my email, though she got emails before then and after then. I started working with other companies. Then, Lisa called soon after and said that they had a truck lined up. Very bizarre; seems quite suspicious. Even so, thinking that I was going to save oodles (about $250) going with AAA, I went ahead with them against my better judgment and cancelled an order that I had with another company (BTW, the car was NEVER double-booked on the dispatch board—I made sure of that).
Note that when I started getting quotes from these other companies (e.g., Holly Burton @ The Car Transporters, also Magic Carpet), I had very kind folks calling me and letting me know about the process. That’s how this is supposed to work! They called me! They gave me information! Wow, fancy that. So I know that I’m not insane by calling and wanting to talk to a human being at the outset.
Then, in early June, we had a family trip planned that meant the car couldn’t be picked up then. We had to reschedule the pickup, and lo and behold, the price went up by $150. Surprise, surprise! OK, so the rescheduling was my responsibility. However, I had verbal reassurances from Lisa that the price wasn’t going to change when it was rescheduled (I’ve got the phone recording to prove it—it’s legal in AZ to record a call). But what can I do? They had my deposit. Strike 2.
Then, nearing the time of pickup, the trucking company (not AAA, the broker, but the actual transporters) called me and assured me that they’d call before the end of the month. That was mid-June. June passed, I called, and they said it would be the week of July 4th. That week passed, I called again, and finally, on July 12th, the car got picked up. It was delivered on the 15th later in the same condition in which it got on the truck, except for some road dirt (not a big deal—that’s understandable). So it was a two month process in total.
Keep in mind that during this endgame with the trucking company, AAA was nowhere in sight. They were not the mediators; I was. I even called Paul, and he asked me how many times I called. I said, “Once.” He replied, “Well, call again. They’re probably busy.” I thought I was paying you to do a job, home slice? Oh, silly me. Here I go again, thinking that AAA was going to be helpful! Seems like their MO is to take your deposit, lay low, get you a truck, and get out of dodge, no matter how long that takes. Interrupt that process by, say, I don’t know, CALLING TO KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON and you might get verbal vomit in your ear. Strike 3.
I wouldn’t recommend using a company like AAA All*Star Discount Auto Transporters who ask for up-front, non-refundable deposits. They say that it helps them have committed customers. But given Mr. Baldwin’s anger management problem, the deposit serves as a way for them to get you stuck while they treat you as poorly as they please. What can you do about it once they get your money? As I said, I was actively trying to work with other companies, knowing that I might very well not see that $$ again. That was how bad it was. There were several times during this process that I thought I was going to have to fly one-way to Atlanta and drive the car to Arizona myself.
Also, I don’t understand a business which seems to create such an adversarial relationship with its customers on a regular basis. Based on other reviews here, Paul habitually berates and hangs up on customers. Let’s say for the sake of argument that everyone he treated that way is an annoying idiot (myself included). In that case, is it still good business practice to treat people that way? No. Welcome to the Internet, where you can’t treat people like that and expect to have it stay hidden. As a younger person, I spent many years in fast food, retail sales, and other service industries, and I NEVER treated folks that way. I enjoy having positive relationships with folks that I serve. Apparently, Mr. Baldwin doesn’t in many cases.
Lisa Cooper, BTW, was always a pleasure to deal with, except for the shifty price quote thing and the suspicious email silence when I wanted to cancel. She’s Dr. Jekyll to Paul’s Mr. Hyde. If you could deal with her all the time, and have the price quote not change, and have the car shipped within a couple of weeks, I’d say go with this company. Of course, none of those things were true with me.
If I had it to do over again, I would not use AAA All*Star Discount Auto Transporters. I would gladly pay more money to deal with folks who are not pathologically angry, hard to deal with, and shady. I also wouldn’t pay a non-refundable deposit in the future. I saved about $100 by going with AAA, my car got here in great condition, and the pickup-to-delivery time was very short, but it was a very negative experience overall. Maybe it’s worth it for the epic story? Nah.
I have documents to prove every word of this review.
