The Car Haul Damage Thread:

Well I'm all for saving money too, I guess the point is you'd better have confidence in whomever you choose to do any work if you're doing it without the dealer's consent. Decent car dealers can tell when works been done, especially when it's been done poorly. You run the risk of them coming after you anyway.

 

Nothing wrong with working outside the insurance, the issue is trying to hide the damage by fixing the vehicle without notifying the dealer. That is fraud, plain and simple and has repercussions not only for the carrier but it also could come back on the dealer that they failed to disclose damage to the end buyer -especially true on new units.

I am all for negotiating a settlement directly with the dealer, no insurance involved, just not trying to hide a repair from anyone. How would you feel if you had just bought that car and then found out some yahoo trucker had damaged it and had a fly by night body shop do a blow and go paint and bondo job?

 

Thank you. It's that simple. Now we wait for the replies where people tell us their repair guys are better than the dealer's and half the price.

 

I am a believer in doing the right thing. Several years ago I had a dealer trade load of equinoxes going to a local to me dealer. After losing a fuel line on my powerhouse sterling it had to be towed into Freightliner in Youngstown Ohio. The tow truck driver backed the back bottom unit into a concrete pole sunk into the ground while he was dropping the trailer. He said he knew a guy who could fix it cheap and quick. I told him no thanks called the dealer in Buffalo and let them know what happened. When I arrived a few days later, the owner came out to look at the damage. It was only a cracked bumper and a small dent in the lift gate. He said no worries, they'd take care of it and he appreciated the phone call letting them know what happened rather than trying to get one over on them. Never saw a bill for it, never heard another word about it even though I've been back to that place a hundred times.

 

You got very lucky with that. But most of the time things are quite opposite - dishonest customers are trying to charge transporters for pre-existing damages. That's why I always take pictures of every car I am transporting, before picking up and after drop off. Pictures with time stamp, and location stamp.

 

My staff and I broker 4-5k cars a month and I find that this is incredibly rare. Literally 20:1 carrier BS vs dealer BS. It is absolutely unbelieve how many carriers do virtually ZERO condition documentation on gate passes, BOLs, or with pics when so much of the liability lies on them.

Believe it or not, the extreme majority of dealers just want their cars. However, they are very quick to place blame. Take quality pics or at least thorough documentation of condition upon pickup and then you can readily show the dealer it wasn't your doing.

 

Hyundai gas doors breaking off if not taped closed and people buy this crap.
Last time iloaded tgis crap you could only load santa fe in forward positions because the rear windows were blowing out. Maybe next they will require 45mph transport limits.

 

The newer style equinox had a problem with the gas doors flying off when backed on. I took a load to a large dealer in Missouri, gas door missing. The check in guy said don't worry about it because they have them in stock already painted. It's a regular occurrence apparently. It was a cod load with no deduction.
I didn't argue with them. It obviously happened during transport but they were honest, as was I . No harm , no foul!

 

I agree, dealers are easy going most of the time. Also, I haul mostly new cars to dealers, and there is no damages on the new cars, so no problems at all. But, sometimes I haul used cars during snowbird season, that's where most complains happen. Often I hear - "oh, this s..t wasn't there, and this, and this". When that happens, my pictures taken before loading come very helpful.

 

Last year I delivered a porsche with a cracked wheel and they asked me what happened to it and why didnt i put the spare on it . I told them to pull the auction inspection report and asked if they pay transport drivers labor the same they charge customers. Half these auction buyers dont know what they bought, and whaats worse is when 18 year old joe pro car porter checks in auction cars as if these piles of crap just came off the assembly line.