In addition to contacting your insurance, I would recommend telling(not asking) the broker to send pictures(not a picture) with todays date or you will be escalating the matter. At least that would show the current condition of the car and be something to share with your insurance(or police if they're going to be involved).

I'm sorry if it was mentioned before, does your shipping contract stipulate a delivery date? or are there any binding conditions regarding the delivery? I'm not sure on the legal aspect but wouldn't this be considered a theft?

 

I have asked for photos several times with no response, so I think the "lack" of photos will be important information. I have a call with my insurance company today and will see what next steps are.

There isn't a delivery date in the shipping contract and for sure they point out several times that estimated delivery dates are just that, estimates. But the shipping terms also say "If your Shipment is not delivered or is lost or damaged during transit, you have the right to file a claim against the Carrier". So it may come down to the insurance company to decide what constitutes "not delivered" and when. It's been over 40 days now and the outlook is not improving!

 

I really hope you get your car soon. This thread gives me so much anxiety, I cannot imagine the level it is giving you.

 

i may have missed this, have you contacted law enforcement/reported as stolen?

 

Hell, at this point I would probably do this as well.

 

Seriously, maybe it was actually stolen, and they're just delaying because...they hope somehow it turns up, or that somehow you go away, or that somehow their lawyers can try and make it someone elses fault.

Time complicates things. Maybe they're banking on that.

That would explain no pics (as would transit damage).

 

So, why haven't you been to Philadelphia to see the condition of the car yet? What is it like 4.5 +/- hours trip? Tell them they need to make the car available for you to personally inspect. I suspect it was heavily damaged or stolen.

 

When my car was shipped from Pennsylvania to Florida and wasn’t delivered to me they claimed hydraulic issues
I told the transport company I was going to report them to the police
they said it’s a civil mater it doesn’t concern them
then I told them I’m reporting it stolen they had som excuse I forgot what it was
i told them it was last seen in Pennsylvania and I’m reporting it stolen there
i got my car but it was damaged broken windshield
they dirtied the car and dropped it at night I saw it the next day and contacted my credit card company to stop payment
I feel for you bro
ps not all shippers are bad I’ve had good ones too

 

Good ones, or mediocre at best that just didn't screw up that time?

 

So I have a good update and an even better story.

Last week I started a claim with my insurance company. The online claim form had a pulldown menu with some descriptions of the claim type. This has been such an oddball series of events the only choice that made sense to me was "other" and then I put in a detailed description of events and followed with a lot of documentation. After review, the insurance adjuster classified the claim as "total theft" and requested I report the car stolen and get a police report. In the course of a phone call with the adjuster, I mentioned that the series of events was just not believable anymore -- the transport company would have gone through an unbelievable string of bad luck and incompetence, over and over, when we look back at the history. Turns out that was exactly right.

I e-mailed the broker to get insurance info for the transport company and let them know I was in the process of filing a claim since the car had been missing for 40 days and I was done hoping for a resolution. Well, the next day all the "lost" car keys and remotes miraculously turned up (and no mention of getting a key made/programmed anymore). The car was loaded on a truck for delivery to me that evening or the next morning (which stretched to the next afternoon, but the trucker was in frequent contact to keep me updated). The car showed up filthy, looking like a barn find, and with a minor scuff on the front bumper that I'm not worried about (front license plate mount took the brunt of whatever tap happened). But the car was otherwise in fine condition and none worse for the wear.

The owner of the trucking company himself was driving the truck (a modern rig) and they had a really nice trailer with one of the rear elevator platforms that can raise/lower a car without the need for ramps. Far cry from the sketchy looking truck and trailer that picked up the car from Arizona. The owner was a young guy, super nice, and we chatted while the car was being unloaded. According to him, the broker owed them a large amount of money, so they paused delivery on all their cars. Now, I am pretty sure this is illegal and would be considered theft, since the vehicles belong to third parties (including possibly banks and lien holders) and I don't think a trucker is entitled to hold cargo ransom because of a dispute with a broker. But at this point I just wanted the car so I held my tongue and just told the guy next time he should reach out to the car owners directly if there is a dispute about payment. I contacted the insurance company that evening and let them know what I learned, and that the "total theft" claim was probably 100% appropriate had we gone through with it. I need to circle back with them next week to close things out.

Now, it gets more interesting. I took the S2K out to get some gas, make sure it drove OK, and head over to the local Honda dealer. It drove brilliantly and I ended up putting in a 30 mile drive. While waiting at the Honda dealer, I poked around the trunk and found a tracking device stuffed inside a folded up car cover! No clue who put it there or when it was done, but after talking with the previous owner, it definitely wasn't them. Not sure what I should do about that, but as of now, the car has been tracked to a Honda dealer which should be suitably generic and confusing until I figure out what's next. May contact my local police, but I am hesitant to take up their time for this.

So, my previous lessons learned were:

#1 FedEx an Airtag to the seller to put in the car to gain some level of tracking.

#2 Have the seller FedEx you at least one set of keys.

To that I would add:

#3 Do not trust information being given by truckers or brokers. If the story sounds unbelievable, it probably is, though that may not dawn on you until the story unfolds over a period of time.

#4 File an insurance claim sooner rather than later. Even if you are still holding out hope the car will show up and you get snippets of information from the trucker or broker, get insurance involved. If nothing else it will probably shake up the other parties.

#5 Auto transport shipping is a goddam mess fraught with unscrupulous business practices and sketchy people. Customer beware.