What did your Long distance move cost (rental, truck, furniture)

[slapshot1959]

We just finished a move this past weekend.


Wasn't a great experience, and can detail this later because am currently in negotiations with the mover for partial refund so won't name names.


As far as cost, hired them through the app Moved. They act as a kind of go between them and yourself. You fill out the questionnaire, listing your inventory, how many boxes, (the hardest part) etc.


Then they submit it and you'll get a few quotes. Quotes ranged from 4600 to 6800.



Compared the cost of them doing it or us driving a truck,insurance, fuel, towing our BMW (wasnt allowed) hiring some moving help both locations etc. and cost was not that much more, so decided to go for it.


Paid just shy of 5k, from suburban Chicago to SW FL, Naples. Took 3 days to get there. 26' truck for a 2 bdrm apt and we had a lot of boxes, about 100. Initially told them 60, but they didnt charge more for them.


However there were myriad other issues with them which made the experience miserable.

[katie45]

I have a 600 sq 1 bed apt, not a lot of furniture plus around 16 boxes. When speaking with a moving company rep he was forthright in letting me know that "if" I opted to hire a moving company to be aware that because of the small load and distance it could play out as:

1. My items being placed in a local warehouse until such time a truck with more items will be headed in the same direction (could be a week, could be up to 4 weeks or more, no guarantees).

2. Once the items are place on the truck they are separated by 'retaining walls' from other's furnishings and therefore if mine are located at the front of the trailer they would be the last to be delivered - therefore consider the possibility of extra delays.

3. The drivers would more than likely be switched out during the drive and the initial moving company will not guarantee the credibility of any new replacements.

4. The initial quote for the weight cost may differ once the items reach the destination and the added cost is required on the spot or my belongings would not be unloaded.

Pretty scary scenarios for a 'senior' lady attempting to do all of this on my own, and wondering if they will see me as an easy target from the get-go.

[meo92953]

Mine was pretty miserable. My new dresser was badly damaged. Part of the reason I went with moving things as opposed to selling my furniture was because a lot of it was new. I'm also disabled, back surgery and a bad leg so knew I wouldn't be able to do a lot by myself.

I went with a company that was a go between moving companies. One of those that coordinated moved with various companies. They were the cheapest and it cost just shy of $2000 to move from Minnesota to Arizona.

There was a 'chance' that it could possibly take 30 days. You guessed it. It was 29 days, my dresser was ruined, my bakers rack was taken apart and some hardware was missing to put it together. My desk was taken apart and I didn't get it out together again until my nephew came to visit.

If I knew they were going to do that I would have sold the desk and taken apart the bakers rack myself.

It was such a hassle.

I would have still had movers but would have chosen other ones. I knew nothing about moving a great distance though. Any other time I moved, friends and family helped.

Live and learn.

I don't plan on moving again but if I do it wouldn't be as far, I do plan on staying in Arizona but I haven't explored much of the state. If I ever moved I would hire a local mover. More than likely I'll stay where I am. I like my apartment, the complex and the area.

[JaxRhapsody]

Originally Posted by BrianGC

I moved from Loretto TN to Greensboro NC (about 550 miles) last October. I got a quote from Two Men & a Truck to load at origin, drive the truck, and unload at destination: over $5500-5800 depending on the insurance coverage. Already having a substantially cheaper Uhaul estimate in hand to drive the stuff myself, I said "screw that" to the full service moving option. What I actually ended up paying:

20ft Uhaul truck + trailer for my car + insurance: $930
Gas to drive it myself: $180-200
Paying a moving company to send 2 guys out to load the truck at origin: about $120 (2 hours of labor)
Paying a moving company to send 2 guys out to unload the truck at destination: about $200 (3 hours of labor due to being a 3rd floor apartment)

So, just shy of $1500 total. Saved over $4k and the main thing I had to do was drive the truck myself. Keep in mind, we didn't have a whole lot of stuff and most of our furniture is very simple/easily maneuvered . We've even gotten rid of a lot more things since then.

Yeah... don't use them. They treat their employees like spit. I just got fired from them in september for something that wasn't even my fault. You'll find nothing but(at least as far as former employee) mostly bad reviews.

[Ted Bear]

So, what did we learn?


Don't deal with intermediaries, and don't deal with Billy Bob-- Moving. Lawn Care, and Carpentry.


You want to move? You call a moving company. Directly. The majors are listed on line in your area. They send a guy out to estimate your move. Once you pick the mover, you sign a contract and pay a deposit. When your stuff is moved and in place to your satisfaction, you pay the balance due. Any deviation from this methodology is a red flag.


Be smart. It is not that difficult. And real movers cost money, just like real painters and real roofers. Can u do it yourself? Sure. But like with the other disciplines, you get amateur results. I mean, how difficult can it be to paint a 12' ceiling or carry a hide a bed up three flights of stairs without putting a scratch on the bed or the wall...

[JonathanLB]

I got a quote for $7,500 roughly from a large moving company for an 850 mile move or something like that. Seemed reasonable to me. Actual quote will be based on actual weight, but I was just hoping for under $10K so if it's short of that I'm satisfied.

[irman]

Since you only asked the cost for a long distance move but did not specify the USA only or worldwide, our moves (twice) internationally from the USA (California to Europe and back, 80's and 90's) was roughly 28,000 USD the first time to Germany and back and 6 years later again to Switzerland was 34,000 USD. Give or take a few dollars here and there. We also paid each worker present at the move a nice sum of money for their work!
Possible since the company paid for the move so we had very little cost ourselves ...

This was for the whole household and included two cars.

Interesting is that going to Europe they figure cost by weight, but coming back from Europe they figure volume.

The movers did everything (packing and unpacking) except for very personal items such as some clothes and personal paperwork.
You should NEVER have the movers pack personal papers!!
The movers also took care of all the import and export paperwork. So if you ever move internationally, use an international moving company!!

Also, interesting/surprising, was the fact that the movers in Germany were the same people who moved us in Switzerland! Since we also used the same moving company in the USA (they are the same in Europe) the movers in the USA were again the same people. They were based in Northern Germany!

Keep in mind if you do a full-scale move where the movers do everything, they will pack everything including your "trash".

Locally, in the USA, we have always done it ourselves, with a lot of help of family neighbours.
we just rented covered trailers and we (some neighbours, family and us) hauled the trailers with our trucks.
The longest move in the USA was California to Utah ... Since the 'helpers' were good friends, our cost for "them" was the gasoline, the motel cost and food.

We have often moved within a few miles (same area - So. California), and that was done by umpteen trips with a trailer we had ... Friends, where we lived helped with loading and friends in the new area, helped unloading!

[ringler24]

Eastern PA to Phoenix. I think it was about $7500 for Pack Rat. We used 2 16 foot containers. We had movers pack us and move everything into the containers and had our cars shipped. I think it came to about $12k total.

[bensmith12]

Hi,
Moving is a very stressful task and moving cost varies from state to state in the US.
I paid $1 per pound for moving Idaho from SoCal.
Thanks.

[JonathanLB]

Oh wow, I was quoted 59 cents per pound Portland to Las Vegas.