Shipping cars suck, as I'm sure a lot of you know
 

I just shipped my 95 Max from Hawaii to Oregon (Boated from Hawaii to Oakland, then trucked to Ashland).My initial thoughts were of joy cuz I was getting my car back after not seeing it for a month.

Upon entering my car to take it into my house, I noticed three things:
1) The radio had been ripped off; *******s broke the dash trim (can someone give me a name to that) that goes around the radio slot.

2) Then looking at the HUD, the break light was on even thought I had disenguaged the hand break. I never heard any scraping sound and the car didnt seem to have a problem moving from a stop.

3) And last, which I dont think could have been helped anyway, the battery light was on.

So I'm going to try find a used dash trim at a junk yard, if there are any around here with Maximas.

Anyone got a solution to the break problem? I remember reading something like this before, but I cant seem to find it, my bad eye sight not helping.

Thanks for the help in advance.

i shipped my maxima from usa to new zealand and it was a nightmare, 4,850 dollars worth of stolen parts and body damage !! the company was clueless on how to do their job, and had no idea where my car was. it arrived in new zealand and sat for a month, and I had been emailing and calling for months to check on the status. eventually i found out it was down at the port and had been sitting there a month, no one even knew whos care it was ? very long story but one thing is for sure stay away from ship overseas

http://www.shipoverseas.com/

BTW, the red battery light means that the battery is completely dead, is not charging, or?

Isn't there some sort of insurance on that type of thing????? Can't the company be held responsible??

i think u gotta buy the insurance

Brake light indicates low brake fluid, check the brake fluid reservoir under the hood, it may indicate worn brake pads.

I know a lot of time when they tow a car depending on how they do it they can brake a line with their cables....happened to my car last month....The is probably what happened.

When battery and oil light is on, it's because of the battery and/or alternator.

Did you mean Battery and Brake light?

I read in the stickies that if the two lights are on (break and battery) then it could be that the ALT fuse is blown. I tried swapping it with my ALT fuse with the Air Con fuse (both are 7.5) and that didnt solve it, but it could be that my Air Con fuse is blown too cuz the Air Con doesn't get cold anymore, it just stays warm after running for 30 min.

I also got a new battery, that didnt clear the battery light either. I'm just wondering how my alternator or fuse just dies on me when I havent used it in a month. Just bad luck?

Before I replaced my battery, I had to start the car by jumping it and it would run for a few minutes and then just die, even while revving the engine. It would dip for a little then drop to about 500 RPMs hang for about 15 seconds and then die.

So if it is the alternator, how much do you guys think it is to replace it?

Also, thanks for the replies guys, greatly appreciate it!

i got lucky then. when i shipped my car from ca to pa, it arrived in the same way it left. i shipped with das.

So got a new battery and replaced the fuse, both lights are still on. Got a volt meter to test the battery, touched the terminals, the meter hovered at 12v, revved the engine and got no change. Guess the alternator went bad for some reason or another during shipping. Thanks for the replies all, greatly appreciate it.

Shipping companies can still be held liable, plase check if they are bonded and what the terms of your contract were, you may be covered. By the way did you use a broker or go direct with a shipper?

Good luck!

I'm pretty sure I don't get covered because the car was shipped in a deal with a used car lot's shipment. Thats why I did it, it was cheaper that way and I knew the owner of the lot. I will be sure to check though, thanks.

My brake light came on when my alternator was going out...

Sorry to hear of your problems, welcome to Oregon though.

Thanks, Oregon is nice, little different from Hawaii heh. I'm about 3 hours south of Portland, in Ashland... All I can say is: Shakespeare... -_-

Ashland has a kick-*** halloween party downtown too - fire up!

Your'e gonna get a full 4 seasons down in Ashland (compared to 2 in Hawaii). You going to school there?

Yups, going to Southern Oregon University here. Pretty Fun.

To keep this on topic somewhat, the alternator repair will cost about $300-$400. Not that bad, thought it would be more since it takes a little effort to take it out. The guy was pretty nice. More info later.

Many ppl claim to sell their cars and needs to ship from oversea on autotrader, and the price is usually $10-20k cheaper than market price, I don't know if it is fraud or just like ppl said here, those cars gets beat up during transit thats why its the car is cheap

I got fully reimbursed today by the shipping company (radio and alternator). It was the trucking companies fault because the freighting company reported that nothing was missing and the car had no errors but a few scratches in transit. I think the shipping company was Matson, and they do a really good job checking everything out. The trucking company however was not able to get a driver to truck it to Ashland for about a week and a half and left it on the lot by itself during that time in Oakland, and apparently where it happened.

At first, they were not even going to reimburse me for anything because they said that they still couldn’t determine who was at fault, but apparently the person I shipped it through, a friend who owns the used car lot, has lots of influence in the used car business. He made a few calls and threatened to have the business shutdown because of its dirty record and complaints from other people as well as from him. So in the end, I should be getting a check from the company within a few days for about $700.

Thanks for the comments and help guys, gotta love the org.

I'm glad that everything was worked out for you ;) Now get a used radio from the junk yard and spend that money on mods :ben: