[galenc1]

Hi all,
Well, we're starting to get quotes for moving to LV, and I can't believe how much it costs to move "next door" from California . I'm sure you've all heard nightmare stories about moving companies , so if any of you have had a great experience with a moving company, I'd appreciate feedback. I don't necessarily want to hear about the bad ones, just the good ones please. Thanks in advance.

Galen

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by galenc1

Hi all,
Well, we're starting to get quotes for moving to LV, and I can't believe how much it costs to move "next door" from California . I'm sure you've all heard nightmare stories about moving companies , so if any of you have had a great experience with a moving company, I'd appreciate feedback. I don't necessarily want to hear about the bad ones, just the good ones please. Thanks in advance.

I moved four years ago. In my research, I learned that there are four ways to go about it:

1) Break out the big checkbook. Pay the big money. Don't lift a finger.

2) Go with a budget mover, lose half your stuff to damage/outright theft, never go that route again.

3) Go with a U-Pack/We-Haul outfit like Pods or Broadway Express. Get a bunch of friends, do a lot of work (at BOTH ends) but don't have to drive. (This is the route we took.)

4) U-Haul/Budget/Penske -- do it all yourself. Not always as cheap as #3. Make sure you call a few U-Pack/We-Hauls before renting a truck.

[TPC2]

Originally Posted by galenc1

Hi all,
Well, we're starting to get quotes for moving to LV, and I can't believe how much it costs to move "next door" from California . I'm sure you've all heard nightmare stories about moving companies , so if any of you have had a great experience with a moving company, I'd appreciate feedback. I don't necessarily want to hear about the bad ones, just the good ones please. Thanks in advance.

Galen

We moved to Vegas from NY state this past April and used Atlas Van Lines - totally recommend them. No lies, no surprises.. They were prompt on both ends of the move, professional, friendly, nothing broken. I forget what they call it, but they have a guarantee that the price you end up paying will not be more than their estimate (providing you don't add a bunch of stuff that wasn't included in the estimate of course) and if the wieght ends up lower than the estimate you pay the lower price. If we ever move again we will use Atlas for sure.

[dynimagelv]

Originally Posted by TPC2

We moved to Vegas from NY state this past April and used Atlas Van Lines - totally recommend them. No lies, no surprises.. They were prompt on both ends of the move, professional, friendly, nothing broken. I forget what they call it, but they have a guarantee that the price you end up paying will not be more than their estimate (providing you don't add a bunch of stuff that wasn't included in the estimate of course) and if the wieght ends up lower than the estimate you pay the lower price. If we ever move again we will use Atlas for sure.

2ndxwifewhatzername and I used Atlas when we escaped from the Penal Colony NJ...[25 years ago] we also had ZERO complaints....they came out to estimate...came back 3 days later with a truck that already had one clients stuff on board....when they finished packing it...they had one small box left over that wouldnt fit in the truck so the driver put in the cab with him....EVERYthing came thru PERFECT [including the scrambled eggs my wife had left on the stove from the mornings breakfast.]

[von949]

I use the company GuyshangingoutinfrontofHomeDepot to move. No compaints yet.

[LinkFromSoCal]

I'd recommend renting a U-Haul and hiring some movers in CA and LV to load and unload. That's what my family did when we moved here in June, and we saved a lot. Using a singular moving company to handle the whole thing would have cost over twice as much.

[MediocreButArrogant]

Originally Posted by LinkFromSoCal

I'd recommend renting a U-Haul and hiring some movers in CA and LV to load and unload. That's what my family did when we moved here in June, and we saved a lot. Using a singular moving company to handle the whole thing would have cost over twice as much.

That's what we did when we moved the contents of my girlfriend's apartment from LA to Las Vegas for the summer, except we used a Penske truck. The people we hired to load and unload in LA and here were polite, hard working, professional, and very inexpensive to hire. The guy who loaded the truck in LA was $18/hr x 4hrs + $20 tip, to unload it was 2 guys x 2hrs x $30/hr plus $40 tip. We found them thru the site U-Haul runs, movinghelp.com.

[galenc1]

Those are all great ideas, thanks , but I'm in my early sixties, with a large house and a wife who doesn't like to let go of anything, so the thought of moving it myself, even with the help of cronies, doesn't excite me. The Pods idea isn't a bad one, though. I'm waiting for a couple more quotes before deciding which way to go, but thanks for the positive comments on Atlas as well. I'll check back and let you know what happened.

Galen

[SportyandMisty]

A couple things.

There are two types of moves: Intra-state (within California) and Inter-state (from California to Nevada, for example). The laws governing these two types of moves are very different; so even your experience with a specific mover on intra-state may be different than inter-state. Inter-state moving is regulated by the Federal Government. Intra-state moving is not regulated by the Federal Government; it is regulated by the state government, which in general doesn't do as good a job.

2nd: All the majors such as Allied & United & Bekins & Atlas & Mayflower etc are just networks. If you hire the local United Van Lines mover, you are NOT hiring United Van Lines. You are hiring the "XYZ moving company, agent for United Van Lines." Each local mover is a franchise (called an agent in their business). Because of this, you can't rely on my experience using "United Van Lines" from, say, Palo Alto CA to Las Vegas if you are going from LA to Las Vegas, because your local United Van Lines franchise agent is a different company than mine, even if both use the United Van Lines logo.

But wait - it gets worse. Allied Van Lines or United Van Lines are just networks that license their logo. They don't have warehouses & trucks & movers; they have office buildings with desks and lawyers. Similarly, when you hire "XYZ moving company, agent for United Van Lines", you'd expect XYZ moving company operating under the rules of United Van Lines to move you.

You'd be wrong.

Here's what happens (most of the time but not all of the time): XYZ moving company, agent for United Van Lines, doesn't own trucks. They don't have employees who pack or put boxes onto trucks. They have a warehouse. They have accounts receivable clerks. The actual person who knocks on your door is "Bill Smith, independent owner-operator for XYZ moving company."

So Bill Smith, an independent company, actually moves your stuff.

But wait. It gets worse.

Bill might or might not have employees. Maybe he owns a truck & trailer and a bunch of T-Shirts that say "United Van Lines", goes to Home Depot & hires day laborers & tells them "put on this T-Shirt".

Yes, it is that bad.

So what can you do?

The Better Business Bureau is your best friend. Go to the BBB website for where you currently live, and examine the reports about the moving companies. In general, only hire a company that has been in business for at least 5 years and who has no complaints.

The next thing is do not sign a contract where they charge you by weight. They can do lots of things to cheat you - like weigh the truck empty with the fuel tanks empty, load up your stuff & then go fill the fuel tanks - so you're paying for the weight of fuel. They have more ways to cheat you than you know.

So instead, pay by mileage.

Moreover, you can get the best deals from a mover if you move mid-December to early January. That is their slow season. So they will all negotiate with you on price if you plan to move then (or over Thanksgiving).

In my case, by weight, I would have owed something like almost triple what I actually paid. (The by-weight rate is regulated by the Federal Government). By negotiating by mileage, I paid just over 1/3 of the by-weight price.

And they ALL negotiate.

[SportyandMisty]

One more thing.

Insurance.

If you pack yourself, don't bother purchasing any insurance from the moving company. Anything that breaks - well, they'll investigate & say "PBO" - packed by owner - and BECAUSE it is PBO, they assume you just didn't do a good job packing & they will deny the claim. You are basically f*kd and there isn't anything you can do about it.