Date:         Fri, 9 May 2008 08:40:27 -0700
Reply-To:     Gary Bawden <goldfieldgary@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Gary Bawden <goldfieldgary@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Advice about how to deal with auto shipper damage
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Ken,

Sorry to hear about your experience. I spent some time as an auto hauler,
and what we looked for was primarily scratches and dings, which were noted
for every car so we wouldn't be charged for damage which wasn't our fault.
Anything which was obviously loose, like a hood, we would tie down and make
a note to that effect. At any rate, the shipping company should obviously
pay for it since it happened on their watch. That's part of their cost of
business - - even in the 80's when I drove a car carrier we were charging
$1.00 per mile per car on a ten- to twelve-car carrier - - so even if you
had to return empty you were still generating three to five times more money
than the average over-the-highway truck. Don't take no for an answer! The
shipping company could/should have refused the load and referred you to one
of the enclosed van shipping companies, since they chose to gamble and lost,
it's their baby!

Good luck,

Gary


>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Ken Wilford
> Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2008 11:58 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Advice about how to deal with auto shipper damage
>
> I wanted to ask the advice of the list about a problem that I am
> having.  I have shipped and received vehicles many, many times with no
> incidents or problems over the years however I guess you are bound to
> have a problem eventually.  I recently had a Sterling Kit car shipped up
> here to NJ from KY.  The driver calls me tonight to tell me that he is
> going to deliver the car tomorrow morning.  That is fine.  However he
> then proceeds to tell me that he had the car on the upper level of the
> car hauler and that at some point in the trip the hood of the car has
> blown off.  So now I am being delivered a damaged vehicle and I am not
> sure what my options are.  I am thinking about just noting this on the
> shipping form and then taking the loss of the hood up with the shipping
> company.  The driver tells me that he has already told them about the
> problem and that they are telling him that because it was a kit car it
> should have been transported in an enclosed carrier instead of in an
> open carrier so they aren't responsible for the loss of the hood.
> However I was really clear with the shipping company when we were
> scheduling the pick up of the car that it was a kit car.  The guy I was
> talking to knew all about kit cars and told me that he was thinking
> about buying one himself.  I gave him the website address of Sterling so
> that he could take a look and see what the car was like.  I figure if it
> was an issue about transporting the car on an open carrier they should
> have said something to me at that time.  Or the driver should have came
> to pick up the car and then said, Nope I can't transport the car this
> way we are going to need to use a closed carrier, etc.  I feel that
> since they picked up the car then it is there responsibility to deliver
> it in one piece.  After all I didn't pay for most of the car to be
> shipped to me here in NJ, I paid for all of the car to be shipped here.
>
> Anyone have a similar experience?  How did you deal with it?  How did it
> come out in the end?
>
> Any advice would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Ken Wilford
> John 3:16
> www.vanagain.com
>
>