I wasn’t going to write a review as all did not go well, but when I received a call from Magic Carpet Transport requesting a review I felt that I should oblige. So here goes….
Due to sudden relocation requirements I had to ship my vehicle from Washington state to Florida under some very tight time constraints. After reading several reviews and requesting several quotes I chose Magic Carpet. Though they were not even close to being the least expensive, I wanted the best and the reviews here lead me to that conclusion. On Thursday 6/25/09 I contacted Nicole at Magic Carpet to begin the process. I informed her of my tight schedule, requiring vehicle delivery by 7/12/09 in Florida. She explained that this was going to be tough but once I paid my deposit she would get working on it and felt that she could get it done. She was going to be my “personal single point of contact” throughout this ordeal, I mean transport, and would give me a call the following day with an update. When she did not call by late afternoon, I called her. She told me that she had not yet found a carrier but that someone would be in the office Saturday and would call me, but if they didn’t, she would call me Monday 6/29/09. No one called Saturday and when she again did not call by late afternoon Monday, I called her. Nicole was not available at that time and I spoke with someone else (can’t remember her name) who looked into my order. She told me that it typically takes 7-10 days to find a carrier but if I wanted to pay for “expedited” service I may get a carrier sooner. So how much is that? Oh, another $100 should do it. As I was getting worried about the time it would take to get the car to Florida, I agreed. Amazing! Money talks! That same evening I received an email informing that a carrier had been located and that they would be in contact with me.
The next day, Tuesday 6/30/09, I received a call from “the Russian”. Could not understand a word this guy was saying. He finally put his teenage son on the phone who spoke English and told me that his father is the truck driver who will be taking my vehicle to Florida and that they are coming out to pick it up. Ummmmm, ok. I guess since they had my number they must be legit, but still not feeling real good about this. Met up with “the Russian” and his interpreter (teenage son) in a local parking lot as agreed. T-shirt, shorts, flip-flops. That was “the Russian” not me. He proceeded to mark all of the dings and scratches on his worksheet and had me sign it. I look at the top of the form and the name of the company is “Roll-over Transport”! Are you serious? Were “Head-on Transport” and “Flying off a cliff around a hairpin turn Transport” already taken? This has got to be Candid Camera, right? I asked when he thought he would get the vehicle to Florida and through his broken English he said Monday 7/6/09. Ummmm, no, that is too soon. I will not physically be there until Wednesday 7/8/09 to take delivery. “Yes, ok, no problem” was the reply. In hindsight I should have been talking to the interpreter. So I gave him the keys and off he went. Still not feeling real good about this.
The next day, Wednesday 7/1/09, I received an email from Magic Carpet informing that me vehicle had been picked up and would be delivered on Tuesday 7/7/09. Ummmm, no, that is too soon. I will not physically be there until Wednesday 7/8/09 to take delivery. So I called Magic Carpet (please note that through all of this I had yet to receive a single call from Magic Carpet). Nicole was not available again and I spoke with someone else (can’t remember her name). I explained that the email they sent me said that delivery would be Tuesday 7/7/09 but I told the driver that delivery cannot be made until Wednesday 7/8/09. She said that if I conveyed that to the driver then that is when it will be delivered. OK. Later that day I received a new email from Magic Carpet with the correct delivery date on it of 7/8/09.
Thursday passes, Friday too. Uneventful, but no updates either. Saturday I get a call. It’s “the Russian”. I think he says that he is in Georgia and wants to deliver my vehicle Sunday, 7/5/09. Ummmm, no, that is too soon. I will not physically be there until Wednesday 7/8/09 to take delivery. I think he asks if someone can accept the car for me. I say yes, but they aren’t going to pay you the $1,050 that is due on delivery. I think he asks if I can pay by credit card. I say yes, but how? (I’m not too keen on giving “the Russian” my credit card number). I think he says he will have his dispatcher call me. I figured that meant Magic Carpet so I wasn’t holding my breath for that call.
Sunday, 7/5/09, I get a call from “the dispatcher”. He is Russian too but his English is way better than “the Russian’s”. He says “the Russian” wants to deliver my vehicle. I say that “the Russian” is early and I won’t be there until Wednesday. He asks if I can make a direct deposit into his bank account and then “the Russian” can deliver my car. Is this a hostage negotiation? I say sure, I can take time out of my day tomorrow, drive into town, go get $1,050 cash from my bank, drive to a local branch of your bank, and direct deposit it into your account. Will that make you happy? Da.
So Monday, 7/6/09, I make the drop. “The Russian” releases the hostage, I mean my car, to a neighbor, and this drama finally ends.
Throughout this entire process I had not ever received a single call or update from Magic Carpet. Frankly, I am not quite sure what they do. I was all ready to chalk this up as a learning experience and let it go. So imagine my surprise when 8 days after delivery of my vehicle I finally receive my very first call from Magic Carpet wanting to know how my experience went and if I would please leave a 5-star review for them. Well, I can’t give them the stars but I can give them my review.
My advice, find an actual owner/operator to ship your vehicle. I could recommend Roll-over Transport. They DID get my vehicle cross-country in one piece and amazingly quick (which for most people is probably a good thing). Just be prepared for the language barrier. But this review is for Magic Carpet Transport and I cannot recommend them at all. Still don’t really know what they did other than hit my credit card for $233.81.
