My Review of Reliable Carriers, Inc - Auto Transport Company

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01SteedaGT

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Here's my review for Reliable Carriers, Inc. after transporting a vehicle for me.

Pros: Enclosed Trailer, Professional, Well-Known
Cons: Delivery Time, Communication
Would I Recommend/Use Again? Yes, I would highly recommend and I would definitely use them again.

On December 19th I purchased a vehicle from a member on this forum in Utah. I live in Kansas which made a little bit more difficult sale. This review will be focused on the actual transport, not the transaction or seller (I will say that syclone50 – Jeremy – was great to work with).

After completing the paper work for the car sale by shipping the documents back and forth to each other I arranged to have the vehicle shipped. I’ve heard horror stories about people who have had vehicles shipped and was very cautious to go down this road. However, it is the middle of winter and I did not want to get stuck in a snow storm as I attempted to drive the car back 18 hours from Utah to Kansas.

I had always seen the Reliable Carrier commercials while I was watching Mecum or Barrett Jackson and thought I would start there. Upon calling them I learned the following information about them:

  1. Reliable Carriers is the largest enclosed auto transport company in the U.S with over 300 drivers.
  2. All of their drivers are employees of Reliable Carriers, so they will not outsource or broker the transport of any vehicle.
  3. They offer door-to-door service. Meaning the 18 wheeler will pick up your car from the sellers location and deliver to your front door.
  4. They have warehouses across the country in case they need to off load a vehicle to transfer it to another truck.
  5. A majority of their business is corporate accounts and auctions.
  6. Each truck has an onboard GPS tracker to allow Dispatch to know where each truck is at all times.
  7. The Driver will call the Seller 24 hours before pick up to arrange the details. The Driver will also call the buyer 24 hours before they drop off the vehicle to arrange the details.
  8. I do not pay Reliable Carriers until they drop off the vehicle at my house.

Once I spoke with a representative on the phone regarding the transport of the vehicle I had all of my questions answered. Having a good feeling about their level of service I booked the transport and awaited their instructions. This is where I started getting a little anxious. I scheduled the vehicle to be available for pick up starting on December 20th, just before the Holidays. A week passed and I had no update from Reliable Carriers. I tried calling, no answer. I sent an email to one of the contacts on their website and received a response that most of their fleet is down for Christmas and New Years (that would have been nice to know when I first booked the transport). They estimate it would be picked up after the New Year and it would take 3-5 days from that point. Great, I now have a good estimate on when to expect the vehicle.

The New Year comes and goes and no word yet from Reliable or the Seller stating they have contacted him to arrange pick up. I call again and Dispatch can’t give me a definitive pick up date. Luckily, the Seller I’m buying the car from didn’t mind holding onto the car while we waited for it to be picked up. I called again on January 8th and they said that it would be picked up that coming weekend! Great, no I’m getting excited! Sure enough, the driver calls the Seller on Saturday stating he would be there on Monday January 13th to pick up the car. A little late, but no big deal. The car is still in good hands. I anxiously await delivery of the vehicle. 3 days pass and no word from the Driver. I give them a call and they estimate delivery to be January 18th or 19th. Ok, a little out of the 3-5 day estimate, but I’m still OK with it. Finally the Driver calls me on the 17th and says he would be there first thing on the 19th. We workout the details of the delivery and just as he said, he shows up at 8am on the 19th.

The car arrived just as the Seller loaded it into the trailer. In fact, it never left that spot on the truck. The same Driver who picked up the car delivered it to my door. There were no scratches, dents, etc. The car was perfect and just as described. Additionally, the Driver took extra care as he unloaded it off the truck.

Overall, I am very happy with the level of service that Reliable Carriers provided. Each time I called their main number to get an update the person was nice and very tentative to my questions, concerns, etc. I would have appreciated some better updates along the way, but my main concern is that the car would arrive in the same condition it was loaded into the trailer – and it was! I would highly recommend Reliable Carriers to anyone who is considering shipping a vehicle. Their drivers are top notch and they have some of the best rigs on the road. A majority of their business is corporate accounts and auctions so for individual accounts like me, they pick up the vehicle when they have time. Plus, given the time of year with Holidays and the severe weather I understand the delays.

Total cost to transport from Salt Lake City, UT to Kansas City, KS was $1,193.00. I also tipped the Driver upon arrival and inspection of the vehicle.
I know this review is lengthy, but I wanted to make sure I provided a solid review for anyone considering transporting a vehicle. I would always prefer to fly out and drive the car back, but given the time of year and my work schedule it just wasn’t possible right now. I hope this review helps answer some questions for those considering using Reliable Carriers. Additionally, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions and I would be happy to answer them based on my experience with them.

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black92

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Glad to hear it worked out for you!

On a side note, today was beautiful, so hopefully you were able to take the car out for a spin.
 

oldmodman

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The only carrier I have any experience with other than enclosed trailer behind a friend's truck was Reliable.

The cars that went with Reliable arrived in perfect condition too.
There was no problem with either the pick up and delivery times (they were within two hours of the time they said they would be) or with communication.
But that may have been due to the timing.
I helped a client prep and detail two older Ferraris going to auction. And they were shipped from Newport Beach to the East Coast.
And it was during good weather.
Maybe it was (as you said) the timing of your shipment.

I would ship with reliable again. There are cheaper carriers out there but I don't have any knowledge of their quality.
 

VegasMichael

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Glad Reliable worked out and your seller was cool. I noticed you bought the car the 19th of December but it wasn't picked up until January 13th. I would have been worried about getting possession of the car but it's obvious your seller was cool. Thumbs up for him.
 

TClark22

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ITS HERE!! lol good lengthy review for others!

I want to see this bad boy
 

DHG1078

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Very cool. I will have to try and keep them in mind when I have to ship some cars.
 

4u 2 nv

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Good to hear....I didnt realize the price difference between enclosed and open was so much. I shipped an Fbody from Daytona Beach, FL to Chicago and it was $630 on an open trailer. Ill have to check to see what company it was.
 

STAMPEDE3

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I was seriously looking into doing single car enclosed as a service to forum members and collectors that want personal service.

It just would have been too costly for most people as I would have had to get about $2 a loaded mile to come close to covering dead head miles.
But your car would have been picked up by a car guy who would be able to look it over for you, take pics and document everything at loading time and you know I would not take it for a joy ride.

I still would like to do it but it just isn't feasible.
 

Never_Enough

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I was seriously looking into doing single car enclosed as a service to forum members and collectors that want personal service.

It just would have been too costly for most people as I would have had to get about $2 a loaded mile to come close to covering dead head miles.
But your car would have been picked up by a car guy who would be able to look it over for you, take pics and document everything at loading time and you know I would not take it for a joy ride.

I still would like to do it but it just isn't feasible.

Darn, that would have been awesome.
 

Gray_Ghost

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I was seriously looking into doing single car enclosed as a service to forum members and collectors that want personal service.

It just would have been too costly for most people as I would have had to get about $2 a loaded mile to come close to covering dead head miles.
But your car would have been picked up by a car guy who would be able to look it over for you, take pics and document everything at loading time and you know I would not take it for a joy ride.

I still would like to do it but it just isn't feasible.

Reliable is one of the companies I would like to drive for in a few years for that very reason. I'm a car guy, who better to transport your pride-n-joy, than a fellow gearhead! That being said, $2 a loaded mile isn't a bad price, and I wouldn't think twice to maybe pay a little more to have a fellow "car guy" transport my new toy or current toy.
 

DAVESVT2000

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Glad to hear it all worked out for the best..

I've used Intercity Lines twice, and they were also as good as you described about Reliable.
 

10fore

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I wish that this thread had been posted a few weeks ago, as I had forgotten about Reliable. Sadly, I happened to choose another company and so far they're running two days behind.

Glad that everything worked out well for you OP!
 

einehund

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I used interstate twice and will not use them (although i'm not sure it is their fault) again. I will use reliant next time. Good review.
 

01SteedaGT

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Glad Reliable worked out and your seller was cool. I noticed you bought the car the 19th of December but it wasn't picked up until January 13th. I would have been worried about getting possession of the car but it's obvious your seller was cool. Thumbs up for him.

The seller (Jeremy) was awesome to work with! :beer:

ITS HERE!! lol good lengthy review for others!

I want to see this bad boy

I'll swing by on Sunday and hang out for a bit.

I was seriously looking into doing single car enclosed as a service to forum members and collectors that want personal service.

It just would have been too costly for most people as I would have had to get about $2 a loaded mile to come close to covering dead head miles.
But your car would have been picked up by a car guy who would be able to look it over for you, take pics and document everything at loading time and you know I would not take it for a joy ride.

I still would like to do it but it just isn't feasible.

This would be a great service and I probably would have used you. As I stated before I'm sure there are cheaper services out there but when you spend $20k+ on a vehicle I'll pay a little extra to make sure it arrives in perfect condition.

Glad to hear it all worked out for the best..

I've used Intercity Lines twice, and they were also as good as you described about Reliable.

I never contacted Intercity nor have I used them before so I cannot say how they compare to Reliable. Glad you've had success with them in the past.
 
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