My moving cost evaluation (Allied, ABF, upack, Uhaul)

[crillis]

Just thought I would tell my story to help some others considering moving. I am moving from Seatle, WA to Myrtle Beach, SC in mid-May. I have evaluated almost every possible price scenario. I have a 3 bedroom house with normal amout of stuff and 3 cars. My best option was the Pods and drive my truck pulling the wifes car (still need to ship one car).

1. Allied quoted me $18K (no car shipping included).
2. Penske was substantially cheaper than uhaul but their trucks are deisel.
3. Large PODs are about $3,300 each. I need 2 for all my stuff. Price includes 30 days storage from the date they drop off pods.
4. Gas for rental truck is $1,650
5. Hotels, meals, etc are $1,000.
6. Shipping cars are $800 to $1,000 each

Bottom line is my move will cost between $8,000 to $10,000.

Conclusion, moving is very expensive!!! I looked at selling everything and buying new but at the end of the day it did not make sense because I have nice stuff that would cost more to replace.

[rgpg_99]

Originally Posted by crillis

I looked at selling everything and buying new but at the end of the day it did not make sense because I have nice stuff that would cost more to replace.

How about a combination of selling and moving? For instance, you sell those items that would be cheaper to replace than you carry with you (e.g., garden furniture, bookshelves, etc.), so that instead of 2 large PODs, you may need only one (a $ 3,300.00 savings). Also, have you considered Upack ( http://www.upack.com/ )? They are priced much lower than PODs, with similar sizes.

[CrissCT]

Originally Posted by crillis

6. Shipping cars are $800 to $1,000 each

Yes I just re-checked our quote for having our car shipped and it has gone up over $100 since last month because of gas prices. We are moving mid-June coast to coast also.

[cynwldkat]

I have found through experience always plan on there being some "unknown" costs so try expect some extra expenses. It seems to always cost more then we figure!!

[kdzgon]

Originally Posted by CrissCT

Yes I just re-checked our quote for having our car shipped and it has gone up over $100 since last month because of gas prices. We are moving mid-June coast to coast also.

Have you checked out transportreviews? There are reviews of different transport companies - maybe you can do some additional price checking? If not, at least you can get some feedback before committing.

edited to add: Never mind - my route is so different, I forgot to check a different route. Your prices seem low compared to what I was finding, so the site might not help.

[LaceyEx]

We paid a little over $8,000 with Mayflower moving us from NJ to western MN. We debated the selling, geting new scenario but our furniture was only 2 yrs. old and we loved it.

We did leave a tremendous amount for the buyer-1 bedroom totally furnished, 2 vacuums, barstools, 2 recliners, 2 easy chairs, huge oak entertainment center, 2 TV's,rattan glass end tables, hot tub room furniture, deck furniture, lawn mower and gave away a lot of stuff to family, neighbors and friends.

Moving isn't for the faint-hearted, stress wise and moneywise.

[cynwldkat]

Originally Posted by LaceyEx

We paid a little over $8,000 with Mayflower moving us from NJ to western MN. We debated the selling, geting new scenario but our furniture was only 2 yrs. old and we loved it.

We did leave a tremendous amount for the buyer-1 bedroom totally furnished, 2 vacuums, barstools, 2 recliners, 2 easy chairs, huge oak entertainment center, 2 TV's,rattan glass end tables, hot tub room furniture, deck furniture, lawn mower and gave away a lot of stuff to family, neighbors and friends.

Moving isn't for the faint-hearted, stress wise and moneywise.

Isn't that the truth!!??

[bcfarmlady]

We are moving next month from Florida to Kentucky. I've leased a 26ft Penske truck. We have TWO storage units full of stuff... not packed tight to the ceiling.. but a lot of STUFF. not so much in the house since it's up for sale and pretty much "decluttered". We won't have living room furniture since we are giving away what we have now and buying new whe we get there. I reserved the truck at $1587.00. We will take two days to do the drive which normally we can do in 14 hours with the car. We will tow a pickup on the movingvan and I will drive the Honda CRV. We will have a 3 yr old, 4 dogs and 2 cats... We figure it will be at least $3,000 for the move. Pray for our sanity !

[rgpg_99]

Originally Posted by crillis

6. Shipping cars are $800 to $1,000 each

Does anyone have a good recommendation for a company to ship a car from northern Florida to Rochester, NY? There are so many advertised online, so I'm looking for recommendations based on personal experience.

Thanks!

[Twinkletoes]

Crillis, I'm about where you are in terms of planning. I'm going the other direction - Atlanta to Portland - and have come up with about the same pricing conclusions as you.

My move will also be 8-10k for a houseful of stuff. I'm going to get a POD-type thing from ABF Upack. They call them something else, but it's the same concept. They are a little cheaper. I'll need 2 or 3 of them, depending on how much I can reduce the amount of stuff I'm moving. After figuring gas and rental truck cost, and additional hotel since you have to drive slower in a rental truck, it came out to only slightly more for the ABF units.

If you ship a car, be aware that it takes 2 weeks or so to go across country. If you need that car for commuting to work or something, you may have to pay for a rental car which will increase your cost.

I thought about selling everything and buying new too. The numbers just didn't work out. It would cost about double to replace everything. It sure would be a lot less hassle though!