Advice in a moving Truck rental company?

[redfishsc]

We are moving soon, from one end of SC to the other end of NC, several hundred miles.

We will be renting a 22-26' box truck, but aren't sure who to go with.

We will ABSOLUTELY NOT go with Budget/Ryder (same co.) due to the DECREPID exprience we had with them a few years back, I can't begin to tell you how cheesed I still get at their pathetic customer service . The truck didn't break down, but I assure you that the brakes, steering, and motor were the ONLY things that worked-- no turn signals, no dashboard gauges, NO door locks, they were ALL malfunctioning--- lol, the Odometer said I went 25 miles from Charlotte NC to Charleston SC, I wish!).


Anyhow, I believe our area limits us (once Budget/Ryder are flushed into the appropriate drainage pipe) to Penske or U-Haul.

The Penske is $240, the U-haul is $160.


What would you do?

 

[53Jim]

I've rented from both in the past. I preferr U-Haul. The truck I rented was a good running unit, although kinda old. It appeared to have been maintained pretty good - everything that was supposed to move moved, everything that was supposed to spin spun. Get the idea??

I choose U-Haul, but than again, I'm not coming from Wisconsin to help, so it's your choice.

 

[low_48]

I've had trouble with both Ryder and U-Haul. I loaded up a custom sound enclosure for a 6 hour trip from my shop. Hit the highway on time, the truck would not get over 50mph. Had to find another truck, reload the system, and get on the road very late. U-Haul was rented me a truck that I found out they knew was defective. I was stranded in the city 3 times before it quit all together. They were generous enough to give me half off the rental price. I'll definitely never use U-Haul again. Ryder -maybe.

 

[angboy]

If you want one of those websites that gives you too much info, meaning too many details to the point that you get overwhelmed, then go to movingscam.com. Especially if you're looking at any smaller companies, they will have someone who's used the company. From my use of their site, it seems that everybody loves ABF- they're probably the highest rated of all. I just moved about 2 months ago, and used Penske. Unlike the other self-move ones like Ryder, UHaul, they do guarantee that they'll have a truck for you, or they'll find one for you that's the same size or bigger. If you really grill someone at a place like U-Haul, you'll find out that a guaranteed reservation doesn't mean a guaranteed reservation to them. It means they may give you a smaller truck, or a truck the next day, even though you know your stuff won't fit in a smaller truck.

After having made several do-it-yourself moves, I'd take Penske anyday over U-Haul, even if it cost more. My Penske was actually cheaper than U-Haul though. They give a 10% discount I think it is if you book online, and they also have a AAA discount that I think is 15%. And I know that Penske will adjust the price if the rate changes between when you make the reservation and your actual date, so I checked their site every 2 days or so and at one point it did go down so I got the rate lowered, then it went back up, but it was definitely worth a quick 2 minute check each day to see if it had gone down.

 

[Monty]

Contact Marc Phillips, he posts here sometimes. He's an area manager (or whatever) for U-Haul. He may be able to give you some tips for using U-Haul.

 

[redfishsc]

Thanks for the advice all.

I'm leaning strongly toward Penske and probably putting way too much stress into the issue.

Monty, I will contact him. Thanks for the advice!

 

[alamocdc]

Fish, I've used Penske once and U-Haul over a dozen times. Yes, I've moved a lot. Never had a problem w/U-Haul. No problem w/Penske either, but loading and unloading was more difficult b/c the bed sits higher. U-Haul trucks are nice and low. But this is like anything else. I know folks that have never had bad luck w/Fords, but I've never had one I could keep out of the shop.

 

[redfishsc]

Hmmmmm, so does that mean don't let U-haul rent me a Ford[].

I've rarely had any serious trouble out of either Chevy or Ford trucks, but cars...... a different storys. I would'nt touch a car from FORD or CHEVY with 10 ft pole (other than the Cavalier we're currently stuck with). Build quality is way crappier than Toyota and Honda. Our Cavy doesn't break down much (but does break down), but the interior is falling completely apart and small widgets in the engine keep crapping out (the fan, fuel pump, ie, everything aggrivating). Next car will be a Camry.

 

[Dario]

I've used U-Haul numerous times and never had any problems so far. Can't comment on others because I've never used them.

 

[melogic]

I'm a Penske man! I've moved from Wisconsin to Virginia and from Virginia to Ohio all using Penske with my AAA discount and online discount as Angela suggested. One more thing to remember about Penske......UNLIMITED MILEAGE on one-way rentals! They use to do this, I think they still offer it? They also guarantee a truck not older that 2 or 3 years old I think, when moving long distances.