Out of state dealer pickup
D. Gifford
Submitted this review about
Angels Moving Autos
Review made Live: 2/22/2017 11:57:00 AM
This was a first time experience for me, buying a car remotely because the specs I wanted were hard to find. It was up to me to arrange cross country transport from the dealer in Seattle to New York State where I live. I've never had a car transported before. My Internet research turned up probably what you are learning, too - the industry is a loose amalgam of many players, brokers, drivers, dispatch centers, dealers, etc. It was clear to me that the best thing for a first timer like me is finding a decent broker.
I called several for quotes. AMA were very responsive, and very straightforward about what to expect. I appreciated that they did not pull any punches in describing their own industry, and went on to give a little pitch on how they have worked to create some systems to make the whole process a bit more ordered and responsive. Their willingness to be clear abut the timeline and the unpredictable nature of drivers was refreshing, they were fairly low pressure, and they were very responsive in communicating. The price was quite fair as far as I can tell. I got lower price offers via UShip bids, but no sense of who I could trust.
The shipment went just fine. Although the actual carrier was a bit non responsive, AMA did act a as a good broker in getting them to communicate and getting the driver to call. A good measure of AMAs service was that the driver did not fill out the Bill of Lading at pick up in detail, This could have caused Washington State to come after me for state tax on a technicality, since the transaction was really a purchase in New York as long as the car was provably being shipped from a dealer. AMA only needed a text from me and they handled communication with the dealership and the carrier. They acted quickly on the issue and updated me along the way.
The driver arrived late in the day on pickup day, and early morning 1 day after estimated delivery. From what I have learned of the business, this is very normal and I was glad I knew in advance and could be prepared. If you have super stringent timelines, I can imagine this process will be frustrating. I would suggest talking to a broker that will be straight about how much weather and traffic and everything else make this a business that can only give estimated dates.
Anyway, I have every reason from this experience to recommend AMA - they were responsive with problems, kept me fully informed, seemed to be a modern business with decent systems in place, did not mess about with money issues, and were dead honest about normal risks. I will use them again, and recommend them to friends.
