What are your experiences with U-Haul?

We have used them tons of times. No real problems.

They are a huge company that hundreds of thousands of people use. With that volume you will get lots of complaints. But the 95 percent of people with good experiences won’t bother announcing it.

@johnpowell Good point, I think that will help me sleep a little better tonight.

How bout everyone else?

We used them to move my son across town, and had a good experience. Hubby’s company used them to move their office across town, with no problems.

Oh, and sweep the truck after you empty it. They charge tons if it has debris in it when you return it.

I used to use them about once a month, and I was only ever delayed once – briefly. Other than that, all good. Good luck with your move!

I moved with them lots of times successfully as @johnpowell mentions. I stopped using them after we had trouble on back to back moves.

Once I got their biggest truck and drove the 200ish miles we were moving. Got there, parked it and went inside. Came back out and the truck had rolled 50 feet down the hill and would have taken out an apartment building if there hadn’t been a wall to stop it. The parking brake was set, called Uhaul and they sent out a mechanic who basically told me the brakes were fried and someone previously had driven with them on.

I called the place I’d be dropping it off and let them know. Dropped the truck off, called again the next day to make sure they were aware since we dropped it off after close and the guy told me it was already rented again.

Tried them again when we moved out of that apartment and had a reservation. Went to pick up a truck when they opened at 7am and they said they didn’t have any, told me they’d call me by 5 with something. I asked what the reservation was all about and they said it assured they’d supply a truck by 5 that day. I didn’t have a lot of options so I waited and they called about 3:00 offering me an 8×5 uncovered trailer 30 miles from where I was. I didn’t even have anything to tow it with even if it was large enough. By their policy they still consider this in line with their reservation, so no free $50 for me. I “cancelled” at that point and had to hire some movers who were working with someone else in our complex right then. We moved with them until 3 in the morning.

Before those two, I’d probably used them 10 times with no problems, so take it with a grain of salt. Since then I’ve used Budget 3–4 times with no problems (they typically have nicer trucks as well) and Penske once with no problem (and a really shiny new truck).

For what it’s worth, my understanding is that local moves where you’re dropping the truck off at the same location you pick it up tend to get the nicer trucks, long distance moves get the shabby ones.

I guess it makes sense, you’d rather be responsible for maintenance on a newer truck than one that’s nearing the end of its lifespan.

I just moved here from out-of-state. After comparing three different companies, I did not use UHaul, because they were significantly (hundreds of dollars) more expensive.

I had such a higher level of custoemr service experience with Penske that I am likely to use them next time.

I’ve used them 4 times, once cross-country and the rest locally in MD. All 4 rentals were satisfactory, and I would go with them again in the future. Three tips for you in addition to @johnpowell ‘s good advice on sweeping:

- it’s a lot cheaper to rent mid-week than on the weekend
– arrive as early as possible on pick-up day for the best equipment, and to ensure you’ll get a truck at some locations
– make sure you refuel as soon as you’re done unloading so you don’t forget – their fuel prices are out of this world!

We’ve used them many times. When we moved from Michigan to Pennsylvania, I remember my father was in the Uhaul.
Whenever my husband and I move, we usually rent a Uhaul, if we can’t get a truck from my fathers work. My only beef is I can’t drive them at all, it’s too much truck for me. So my father or husband have to do it.
I’ve never had any charges other than the mileage we’ve used and the rental fee.

Thanks all, I just got paranoid.. plus realized there was a Penske in town after booking the U-Haul.. but just got off the phone with them about my reservation and everything is in order. They were even friendly on the phone. So I can relax a bit I think (I hope) :)

I’ve used U-Haul a number of times and only ever really had one problem. The truck ran just fine, but the lights only came on when the truck was going downhill. It was a very noisy ride, too, though other trucks have been much less noisy.

I really think it has everything to do with where you are and where your going. I’m in a small town in NC and it’s not bad because it’s just a small setup that some family runs and we normally don’t leave it at another U-Haul like some people might.

Last time I went to Miami and had to deal with the U-Haul there it wasn’t great but I guess that’s what happens when they have lots of people going through, it’s just what seems to happen when places get too big .