Review Report Review
Nissan XTerra

Robert Haner Submitted this review about South Beach Transport
Review made Live: 9/22/2013 12:06:00 AM
I booked an order with Kevin Andre. He was very courteous and professional on the phone. He was the first salesperson, of the numerous I called, to inform me about the shady side of the auto carrier business. I waited until I called many places and reviewed their businesses on www.transportreviews.com to finalize an order. South Beach Transport (SBT) guaranteed to not get any money until my vehicle was on the carrier and then SBT charged the $150 deposit fee, which we agreed to on the contract and this happened. SBT was not the lowest quote but with the combination of Kevin and good reviews they got my business.

What I didn’t realize was that SBT were only the middle men; the actual auto carrier was Five Star Auto Transporter (FSAT). This did not make me feel comfortable. Because I live in “a remote area”, Kevin wanted me to give SBT an option of meeting a driver closer to a big city, such as Los Angeles or Oxnard. I live in Lompoc, CA the town next to Vandenberg Air Force Base, which is one hour north of Santa Barbara. I agreed to have that as an option but I would not be able to have a ride to pick me up.

I’ve seen numerous 18 wheelers in my neighborhood and actually my fiancée and I had one come on the 18th of September to pack and move our things from our house. So Bill, the FSAT driver, had no reason to not come directly to my house. I drove to meet Bill at the intersection where was located. I met Bill and together we wrote all the scratches, marks, dings, dents, etc on my vehicle. Then I left and Bill loaded up my vehicle on his auto carrier.

The next day, 16th September Kevin called me to wonder why Bill did not pick up my vehicle in Oxnard. I told Kevin that because Bill was a day early he had plenty of time to pick up my vehicle at my house. Kevin told me that FSAT wanted an additional $150 because Bill drove out of his way. I told Kevin that I already had a budget for our move and we do not have an extra $150 to spare. Kevin gave me the phone number for Julie the supervisor of Bill at FSAT.

An hour later Julie called me and demanded that I pay the additional $150. I told her we did not have the additional funds in our moving budget. I asked her if I don’t pay the additional money if they would just keep my vehicle, the classic bait and switch move. Julie said yes and then I proceeded to hang up the phone, it was immature but it felt like the right thing to do at the time. I never called FSAT back. My friend who picked up my car from FSAT told me they only charged $700. I guess the extra $150 was not needed after all.

FSAT came a day early to pick up my car. They delivered it on the day they said they would. The quote was for $850 and that is what I ended up paying. It took FSAT 5 days to ship my Nissan XTerra from CA to CO.

In conclusion, I will not be using SBT, FSAT or any other auto carrier transport company. Shady people run the business; I did not feel comfortable having my vehicle carried by other people, and the cost of doing this was significantly higher than just driving the vehicle myself. In the future I will drive my vehicle or tow the vehicle on a trailer.
Shipment Details
Origin State:
California
Pickup:
Early
Destination State:
Colorado
Delivery:
On Time
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
Kevin Andre
Quote or Order Cost:
$850