Has anyone that reads this forum ever gone out of the way to save on a rental truck? (relocation, job)
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My lease is up at the end of the month here in the Chicago area. I have a job offer in the Charlotte area so we are moving on the 30th of this month.
I was looking at 24' and 26' rental trucks for a one way and was comparing the big 3 (uhaul, budget, and penske). All 3 of them are over 1000, with Penske being the cheapest at 1062 (with online and AAA discount), Budget was 1132 (with 25% discount), and Uhaul was 1404 (unable to find a discount). So I started looking at other options like the Upack and PODS, but they were more expensive. This is the most expensive I have ever seen a truck rental.
We lived in Nashville for several years, so I started thinking, how much is the truck rental in Nashville to Charlotte. Penske has their 26' truck from Nashville to Charlotte for $388. It does come with one less day, but still has unlimited miles. So I started to look at taking megabus or greyhound from chicago to nashville for $30, then driving the truck up to Chicago for 8 hours, load the truck the next morning, then head off to Charlotte. The price difference, even after taking into account diesel fuel, bus ticket, and meals, is big enough (probably around $450 or more) to actually get me to consider this.
I really don't feel like taking all these extra steps, but money is tight for this move and the company that wants to hire me was only looking for local candidates, so they are not going to cover relocation.
I started to look at places a little closer to Chicago. The best deal I could find is a Penske truck in Urbana, IL for $664. I could take a 2 hour train ride down to Urbana for $19, bring the truck up here to Chicago, and load the same day or the next day. The savings will not be as much, but the truck does come with an extra day and I won't spend nearly as much fuel as driving from Nashville to Chicago.
Has anyone else ever done this to save a few hundred dollars, or am I just being really cheap? If I had plenty of extra cash, I probably wouldn't consider doing this, but you gotta do what you gotta do when money is tight. I have both trucks in Nashville and Urbana reserved right now. I am leaning towards the Urbana rental right now. I just need to cancel one of them 48 hours before pickup time.
How about trying to cross into IN to pick up a truck and driving it to Chicago? Maybe that would save you time and money. We just moved from VA down to Charlotte and it wasn't cheap. Our truck (uHaul) was $604 plus $250 in gas (and that was when diesel was a little cheaper).
I did check in Indiana to pick up the rental truck, but the price stays the same as Chicago until you get to Lafayette, IN, which is 2:30 away. The price was the same as Urbana as Lafayette. I chose Urbana because I could take amtrak down there and Penske said they would pick me up at the station, plus is a little closer than Lafayette, IN.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by storey13
so we are moving on the 30th of this month.
That's your first mistake. The end of the month is when everyone moves. If you want to pay less, move some other time.
The trick to getting a super cheap price with uhaul is...
Call up to get a quote and tell them "I'll think about it" but leave them your name and number and when you plan to move. Someone on their sales force will call you back and these people are like closers... they'll do whatever it takes to get you to make the reservation. Tell them you got a lower price elsewhere and they will lower it to whatever you tell them it is.
I've had them lower 26' trucks to $200 one way over 600 miles before. And while they aren't known for having the newest equipment, the fact is, you can request a new truck. I would suggest renting from a corporate owned uhaul center not an affiliate so you can have more of a selection. Call the local center a few days before your pickup date and tell them that you have a reservation and want to make sure it will actually be there. And thats when you ask them what the newest truck is that they have and can you please have that one. LAst time I did that, I got a brand new, never rented truck with less than a thousand miles on it. Beside that, I've found the local uhaul center employees to be to be very helpful and super friendly. I go get propane fillups there from time to time and there's like an army of people to help with the large tanks that I have.
Summary of *my* uhaul tips...
Leave your name and number and expected move day (or a little sooner) with their reservations deparment. Negotiate with the person that calls you back.
Ask for additional days and additional miles at no extra cost.
Reserve at their corporate owned centers whenever possible. (But know where other locations are.)
Call a day in advance of the move and make sure the van is actually there.
Request the newest truck they have on the lot
Oh! And don't plan to move at the end of the month. That's when everyone moves.
When you actually go to pick up the truck, ask them nicely "can you do a little something to help me out on price, pretty please" with your best puppy dog face. It never hurts to ask.
Good tips. I have moved 7 times in the last 10 years, so I normally try to move in the middle of the month to save costs, however that is not an option this time. I will try to see if Uhaul will match Penske's price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cittic10
That's your first mistake. The end of the month is when everyone moves. If you want to pay less, move some other time.
The trick to getting a super cheap price with uhaul is...
Call up to get a quote and tell them "I'll think about it" but leave them your name and number and when you plan to move. Someone on their sales force will call you back and these people are like closers... they'll do whatever it takes to get you to make the reservation. Tell them you got a lower price elsewhere and they will lower it to whatever you tell them it is.
I've had them lower 26' trucks to $200 one way over 600 miles before. And while they aren't known for having the newest equipment, the fact is, you can request a new truck. I would suggest renting from a corporate owned uhaul center not an affiliate so you can have more of a selection. Call the local center a few days before your pickup date and tell them that you have a reservation and want to make sure it will actually be there. And thats when you ask them what the newest truck is that they have and can you please have that one. LAst time I did that, I got a brand new, never rented truck with less than a thousand miles on it. Beside that, I've found the local uhaul center employees to be to be very helpful and super friendly. I go get propane fillups there from time to time and there's like an army of people to help with the large tanks that I have.
Summary of *my* uhaul tips...
Leave your name and number and expected move day (or a little sooner) with their reservations deparment. Negotiate with the person that calls you back.
Ask for additional days and additional miles at no extra cost.
Reserve at their corporate owned centers whenever possible. (But know where other locations are.)
Call a day in advance of the move and make sure the van is actually there.
Request the newest truck they have on the lot
Oh! And don't plan to move at the end of the month. That's when everyone moves.
When you actually go to pick up the truck, ask them nicely "can you do a little something to help me out on price, pretty please" with your best puppy dog face. It never hurts to ask.
Good tips. I have moved 7 times in the last 10 years, so I normally try to move in the middle of the month to save costs, however that is not an option this time. I will try to see if Uhaul will match Penske's price.
Has anyone ever done what I've done to save money on a truck?
Nope. We rented the Uhaul trailers (around town) and filled them up twice and moved them. We had a really quick move so we packed what we needed for ourselves and our two toddlers (their beds, some toys,TV's) and then we made two trips back. One to pack the house (when we returned we brought back the kitchen,couches,towels and whatever else we deemed important) and the other was to move everything else. I don't know if that's an option for you to make a quick weekday trip before your official move date. It may cost you more but then again if you can get a lot in the trailer you could always get a smaller truck. The trailers were around $60 some dollars for two days.
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Leave your name and number and expected move day (or a little sooner) with their reservations deparment. Negotiate with the person that calls you back.
