Great Shipper! Fred (G&L) is a honest open person. Great communication, you can trust what he says, no BS. If something in the plan changes unexpectedly, you can trust he is telling you the truth and is working his best to keep it on track. His carrier was also top notch. No damage, great move.
I was fairly flexible in my shipping schedule and shipped early. I knew nothing about shipping a car a month ago, I now have some below advice for anyone reading this. Beware of scams, lies, and broken promises. If you do the order through a specific Carrier Company, they have very limited number of trucks and routes. Use a company who has access to his carriers and is also open to all carriers taking it who have an open spot. Fred has relationships and knows which are best. Most Auto Broker Shippers lie to get you to "sign an order" and lock you in with a deposit. Or they quote you a low cost, sign you up, time goes by, you get desperate, they later suggest you offer more money to increase the attractiveness that a carrier will pick it up. A good company will only do cash on delivery(or money order) with a small deposit/fee billed to your credit card ONLY after they pick it up. Never pay money in advance, Fred does this right. Place the order, no money, he starts working hard for you and no money paid until it is actually picked up.
Fred is the perfect combination of having all the tools. He doesn't rape you on his fee like most the other guys. You have to be licensed to be a Auto Shipper Broker. You can't post a job for all the carriers to see unless you have a license (can't do it yourself). Fred posts the order for all to see and what the carrier will be paid to do it, uses his main carriers, connections, and business relationships to get the job done. I wanted someone with experience, connections and with insurance. I also wanted the lowest price, but for it to be a good enough price that it would actually get picked up. Fred has alot of experience with this cost line, perfect on mine.
So anyway, it's hard to get any broker / carrier to give you EXACT details when they will pick it up. All situations are unique. A 11-car truck is not making the trip just because of you car. They need to wait for a full load, or usually just an open spot and you on their route. Advice is to give the shipper as much time as possible to get a truck for you and trust G&L are doing everything they can to make it happen as fast as possible. G&L did it on time anyway.
I also had researched Terminal-to-Terminal shipping. Same thing, your car sits in the lot until a full load and a truck are available. Seemed this took just as long or more since they usually ONLY use their limited trucks and are not open to other carriers taking it. Seemed more hassle and more chance of damage if they are loading/unloading at different multiple terminals, lots, etc.
So enough rambling, I just wanted to offer my 2-cents since i did @ 15-hours research before shipping and wasted @ 8 hours talking to annoying telemarketing brokers who called constantly 24/7, lied, and kept my answering machine mailbox full to the brim for 2-straight weeks.
G&L was great, I will use only them. I highly recommend them.
Robert
