Moving Truck - U-Haul or other?

[erose630]

A friend of mine is moving in a month and knows I look for good deals - is it possible to get discounts on U-Haul or other moving trucks?

[pastasalad]

we are in the process of looking for a moving truck also-I found this coupon code for Budget

coupon code of FASTB and get 25% also this link shows how to get 20% off on certain days

http://www.budget.com/budgetWeb/html/en/deals/truck.html

 

in all my searching u-haul has been the most exspensive my cousin has AAA and she can get a discount on penske but budget is till a better deal with the code

 

HTH

[erose630]

Thanks!

[AcLaramie]

I don't know how far the move is, but I know when my mom moved cross country a couple of years ago, she found it was significantly cheaper to rent space from a semi truck shipping company. They come and drop off the trailer, you fill it, they haul it and then drop off the trailer and you have a couple of days to empty it. You pay for what space you use and then you don;t have to drive that truck!

[pastasalad]

who do you contact or how do i find out info on this?

[KiriJoan]

U-Haul will price match. When I moved the price was just about the same between U-Haul and Budget, but Budget let me keep the truck for 2 extra days and gave me 30 more miles. When I called up U-Haul and told them that, the guy was quick to reduce the price and give me the same benefits, plus U-Haul's truck was a little bigger. So I got a bigger truck, 3 days total, 30 extra miles, and $34 off what U-Haul originally quoted me.

 

Moral of the story: Pick the company that has the best pick-up/drop-off locations. I really wanted U-Haul because it had a drop off point across the street from my new place, where as Budget was almost 20 minutes away. You can probably get any company to come down in price with the threat of going somewhere else with these moving trucks.

[VTmommy]

Silly question: Does the reservation need to be in the name of the person who will actually be driving the truck? I just made some reservations, but my DH will be the actual driver of the big truck.

 

I will be trying out this price matching strategy to see how things work! Will report back. As of now here's the run down of the quotes (all one way):

U-haul -- $180 (26' truck, 2 days use + 149 free miles included)

Budget -- $148.10 using coupon code MVG12 (24' truck, 2 days, 123 free miles included + 47 extra miles at $0.60/mile)

Penske -- $153.12 with web discount but not AAA discount as I am not a member (26' truck, 1 day, unlimited miles)

 

U-Haul and Budget both have local (within 15 minutes) pick up & drop off locations available. Penske is a good hour and a half away from our preferred 1st stop for pick up and an hour away for drop off. Plus it is only 1 day rental. Unlimited miles is nice, as we have multiple stops to make en route where stuff is stored, but it will take extra time and effort to pick up and drop off Penske truck so much less convenient than other 2.

 

One thing to note, as I was pricing things last month but had not committed...Penske, when the reservation was not completed, called back a few days later to say that "their rates had dropped" and that they would be willing to meet and possibly beat any quotes from other companies. So don't settle for the online quoted price -- they will likely come down an additional amount for you.

[AcLaramie]

who do you contact or how do i find out info on this?

I found it searching online for shippers.

[krhellyer]

I wouldn't use Uhaul no matter how cheap they dropped their price. I've used them 3 different times and every time was given Trucks/trailers that were dented, dirty, and didn't look like they would take me where I needed to go. I always had to clean them out before I could get my stuff in too. Fortunately they didn't brake down on me! Also, all of the Uhaul rental places have been trashy and the customer service has been bad. I've used Budet and Penske and have gotten nice trucks that are well maintained and have had outstanding customer service.

 

I'll never use Uhaul again.

[davephillyj]

We also may be relocating from north AL to North FL. I need something that has one way on it as we will be going 320 miles away. Moving from zip 35016 to 32535. I haven't found anything that has one way to that location other than U=haul. Any help?

[kmbrly]

We also may be relocating from north AL to North FL. I need something that has one way on it as we will be going 320 miles away. Moving from zip 35016 to 32535. I haven't found anything that has one way to that location other than U=haul. Any help?

I checked Penske, and used the zipcodes you provided. You didn't mention a date, so I just put in June 23 and it came up with:

 

Picking up in Boaz, AL

Dropping off in Pace, FL

 

12 or 16 ft truck- $287

22 or 26 ft truck- $314

 

 

Just a note on moving into Florida. When doing my research before my move, I found that with any moving company (self moving- Penske, Uhaul or Budget), it is MUCH cheaper renting a truck and moving into the state of Florida. Double, or at one point it was almost 4x-8x the price to rent a truck and move OUT of Florida. Reason for this is there is such a shortage of these trucks in the state of Florida (because everyone is leaving). They were renting so cheap, just to get the trucks into Florida.

 

Example: I looked at a a 16ft truck, from West Palm Beach to Charlotte with Penske- $874

I used the exact same dates, in reverse order, from Charlotte to West Palm Beach-- $71 (SEVENTY ONE DOLLARS)! I called and asked what the crap was up with that, and they told me the reason above. They needed to get the trucks into Florida.

[StephanieD]

I wouldn't use Uhaul no matter how cheap they dropped their price. I've used them 3 different times and every time was given Trucks/trailers that were dented, dirty, and didn't look like they would take me where I needed to go. I always had to clean them out before I could get my stuff in too. Fortunately they didn't brake down on me! Also, all of the Uhaul rental places have been trashy and the customer service has been bad. I've used Budet and Penske and have gotten nice trucks that are well maintained and have had outstanding customer service.

 

I'll never use Uhaul again.

I agree with this. Before my husband and I were married he and his mother were moving from California to Louisiana and the truck broke down. Uhaul had to come out and transfer all of their stuff to a new truck and then the NEW truck broke down. Uhaul came and transferred their stuff to a new truck and then THAT truck broke down. They went through four trucks b/c three of the trucks broke down. They gave them a refund, but who wants to go through that hassle.

 

I agree in that Penske and Budget are the better choices. Uhaul has gone downhill in my opinion.

[labnpei]

my brother used uhaul to move from illinois to arkansas-no problems at all. just my 2 cents worth

[davephillyj]

I have only moved twice, and used uhaul both times. No problems except the price LOL!

[elmyya]

Thanks!

thanks

[Cheri17]

Just so you know,please be careful if you hire a company to move you. A friend of mine moved from ma. to Florida and lost everything.They changed the price on her and held her stuff hostage.They were older and didnt have that kind of money .The company sold all their stuff.They have been on the news up here.It seems these guys just change their names and move to another state.The attny.general here issued a warrent for them as they found a lot of people who were scammed this way.

On a lighter note,what about a pod.They bring it to you ,you fill it up,they pick it up and deliver it.

anyhow good luck with the move....

[davephillyj]

I thought about PODS and others like them, but it would take 2 of them and they are minimum of $1800 each that I found. I didn't see till now that Penske has unlimited miles. That's a plus! It's $50 each additional day you keep it, too.

[VTmommy]

I thought about PODS and others like them, but it would take 2 of them and they are minimum of $1800 each that I found. I didn't see till now that Penske has unlimited miles. That's a plus! It's $50 each additional day you keep it, too.

Penske will usually call back if you don't make a reservation after getting the online quote. They will definately discount to match or beat competitors quotes! This includes getting an extra day for free. We were only moving from VT to NH and UHaul and Budget siad it needed to be a 2 day rental (not just overnight). When we talked to the Penske rep, they added an extra day for free. On the flip side, Budget also bargained with me...lowered their amount & gave unlimited miles based on Penske quote. We ended up going with Budget, even though it was a few extra bucks...but only because they had local pick up and drop off locations at each end of the trip. Penske was 1.5 hrs away from our start and 1 hr from end of route. Our time was worth more, not to mention the gas! But don't be afraid to bargain with customer service. It's definately worth it. Also, I think it was Budget that gave an extra % off for a Sun-Thurs pick up vs a Fri/Sat one so that might also help if you have any flexibility.

 

U-Haul would not bargain at all and were the most expensive (by far!) to begin with. They were quickly off our list. Hope that helps!

[davephillyj]

YES it does, thanks

[MandaJo111]

Just got an email saying you can get 20% off Sunday -- Thursday with code HOT20 for Budget Truck Rental.