Silver FIAT Dino Spider damaged in shipping - anyone know this car?

Rare 246 model.

 

Thanks for the heads-up Erik. The buyer is an Italian friend of mine who lives out of the country. He was unaware of the damage and was told that the car is delayed in Phoenix and will be in LA on Tuesday.

The internet is a powerful tool.

 

I'll fill you guys in when I know. And yes Wayne, the car came from FL.

 

Looks like a 2.4 I knew in Rome in 191-1973.

 

Wow, totally unreal - thankfully, full disclosure can be made, even if the guilty party didn't want it to be so!

 

Is the name of the transport company known? I'd be sure NOT to use them in the future, should I need it.

 

Happened to me too. I never knew until I received an overdue parking ticket in the mail from Los Angeles.

 

The photo from today is work that is being done by the car owner's rep. Here is a synopsis of the story:
Owner's rep contracted with VIP to transport car from FL to LA. VIP subcontracted to another transport company with USA in the name. The rep was unaware they were subcontracting until the car was on the road. There was a failure of some type during shipping that allowed the car to move and damage the trunk lid and rear quarter panel. The truck driver wanted to avoid getting fired so he lied about there being a delay in shipping and took the car to the body shop in the photo. He asked them to fill the dents with bondo and blend the paint. Quick and dirty.

Thanks to whoever took the first photos and posted them and to Erik for posting them here. The truck driver was exposed and caught. Supposedly he was fired by USA and a new driver will be completing the delivery.

The owner's rep was at the body shop today having them do the repairs in a proper manner as well as a few other repairs since the car was already there. This is not a pristine car or it would have been a much bigger deal. The car's owner just bought another 2.4 Spider in Europe that is one of the nicest original cars extant. This kind of damage to that car would have been a much uglier problem.

If the truck driver hadn't been caught, the car would have been delivered with a crap repair. He didn't want to lose his job so he was willing to lie and hide a problem to keep it.

 

Really nice stealth work here, hopefully worked out in the owners favor in the end, as I am guessing he pressed for a full respray on an otherwise 'needy' body/paint anyway?

 

I find the shipping industry very corrupt. Besides the obvious dishonesty of using a cheaper subcontractor that was not vetted by the customer, there are also a lot of worthless rip-off charges and fees that get slapped on as a shipment transits borders. When dishonesty abounds it's no wonder the small fish assume they can get away with bending the rules themselves.

 

so...does anyone know what the originally contracted shipper had to say about all this....what kind of nightmare did the owners rep have to deal with to get satisfaction?

Cant even begin to imagine the aspirin needed to deal with this mess......

 

that car just got delivered to a bodyshop next door to me, they tried dropping it off here first

 

California has enacted new air restrictions and regulations on diesel trucks operating in California. Many of the haulers that you may know and trust can no longer operate in the golden state because their trucks don't comply. Non compliant trucks are turned away at the border.

The solution for the non compliant trucks is sub contracting.

 

VIP has stepped up and said they will pay $6K toward the repair. They already paid about $1K
to the body shop in the photos that has to be redone.
We will see. I'll post the conclusion when I hear it.

 

6K for this sort of repair is peanuts. The rear deck lid on these 2.4 are aluminum.
I just got done restoring my 2.4 and the rear deck lid is unique to each car!
I would be freaking out!
Thanks for exposing this incedent.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I have done that, to a rental car, but doing it with a CUSTOMER's car???

I hope they flame him.

 

This is very scary to me. I am just now in negotiations now to have a car transported from Los Angeles area to South Carolina. Its supposed to be a good company from what I can tell.…ughh! They are much less money and only carry about 5 cars at a time (enclosed) than the big company's with beautiful trucks that advertise in magazines and at Concourse.

How best do I protect my car and know what I am getting into?

 

Make sure they are a transporter, and not a broker for transporters.

Of course, if you ask them directly ,they will lie. Try to get it in a contract.

 

Brokers everywhere and they all have the same MO they claim it's a family business and they will check with their dad to see if they can get the price down yada yada yada.........

so slimy

 

The guy that called me told me straight up he was a broker. Seems extremely nice and very knowledgable on the phone. answered all the questions correctly. Very confident in his pitch about getting the car to me safely. He is much cheaper (and quicker) than the transport companies that you see advertise in magazines, on tv, and at concourse, by about $600. on a cross country haul. I guess in the grand scheme of things, thats a small price for peace of mind?

Never easy.