Man.... U-Haul is such a steaming pile of CRAP.

aphex

Moderator<br>All Things Apple
Moderator
Jul 19, 2001
38,572
2
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So im down here in south florida helping my girlfriend move into a new apartment over on the west coast of florida...

We go over to the local U-Haul to pick up the 14-foot truck we reserved last week. We walk in to the store and overhear the manager telling a insanely preverted joke to his workers while they cursed up a storm about how nasty it was. Anyway, we walk up to him and tell him we had a reservation. First thing is says is... Good thing you guys got here when ya did, we got another guy who reserved that truck to go to Orlando and you made it in first. We should have walked away that moment....

20 minutes later after dealing with the idiot store manager (who basically refused to speak to my girlfriend about the truck and only to me, even though she was renting it) and his utter jackass lackees (most of whom had more gold in their teeth than actual teeth) we left in the truck....

About 3-4 miles (5-10 minutes) after we left the U-Haul store, i see my girlfriend make a VERY wide left turn without the blinker on... Im wondering what she could be doing.... Turns out the freakin truck died, 10 minutes after we picked it up. So we call the idiot store manager from the location we just rented the truck from and he rudely says "I cant help ya... Heres a 800 number" and hangs up.

2 hours later the truck a mechanic showed up and we were on our way....

This is the LAST time i ever use that flaming pile of terd to move. Their trucks smell like crap, run like crap, break down all the time (my friend Brian had his U-Haul die on I-95 one day), and their employees are rude and obnoxious.

Just a FYI, if your moving... DO NOT USE U-HAUL!

P.S. - Penske trucks always seem brand new, so i tend to try and use them whenever i need em. For some reason though, Penske wanted to charge $799 for a one-way rental, whereas U-Haul only charged us $160.
 

guyver01

Lifer
Sep 25, 2000
22,135
5
61
Originally posted by: aphex
For some reason though, Penske wanted to charge $799 for a one-way rental, whereas U-Haul only charged us $160.

you get what you pay for i guess..

sorry to hear about the trouble ya had.


 

aphex

Moderator<br>All Things Apple
Moderator
Jul 19, 2001
38,572
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Originally posted by: guyver01
Originally posted by: aphex
For some reason though, Penske wanted to charge $799 for a one-way rental, whereas U-Haul only charged us $160.

you get what you pay for i guess..

sorry to hear about the trouble ya had.

Agreed, but $799 to move it yourself seemed a tad on the steep side :)
 

Freejack2

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2000
7,751
8
91
Uhaul sucks. I rented one in 2001 to move into our current apartment. The thing was an ancient truck with manual transmission. The blinkers and and the a/c didn't work. What a hunk of junk.
 

aphex

Moderator<br>All Things Apple
Moderator
Jul 19, 2001
38,572
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Originally posted by: her209
I like to use my own truck.

You got a truck big enough to fit 2 couches, 3 dressers, 1 kitchen table, 4 chairs, a king size bed, and loads of clothes?
 

pyonir

Lifer
Dec 18, 2001
40,856
321
126
ryder worked good for us too. I've heard nothing but bad things about u-haul.
 

her209

No Lifer
Oct 11, 2000
56,336
11
0
Originally posted by: aphex
Originally posted by: her209
I like to use my own truck.
You got a truck big enough to fit 2 couches, 3 dressers, 1 kitchen table, 4 chairs, a king size bed, and loads of clothes?
Yes, its called, friends with trucks.
 

Demon-Xanth

Lifer
Feb 15, 2000
20,551
2
81
We moved my grandma up with a Uhaul truck, and my aunt down with a Ryder. The U Haul truck had a lower deck, but the truck wasn't in very good condition and the suspension was very loose. It got something like 4MPG over the course of a 600 mile trip (about 120-150 gallons of gas). The Ryder was a 24' on an International chassis, diesel. Handled great. Everything worked. Climbed hills better, and was very comfortable. It got about 14MPG along the same route (plus a bit of extra windy highway). So it used about 100 gallons less of gas. I don't know what the rates for the trucks were, but the $150 in gas probably would've covered the difference. Diesel trucks own.
 

SSP

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
17,727
0
0
Maybe it was our luck then that they were closed. We used Bristol instead and the trucks were nice and clean.
 

BillGates

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2001
7,388
2
81
That's weird -- I moved a month ago and also got a U-Haul. I had to wait in line for 10 minutes, and watched what was happening.....

A woman got to the counter to get her truck rental and the clerk guy is like "I'm sorry? Somebody just called about 10 minutes ago and cancelled the truck...said they didn't need it anymore." The chick was like WTF, that can't be possible, but the guy insisted. After she was about ready to leave he says he's kidding and starts cracking up. WTF!

So another 5 minutes and it's my turn, same clerk - he had to see me standing 2 people behind the woman. Dude pulls the same thing on me, saying some guy called and cancelled it. I was like, nope, it's just my girlfriend and I, and I didn't cancel it. He tried looking up my info and he says "oh yeah, an Erika called (my girlfriend's name) and cancelled it" "Nope, sorry, we didn't cancel" Finally he gives in and says he's joking and that it makes his day fun. Some customer service, huh?

We got a 28' truck for an in-town move and had the thing filled front to back. Our packing wasn't super dense but we have a lot of crap nonetheless. The truck was an old piece of crap but it did the trick for us - though I don't think I'd ever want to take it out of town. What an adventure. (ours only cost $80 for the whole day!)

I think I'll pay the extra bucks and get a Penske or Ryder next time around.
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
126
Rented a Uhaul 3 years ago. Horn broke on it and stayed on. Had to cut the cord running to it from the battery to shut it off.

Rented one last weekend. Speedometer died halfway through the 90 mile trip. Never did come back on. Then when we shut it off to unload, we couldn't get it started back up. Had to damn near flood the thing to get it started back up.

FU-Haul. Won't be using them again. Ever.
 
Jul 12, 2001
10,142
2
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rented a uhaul moving in baltimore and it was fine for the first 20 minutes...then it would stall out every couple of blocks!! and wouldnt start for a couple minutes...

not fun having a truck do this in the middle of baltimore...

anyways i brought it back and the guy started yelling, "there is no way it could be broken, it just came back from the shop this morning! You just don't know how to drive it!" (it was an automatic)

so he gets in the truck and its parked on a very slight hill in the parking lot. He puts it in reverse, presses the gas and the truck starts to roll forward.

he then says, "hmm guess you want a different truck then?"
 

amnesiac

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
15,781
1
71
Originally posted by: her209
Originally posted by: aphex
Originally posted by: her209
I like to use my own truck.
You got a truck big enough to fit 2 couches, 3 dressers, 1 kitchen table, 4 chairs, a king size bed, and loads of clothes?
Yes, its called, friends with trucks.

So you have 4 friends with trucks that would be willing to move you hundreds of miles? Nice.
 
Feb 24, 2001
14,513
4
81
Rented one of those things you tow behind a truck to put hunting stuff in for a bunch of guys on a hunting trip. Big ass sticker on back said "MAX SPEED 35MPH"

We drove that little piece of tin just under 80 for about 9 hours, from Texas to Kansas.

It was behind a Tahoe; so short that you couldn't see it in the rearview, and too narrow to see it in the side mirrors. Just had to assume it was still back there as we cruised down interstate :D
 

SyahM

Golden Member
Nov 6, 2001
1,788
0
0
not a suprise for me, one of my friend is U-Haul assistant store manager and he told me that from training, their motto is "we dont care about customer service since we are the biggest moving company"

sorry to hear your story ... better luck next time.
 

Demon-Xanth

Lifer
Feb 15, 2000
20,551
2
81
Originally posted by: amnesiac
Originally posted by: her209
Originally posted by: aphex
Originally posted by: her209
I like to use my own truck.
You got a truck big enough to fit 2 couches, 3 dressers, 1 kitchen table, 4 chairs, a king size bed, and loads of clothes?
Yes, its called, friends with trucks.

So you have 4 friends with trucks that would be willing to move you hundreds of miles? Nice.

Actually, I do.

Dad, Uncle, Brother in law, me. (all Dodge's, mine's the only one not a Cummins) For a few beers and the cost of gas, I could probably get a few more friends and another uncle to go for it. (they have Ford Power Strokes).
 

KeyserSoze

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 2000
6,048
1
81
Originally posted by: optoman
If you have an actual quote from U-Haul, Penske will match it.


Hey thanx, that's good information. Cuz seems like U-Haul sux these days.





KeyserSoze
 

Windogg

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
10,241
0
0
I rented a UHaul to move one. All the modern conveniences:

Anti-Stop Brakes
0 - 60MPH in 7.2 minutes
Racing slicks (No nasty treads on those bad boys)
Oil light to tell us there was oil (Hey why else would it stay lit?)
No distraction from the dead radio
Aerodynamic kit (one window didn't roll down and the other only rolled down part way)
Olfactory activated gas gauge (If you stopped smelling the gas fumes, time to fill up.)