not the worst, but still pretty terrible
member101
Submitted this review about
Magic Carpet Auto Transport
Review made Live: 9/28/2008 2:47:00 PM
After reading multiple reviews, i chose Magic Carpet although it was not the lowest bid mostly because MC does not require a deposit until the car has been assigned to the trucking co that will be delivering it (which is an important distinction, bc otherwise you're stuck with the co even if it takes them weeks to get your car assigned) and bc Kathy was very nice.
basically, auto transporter cos act as a broker between you and the trucking cos. Once you give them a pick-up a request, they shop your order around to see if any truckers want to do your delivery for that price.
My three major complaints from the negative experience are:
- after my initial conversation with Kathy, i never heard anything back until I called again 2wks later to follow up. Be proactive bc I think they forget your order if you don't keep on it.
- price was increased by $100+ over the agreed amount AFTER the truck driver had called me and made the pick-up arrangements. Kathy and I exchanged several vms, and never once did she mention that the price was going to be hiked up until afterwards (and the car was to be picked up the next morning). When I nicely gave her feedback that in the future, customers would appreciate knowing sooner about the such a considerable change, Kathy became extremely defensive and hysterical on the phone, whereas up until then she had always been normal on the phone.
- the trucking company: JUMART was beyond belief awful. The driver Isaac was totally incompetent, and the "service" contact Martin outright lies to cover for the driver's incompetence. The entire time, the driver kept insisting he was only 2 mins away when he was in the wrong city altogether. Even when given explicit directions to cover a 15minute distance, he drove around lost for over 2hrs. (Not appreciated when you've been asked to wait in the parking lot at a designated time during the workday...at one point, they even suggested I walk up and down the road looking for the driver when he wasn't even in a 30mile radius.) Afterwards, Kathy conceded that MC barely knew JUMART and don't vet out the trucking companies to which they assign your car. Whatever you do, be sure to specify: DO NOT USE JUMART! MC should screen their partners but don't, which is why I include them in the negative review.
OVERALL: i don't think Magic Carpet is any better/worse than the others, based on the reviews posted. All the companies pull fast ones on you (i.e. increase the price once you're on the hook, use truckers who are not always qualified/professional), etc. You can't totally avoid these problems, but it's good to be aware of them and try to not totally get taken. Suffice it to say, it was not a good experience. An honest, professional company could really succeed in this space, where there are "thousands" of companies offering a terrible experience and customers have few good options.
