Company Response Review Report Review
Average experience

Hitesh Submitted this review about Magic Carpet Auto Transport
Review made Live: 5/18/2010 2:15:00 PM
I received quotes from more than 10 different transport companies ranging from approximately $600 to $950 and contacted Magic Carpet Transport around March 25th about moving my Toyota Camry from Northbrook, Illinois (NW Chicago suburb) to Danville, California (East Bay). Instead of price, I based my decision to go with Magic Carpet on the previous experience from someone I know, and reviews posted on this site. I stated that delivery anytime on April 12th would be fine, figuring that it was ample time for a pickup since I would be officially moving on April 14th. Their price quote was at the top end of those I received. Despite the significantly higher price, I still decided to go with Magic Carpet because I was informed that the higher the price paid, the higher the likelihood that my car would be picked up on time.

My contact, Stephanie, was nice and seemed knowledgeable. I was quoted $942 and received an online discount of $25 to bring the amount down to $917. However, my credit card was charged $278.10 by Magic Carpet and I paid $647 to the driver upon receipt of my car for a total of $925.10. I realize the difference is only $8.10 more but I called Magic Carpet about this and was explained that the difference was due to PayPal fees on the amount paid ($270 + $8.10 fees = $278.10) to Magic Carpet. Even though the difference is small, the additional PayPal fees should have been disclosed up front, either when the quote was made or somewhere on the Magic Carpet website.

In terms of communication, beyond the price quote, I received an e-mail stating my car had been assigned to a carrier, and on the day that my car was picked up I received an e-mail confirming that it was in-transit. It would have been helpful to have received more communication from Magic Carpet while my car was in transit so I would have a better sense about when it would be delivered. Instead, I received calls at the last minute from the driver about the status of my car, which forced me to get a car rental at the last minute. Had I received some notice about the status of my car shipment, I would have been able to plan accordingly and avoid an unexpected 2-day car rental expense. Now I would like to be clear that I am only commenting about the communication that I think could have occurred while my vehicle was in transit and not the timeframe around when my car was picked up and delivered as this is not Magic Carpet's responsibility. Overall, my experience with Magic Carpet was average. Even though I paid more to have my car shipped through Magic Carpet vs. other transport companies, I'm not sure the overall experience justified the significantly higher price I paid to have my car shipped. I would be 50/50 about choosing them again in the future.
Shipment Details
Origin State:
Illinois
Pickup:
On Time
Destination State:
California
Delivery:
Late
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
1309038
Quote or Order Cost:
$942

Car Condition
  • Vehicle was dirty
Company Response
Terry Williams from Magic Carpet Auto Transport Submitted this response.
Response Date: 5/19/2010 12:05:00 PM
Hitesh, I am sorry to hear that you didnt feel you recieved a five star service from our company. However, i did notice that you stated that $8.10 was charged more to your order. However, that is the paypal transaction fee. Which before we get any type of payment from you we explain the different types of payments you could use. One being a credit card, when using a credit card there is a 3% additional charge to it, and second we have a telecheck option which is at no additional charge. Hitesh i also see that you stated that you didnt have any communication on the delay of delivery, however, i do have in my notes of your order that i did contact Shefali (your contact) to let you guys know that the driver is running behind due to I-80 being closed til that evening or til the next morning. At that time one of you had called back to see if we were going to be paying the rental fee's for not having the car on time. However i did let you know that our company/driver is not liable for any of those cost due to the fact that they are on estimates and it also staes that in our terms and conditions. I feel that we have done our job letting you know how the process worked as well as any updates we had recieved we relayed those to whom was the main contact. However, Thank you for your service, and we hope to hear from you again for another auto relocation. Take Care!