Dream Car Turned Shipping Nightmare | Page 2 | FerrariChat

Dream Car Turned Shipping Nightmare

Discussion in '348/355' started by mojocoggo, Mar 13, 2019.

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  1. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 19, 2001
    22,574
    The Brickyard
    Full Name:
    The Bad Guy
    Welcome to the 348 Brotherhood.

    Sorry to hear about the shipping mishap.
     
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  2. mojocoggo

    mojocoggo Rookie

    Jul 28, 2013
    38
    San Jose, CA
    Full Name:
    Dylan Leff
    Thanks Ernie. I did thoroughly enjoy your clutch removal DIY (and your many other helpful posts). If it comes down to it, I'll be using that write-up very soon.
     
    ernie likes this.
  3. Ferrarium

    Ferrarium F1 Veteran
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jul 28, 2018
    5,624
    Central NJ
    Full Name:
    Eric
    I guess I don't understand why they would need to take it on and off the truck let alone a few times, it's not like tansporring dog.

    Unless...
     
  4. mojocoggo

    mojocoggo Rookie

    Jul 28, 2013
    38
    San Jose, CA
    Full Name:
    Dylan Leff
    Hahaha, well they pick up and drop off other cars along the route, so they may need to shuffle things around to get cars on and off the trailer. You'd hope that they put the last car to be delivered in the very back so it doesn't need to be moved at all, but logic isn't for everyone.
     
  5. Ferrarium

    Ferrarium F1 Veteran
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jul 28, 2018
    5,624
    Central NJ
    Full Name:
    Eric
    Ok got it was thinking dedicated direct transport. Geez maybe they had to push it on the truck check for push dents....

    Sent from my LM-Q710(FGN) using FerrariChat.com mobile app
     
  6. matfo

    matfo Rookie

    Aug 1, 2013
    39
    Sweden
    Congrats to the car!

    Sorry to hear about the shipping mess, hope it will be sorted for you in a good way.

    However, I just want to mention that there currently are after market flywheel availible at a very good price from MD Clutches in UK. The reason for the dropped price is that they will stop selling these so now they are clearing out the stock.
    Link to ebay item: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Ferrari-348-Flywheels-for-twin-or-single-plate-clutch-/332632052271?nav=SEARCH

    A flywheel from MD Clutches are currently being installed in my T during a major service incl single plate clutch rebuild. Therefore I cannot review it yet but my mechanic thinks it looks good so far a least.




    Skickat från min iPhone med FerrariChat
     
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  7. MalcQV

    MalcQV F1 Rookie

    Oct 11, 2004
    3,292
    Manchester, UK
    Full Name:
    Malc Holden
    Congratulations on the car ans sorry to hear about the shipping problems. Here's hoping you get it corrected with them.

    I recall an annoying flashing clock in my 83 Mondial but I used to use the battery isolator. Pretty much the same I hated it flashing and would just adjust it to any time to stop it :D
     
  8. johnk...

    johnk... F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Jun 11, 2004
    10,628
    CT
    Full Name:
    John Kreskovsky

    My though too. Clutch must have been pretty far gone to start with.

    For the op, nice car. Just get it fixed and you'll forget all about it once you start driving it.
     
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  9. bcar1

    bcar1 Karting
    Silver Subscribed

    Aug 2, 2017
    220
    NYC/NJ
    Full Name:
    Bob
    Within 2 days of my 355 getting delivered the alternator failed and I started getting both SDL & CEL despite a perfect report from an independent ppi. Pretty flawless 2 yrs once that was sorted out, I chalk it up to part of the “ownership experience”.
     
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  10. kenneyd

    kenneyd Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 30, 2014
    1,944
    NE FL
    Full Name:
    Ken
    #35 kenneyd, Mar 15, 2019
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2019
    When you ship a car, most people are present for the loading and unloading, gaurding carefully the actions of the driver loading it...
    ... unfortunately, no one is the watching the other 17 times your car is loaded and unloaded across the country to move other cars on and off

    I hate shipping cars for this reason.


    You may be able to get somewhere with the shipping company, but I would more go towards the dealership. They sent you a car that doesn't run. Let them go after the shipping company, they might have a lot more weight since that would be repeat business taken away
     
  11. steved033

    steved033 F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Apr 12, 2017
    7,676
    Atlanta, GA
    Full Name:
    Steve D.
    Andrew's engineer John, passed away, and Andrew closed up MD.

    sjd
     
  12. POLO35

    POLO35 Formula Junior

    Feb 21, 2005
    712
    Treasure Coast Florida
    Full Name:
    MATT
    If it makes you feel any better the 348 dual-clutch is actually quite robust. I just re-did mine the flywheel and pressure plate did not need resurfacing. I bought the twin discs from ferrparts for about $640 delivered. It's an easy DIY afternoon job and if you have little hands it don't have to remove the rear bumper just the lower exhaust.
     
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  13. Jdubbya

    Jdubbya The $10 Trillion Man
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 28, 2003
    37,253
    PNW
    Full Name:
    John
    Sorry to hear about this. It sucks dealing with it. When I had my 308 delivered the driver's foot slipped off the clutch and he rammed the open end of the door into the inside structure of his truck. I had him note it right on the bill of lading and sign it and it still took certified letters to the owners of the company and over a year to get my money back.

    I agree with get repair estimates and fight them but if it's taking too long just get it fixed and then go after them. That's what I did and was able to enjoy the car while trying to get my $2k+ back from them.
     
  14. daliguy1

    daliguy1 Rookie

    Jul 27, 2013
    28
    Miami, Fl.
    Full Name:
    Jack Don
     
  15. daliguy1

    daliguy1 Rookie

    Jul 27, 2013
    28
    Miami, Fl.
    Full Name:
    Jack Don
    I'm a General Lines Broker in Florida, and I would like to offer you first hand advise regarding your claim.
    First and foremost, keep phone conversations to a minimum with the other parties (INS.Co; Trucking company or driver).
    1-Instead opt to get email addresses, or text messages sent in a format that leaves a paper trail that you can later print as evidence of conversation/contact.
    2-If you have been assigned a claim number by the Ins.Co.' request the name and email address of the LICENSED Adjuster assigned by them.
    3-Draft and articulate, along with receipts, condition reports and transportation contracts and receipts of payments. Keep a record in a file on you computer, and print to PDF all conversations, by date; in one file so you can refer to them instead of searching your mail archives, and since you have the ability to make a file of conversations regarding any group of messages, also make a file in your email program (ex: mon/day/yr- title it ACTIVE CLAIM 348.
    Now you have a direct link in both your email and documents sections on CPU.
    4-Notify in writing the Insurance Commissioner's office of the pending claim that you are having difficulties with and submit with all current to date documentation, they will give you a case number and you be sure to use that case number on every correspondence you interact with the DOI.
    Again I cannot stress enough the importance of the paper trail you must create with all parties, up to but not excluding the D.O.I. (Dept of Ins.)
    This will avoid any doubt should any party allege any statement of fact that you can dispute as inaccurate with your paper trail.
    Rather than hire counsel, this avenue offers you the full strength of your State's Legal division of the Ins. Commissioner, at no cost to you.
    If there is any time of discrepancy or issue with the compliance of the trucking firms insurance it will come to light and all records of the investigation by the dept. of insurance is evidence in event you have no recourse, and must sue in civil court.

    An attorney may even take the case on a contingency basis since you will have facts, evidence and State certified documents to back your claim.
    I hope this will assist you, and feel free to write me back if you run into unfamiliar territory.
    Regards,
    Jack
     
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  16. Ricambi America

    Ricambi America F1 World Champ
    Sponsor Owner

    Correct. I have purchased MD's entire remaining stock of Kluber grease and flywheel o-rings.
     
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  17. schnazzy

    schnazzy Formula Junior

    Mar 31, 2008
    494
    Seattle
    I had an issue with shipping a Porsche cross country. Due to where they were delivering and their scheduled (allegedly) they decided to offload to a private towing company (flatbed). The tow driver had such an accent I couldn't understand. He noted in his paperwork that the (aluminum) lower control arm had snapped in half. On later inspection it was clear that someone hooked tie down straps to it it instead of the tow mount points. This is what I learned.
    The local dealer that fixed it of course would not bill anyone but me
    The dealer I bought it from is not responsible for any damage done by the shipping or towing company and doesn't have the time to help you
    Lawyers are great

    It's been a decade so I may be off a bit. The lawyer notified the dealer, shipper and tow company and let them know of possible litigation. The part was $750ish, labor was a couple hundred, realignment was a few hundred, my time transporting it, and tow costs were another 1k or so. It was something like $3k total. After a couple letters we decided to move forward with lawsuits (note, I had to pay the lawyer so far with no significant likelyhood of reimbursement). With no response, I sent prepared letters to about 60 dealers asking for any information on the shipping company and if they dealt with or had any theft, damage or or other issues with them. We got 6 or 7 responses and interestingly the owner of the small shipping comapany called the lawer and threatened to sue for defamation. ;) long story short, I was reimbursed everything (including the lawer) except my time. In many states, it seems, if a shipper offloads to another, they still hold liability at least jointly and since their cheap-o private tow person could never be contacted..... ;)

    Took 8 months, pretty risky because I paid the lawyer up front and he clearly told me lots of shell games and tricks that could happen and since the company wasn't registered in my state, it could be futile. It seems that it is cheaper to close the company down and make a new one than pay lawsuits. It seemed mine was just low enough. More imporantly, the dealers knew the owner I guess so it wouldn't have mattered if he changed company names. To be fair, my lawyer was slightly surprised we got the money so easily. (as if dozens of my hours and 8ish months was easy). If I had to do it again, I would not but that is me.

    For my F355, I put the shipping in the deal and made sure they used a highly reliable shipper that they completely trusted. I then asked them to take no less than 20 pictures (top down) and including under carriage and the driver seat and doorpanel. I am pretty sure they told the driver btw. It came with plastic covers on the seat, floor cover, steering cover etc. The only very minor issue is that he was nervous about delivering to my house which does have a hill a mile away. He had some software that said this area was a no-go for lowboys. I suggested another route and he was there within minutes. Couldn't have been a nicer guy. Fully enclosed.

    This and the porsche traveled completely cross country about 100 miles shy of sea to sea so it was likley they were on the truck for 3500 miles or so criss crossing the US. I think both took about 8-10 days.

    Fix the car, then decide.
     
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  18. kenneyd

    kenneyd Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 30, 2014
    1,944
    NE FL
    Full Name:
    Ken
    It is extremely hard to find a "specific" car shipper. The only one i know around here is www.prestigeautotrans.com/ (i think) Im sure there are a few other, but the other 99% are simply brokers . Even if they say they are a transporter and may own a few trucks, all they do is submit your request to "dispatch network" via a bid, They make their money both by a booking fee and the difference between the price they quote you and they price they bid to dispatch.

    The bid then gets sent to the dispatch network, example "$750 enclosed from denver to orlando" ANY trucker who wants it can accept it from any company. You could bid $100, but obviously no one would pick it up for weeks or ever. If you submit $2000, every trucker would go out of their way to get that one.

    Ive shipped a lot of cars, the last one was for my '86 m1009 from NH to FL, at the time of year when all the snowbirds were shipping their cars from NY to south FL. My broker said she could do it for $800. No trucker picked it up for a month, we upped it to $1200, still no takers. I was able to find a small private shipper on my own that happened to be located in the city in NH where the truck was. At the same time, I sold my wifes tahoe to a guy in CT, shipped for $400 because of the lack of demand that time of year going north.
     
  19. mojocoggo

    mojocoggo Rookie

    Jul 28, 2013
    38
    San Jose, CA
    Full Name:
    Dylan Leff
    I suppose it's time for a follow-up now that this thread's been bumped.

    I ended up having a shop replace the clutch and flywheel for an obscene $12k (not the shop's fault, flywheel alone was $7k for the dual disc clutch setup and could not be resurfaced due to excessive heat), since I wanted to to be documented on paper for insurance purposes. The shipper's insurance ended up claiming they were unable to verify that the truck used to ship my car was on the shipping company's insurance policy because I did not get a plate number or VIN for the truck (even though I had a plate number for the trailer), and basically told me to F off.

    After contacting several lawyers, none of them wanted to take on the case because it involved a shipping company in TN, dealership in GA, and me in CA, and that there were too many variables.

    The main takeaways from this experience are:
    • Never ever buy a car again without personally seeing and driving it first. This is typically my rule, but I figured with an independent inspection I'd be fine.
    • Never ship a car. I don't care if your buddy had a good experience with some guy, or some company shipped a 30 million dollar Ferrari with no issues. I'm never shipping a car again.
    • Never do business with the G.E.A.R.S. dealership, Larry O'Hara Jr., or anyone associated with them. Classic garbage tactics like an instant lack of communication once the car was delivered. When they finally responded, it was 100% defensive, not a lick of sympathy or apology for the mishap.
    • I'd say never use MSP trucking, but they seem to have disappeared already (website gone, surely operating under a different name by now).

    The $12k pill was hard to swallow, but it's all behind me now and after just over a year, I've put 5000+ trouble-free miles on the car.
     

    Attached Files:

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  20. Koenig1

    Koenig1 Formula Junior

    Aug 25, 2016
    328
    Ottawa ON
    Full Name:
    Sandy
    Thanks for your update. A hard pill to swallow for sure! If it were me... well... just dreaming, but, a trip to Georgia(GEARS stealership) would be in my thoughts. Naw... but good to post the dealership involved. I agree with your 'takeaways'... Enjoy the ride....!
     
  21. 76Steel

    76Steel Formula 3

    Sep 8, 2007
    1,471
    New Jersey
    Full Name:
    Mike
    Good for you, Dylan. A bad buying experience can be very detrimental to enjoying your dream. It just leaves a sour feeling. I have been there as well. Unfortunately, it happens and it sucks when it does. So glad to see you enjoying your car right now and being on the other side! Many happy miles. Your car looks great.
     
  22. Shark01

    Shark01 F1 Veteran

    Jun 25, 2005
    5,687
    Sorry to hear....I cheaped out on shipping twice and was disappointed both times, but didn’t suffer the damage you did. I will only use someone like Reliable in the future.
     
  23. m5shiv

    m5shiv Formula 3
    BANNED

    Feb 25, 2013
    1,259
    SF Bay Area
    Full Name:
    Shiv
    +1 Ken, he's moved all my cars since 2010
     
  24. c7matt

    c7matt Formula Junior

    Mar 3, 2016
    338
    Greater Detroit, MI
    Pilot Transport has been excellent for me, costs a little more, but one little bump to a car and all savings are lost tenfold.
     
  25. emac

    emac Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 14, 2014
    851
    upstate SC
    Full Name:
    ernest
    Glad it worked out. Beautiful M6, I have one in red that I really enjoy.

    Maybe I am just getting old, but it seems that customer service in many industries has taken a nosedive. Thanks for the update!
     
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