I Still Cannot Believe This Truck Did Not Kill Us!- Renting a U-Haul
Written: Jul 13 '00 (Updated May 24 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Not all trucks can be as bad as ours was
Cons: Ours was pretty bad - and what kind of moving company DOESN'T have moving trucks?!
The Bottom Line: How this truck passed inspection is BEYOND me!
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| KMINER's Full Review: U-Haul |
It has been a little over a month since we moved, and I finally feel like I am calm enough to tell about our experience. This is the first time we have moved on our own, the last time we had a moving service do it for us (paid by my husband's employer, and believe me, it was heaven).
First, let me say, I am not going to say that I recommend or not recommend U-Haul to anyone. We only has this one experience, and though it was pretty horrible, I am certain (well, hoping) that not every part of this company is this bad.
We bought our first house in May and needed to move all of 3 miles to our new home. However, since we needed to move all of our furniture, we needed to rent a truck. We decided we would do the work ourselves, between my husband, my brother, my mom, and I. About a week before we needed the truck (we needed it for a Saturday and I started calling on Monday) I started calling rental truck companies.
My first complaint is that NONE of the companies had trucks, knew where to get trucks, had seen a truck in 2 weeks, and basically laughed at me (we called U-Haul, Ryder, and Peneske - all "known" companies). Keep in mind we do not live in a tiny town -- it's not huge like Atlanta, but is a good size town. I am a bit concerned with a company/companies that say when we call "Good Luck, we haven't had a truck here in weeks!". In learning about moving trucks, I learned that many are located within gas stations and the like so that renting moving trucks is not their "primary" business. However, I had assumed that since they were listing trucks for rent, there would actually be some trucks on the lot. Most told me that they only received trucks if someone re-located to the area and left a truck there. They suggested we could call back on Thursday to "see" if anyone was bringing trucks in by chance that weekend ... ok, so basically I learned there that it does not seem to pay to call ahead.
I try calling around all day and finally attempt the 1-800 number for each company (you can call their 800 numbers and get someone to search around for you for trucks within a certain radius of where you live). Finally, on Wednesday night we found a U-Haul in a neighboring town where I happen to work (about a 30 mile drive, one-way) that had a big truck. However, they informed me that we could only rent it Saturday at 5 pm until Sunday morning at 9 am. Well, I thought about it, and thought about telling them where to go (after all, who wants to move in the dead of the night) ... but quickly realized that I was not in a position to argue. The U-Haul lady also informed us that we had to return the truck back to that town and could not simply bring the truck to our local U-Haul - in effect that it was not an option to do a One-Way rental like it says on their trucks.
Plus I have to come today to put down an $80 deposit to reserve the truck. This will cover the rental and anticipated mileage - about 65 miles since we have to drive the truck to our town and back. I make a trip, leave the money, collect the receipt, and we are set. Then, the fun begins...
Saturday late afternoon my husband and brother go get the truck. My first warning of a problem was when I could literally hear the truck about a mile down the road coming towards the house. This thing, this monster pulls in our driveway, and out step my husband and brother, laughing but looking awfully pale. The truck is from Michigan, has not been inspected in 2 years, is a standard, emits black smoke, ungodly heat keeps flying up from the floorboard on the driver's side, they have to push it or get it on an incline to get it started and going, and the truck keeps stalling every time they stop at a light. I can see that they both want to say more, but at this point, we have to move now.
I don't want to go near the thing, but somehow we get it all loaded (takes about 3 hours). 3 miles to the new house, quick stop for take-out Chinese, and we are unloading. We unload until 2 am, and pass out on whatever mattress we can all find.
My husband and brother get up at 7 am (in order to give them 2 hours to try and get the truck the 30 miles back to the town). My mother and I sit and wait, hoping they return. At 11 am they pull in the drive. They tell us stories about how they had to keep pulling over, trying to get the truck re-started, trying to let the truck cool down, and I am certain a number of other facts that they are leaving out of the story since they keep looking at each other and laughing that sort of nervous laugh people sometimes get.
I am just glad they are home. Since no one was at U-Haul at 9 am Sunday morning, there was no one to talk to. I suppose we could have called and complained, but with the move and the new baby, we sort of forgot about it, until the other day when a co-worker asked about finding a truck to move.
Hopefully, we will never move again ... but should we need to, I am using these tips:
1. Call and keep calling in advance. It may not make a difference except to give me peace of mind, but we may be able to "hold" a better truck.
2. Rent the truck at a time when, should there be a problem, we could have talked with the company.
3. Try and schedule a move so there is not just 1 possible day we can use truck. This will hopefully give us more chances for a better vehicle and better service.
4. Find a One-Way truck and save about $30 in mileage.
5. Complain more vocally when a problem occurs.
6. Save our pennies so we can hire someone to do all of this for us. *The best idea yet* :o)
Do I recommend U-Haul? Sure. I am intelligent enough to know not every truck is like the one we rented (at least, I'd hope so, or they would not have stayed in business). I had read other reviews on here, and know some people have rented very nice trucks, so I know that it was our specific truck that was the problem. Still, I have some reservations about a company that would put the safety of others in question by renting out such a crappy piece of equipment.
So I guess you have to make your own judgements - just like we will have to make ours should we ever need to move again. Can I say that U-Haul will be the first place we will call? Probably not. Just to be safe.
A more positive moving experience - Penske - Proof That Moving CAN Be A Positive Experience!
Recommended:
No
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