Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm trying to move back home to Massachusetts... I moved out to Arizona 2 years ago with a girl and some family... They've all left me for dead here.. So I'm going back..
I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on getting a moving truck cheap... Any help would be appreciated!!!
If your renting a truck to drive yourself, call around to the local dealers. Penskie tends to have specials. (and they have trucks that are dependable). Call everyone, not just one dealership since you can get different results. I wouldn't reccomend U-Haul for a long move. They're record of maintaince on their trucks just isn't dependable. Don't be afraid of getting a larger truck either. The 26 ft Penskie is cheaper than the 14 foot one. Diesel trucks also get much better mileage.
Figure what your taking with you and get some idea what space you need and compare the pod type movers and the ones you rent a bit of their van and pay by feet and the traditional way. But if you look into movers, beware of the unknowns. Check the list of bogus companies that I remember was posted here somewhere too, and see if the company just recently came into existance, in which case it is probably one of the bogus ones reborn with a new name. Save by doing all the packing yourself.
Be suspicious of someone who will give you a figure based on how many rooms or your own estamate. Have someone from them come out and do an eyeball examination before you trust the quote will be close to reality.
I was so lucky. A friend of the family was able to borrow a double horse trailer and the truck that pulled it and as much as I thought I had condensed, I had NO idea how much I had left to bring. Good thing we didn't rent a smaller truck and then discover how much got left by the door. Whatever you think it will take spacewise, figure it will take more.
If your in Arizona, take a trip over to Uhaul's tech center. They have the best deals on trucks having to relocate to other parts of the country. Manytimes they pay their people to transport these around so they are a bit happy when someone is willing to pay them, even if it's only $10 a day with no mileage or one way charges.
If your in Arizona, take a trip over to Uhaul's tech center. They have the best deals on trucks having to relocate to other parts of the country. Manytimes they pay their people to transport these around so they are a bit happy when someone is willing to pay them, even if it's only $10 a day with no mileage or one way charges.
Can you tell me where this tech center is??
Right now I have a rsvp with budget for $1400 on a 16 ft truck from phoenix to boston..
Right now I have a rsvp with budget for $1400 on a 16 ft truck from phoenix to boston..
I'd love to trim that down if I could..
Okay so I called UHAUL and asked if they'd match the budget quote, they pretty much laughed at me. I called Penske and asked if they could match the quote, they said sure. When they asked me what my quote was I said Budget is giving me a 16 ft truck and a car towing dolly for 1250.. They came back on the line and said they will match it..
So now I'm down to 1250 WITH a tow dolly.. Thats $500 in savings... I'm gonna see if budget will now match Penske's offer.. If not, no big deal.. but I'll be sure to tell Penske that Budget lowered their price to $1099 or something.. Maybe they will re-match another phoney price..
Either that or I hope they throw in insurance into the $1250 quote..
Okay so I called UHAUL and asked if they'd match the budget quote, they pretty much laughed at me. I called Penske and asked if they could match the quote, they said sure. When they asked me what my quote was I said Budget is giving me a 16 ft truck and a car towing dolly for 1250.. They came back on the line and said they will match it..
So now I'm down to 1250 WITH a tow dolly.. Thats $500 in savings... I'm gonna see if budget will now match Penske's offer.. If not, no big deal.. but I'll be sure to tell Penske that Budget lowered their price to $1099 or something.. Maybe they will re-match another phoney price..
Either that or I hope they throw in insurance into the $1250 quote..
I did the same exact thing last night..
I'm now down to $1100.. they added cargo insurance.. Limited Damage Waiver insurance, and 24 moving pads.. along with the 16 foot truck and car towing dolly..
If you get similar quotes from Penske, U-Haul and Budget, I'd recommend going with Penske. After reading numerous threads on this forum, we chose Penske last year for our 500-mile move (had to make two trips for family reasons so used Penske twice). Both trucks were almost brand new and we had no problems with them. Also, Penske trucks use diesel, which costs more per gallon but is more efficient. Use a fuel calculator to figure out the difference in estimated fuel costs for diesel vs. regular. Even if Penske costs a little more, you might make up the difference and more in fuel savings.
Sometimes the moving companies have deals if they need trucks in a particular location. My friend moved from MI to Vegas about 5 years ago. She called and about fell on the floor with the first quotes. She tried again and found a deal that was half the cost because they needed trucks out in Vegas. You may find a deal where a dealer in MA needs trucks for moves to AZ.
I've used moving trucks a few times in the last few years to move some estate furniture from different states to Houston. My trick is to do the bidding war thing and then look at the price 2 nights before you are picking up the truck. Every time with Budget, the price was lower than I already had locked in. Call them at that point and ask them to match the internet price. I've gotten a truck that was originally priced at over 2,000.00 one way down to 1050.00 at rental. Dilligence is the key
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
