The Truck From Hell
Written: Mar 25 '03
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Pros: It got us there.
Cons: Just barely.
The Bottom Line: I suggest U Haul it with someone else.
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| Bruguru's Full Review: U-Haul |
It’s amazing how much stuff you can accumulate in a relatively short time. When I first moved to Georgia from Rhode Island, we were testing the waters if you will. We were not sure if we would find jobs. We didn’t know how things would go. So, we brought along only enough essentials to get our new household started, along with our savings. Everything we brought fit into a Dodge Neon that, though packed about as tightly as is possible, didn’t hold very much.
That was a year and a half ago, and since then we have purchased furniture, appliances, dishes, and just about all the other things we take for granted on a daily basis. We have made a few trips to Rhode Island and retrieved a few carloads more stuff from storage. Our position here in Georgia now being secure, we decided to make the move to Atlanta where we both are employed.
It was therefore time to move our stuff again. Clearly, a fleet of Dodge Neons wasn’t going to be up to the task this time around, so we decided to rent a moving van, something many people do when its time to relocate from one place to another. But which to choose? We browsed the website of several major companies, and finally decided to go with U-Haul.
Initially, our decision was based upon the company’s reputation and the fact that they are so darned ubiquitous. We could pick up a truck in Rome and drop it off in Atlanta with ease, and reserving a truck was as simple as a few clicks of the mouse. The price seemed reasonable for a short move, too.
RESERVATIONS
Reserving a truck is easy enough. You can call the company if you choose, but I found it easier just to reserve online. All the information you need is provided to make your selection, and in addition to renting your truck, you can purchase and rent various accessories to make your move go smoothly. You will need a credit card to make your reservation, although no charges will be applied unless you fail to pick up your truck.
SERVICE
We liked the ease of reserving our truck online. This is a point in U-Haul’s favor. Their service quickly reversed any positive feelings I had for the company, however. We were told that the truck would be available the morning of our move. Unfortunately, when we went to pick the truck up we were told it would not be available until 3 O’clock in the afternoon!
I complained that this was completely unacceptable, but the agent and customer service were of the opinion that whether or not I took the truck at that point was entirely inconsequential to them. Perhaps they felt that I needed the truck more than they needed my money. This was true at the time, but not any way for a reputable business to operate.
THE TRUCK
I had heard horror stories about some of the trucks U-Haul rents out, but hey, how bad could the truck be for a short move? A friend of mine had moved his mother’s belongings from Connecticut to Florida, and he had told me that quite frankly he was surprised the truck had made it. In addition to its fuel consumption, he had to add a quart of oil about every hundred miles-and U-Haul refused to reimburse him for this.
I should have listened to him, because the truck I got was a relic from a bygone age. I’m talking old here. I was expecting to see an 8-Track player in the dash, but I think they came out after the truck was built. Instead, there was a radio that didn’t work. This was not a new truck. At all.
We had reserved a 24-foot model, and it was huge, more than adequate to move three rooms full of furniture and everything else we had. It was also a five-speed, which was not a problem because I learned to drive on a standard transmission. Still, I was never told this would be the case, and this information could be very useful indeed for those who can’t drive a shift vehicle.
The truck had other problems. The speedometer didn’t work. The interior lights didn’t work. The inside van lights didn’t work. The seatbelt was broken. The clutch stuck. It consumed fuel at an alarming rate; I was told that I would get at least seven miles to the gallon, but the old diesel truck I was given barely got five.
Then too, this thing had a harder time getting up to speed than Rush Limbaugh trying to do a fifty-yard dash. I could floor it and it still would not move. At one point when I was going up a steep incline the truck almost stopped, nearly taking my heart along with it. I was backing up traffic for miles with this thing. People were getting angry. Civilization was on the brink of collapse.
THE RETURN
I did finally make it up the hill, and got all my stuff safely to our new home. To be frank, I was relieved because I knew that I would soon be rid of the Truck From Hell. I swear this thing was possessed by an evil spirit, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the last guy that rented it was Stephen King.
Anyway, I filled it up with diesel fuel and returned it. The return process wasn’t particularly bad. Of course, I was as puzzled as the clerk when he told me that the mileage on the truck was less than what it was when I picked the thing up! I’m serious here! The odometer on this thing was going backwards, which leads me to believe that t has seen a lot more than the 169,000 miles the odometer indicated when I picked it up.
I suggested that U-Haul therefore owed me money for returning the truck to them in an improved condition from when I received it, but my appeals fell upon deaf ears, as did my complaints about the many defects. The clerk had the distinct air about him of one who heard such complaints on an all to regular basis and had developed a tendency to simply ignore them as a defense mechanism.
THE COST
I paid $108 for a one-day rental with 131 miles included. Fuel cost me $25. This was reasonable in my opinion. The cost for longer moves, however, is much more, and one of the reasons we chose to sell our furniture in Rhode Island rather than rent a truck to transport it in. That move would have cost about $1300 including fuel, and I dread the thought of driving anything remotely like the monster I got for a trip of 1000 miles.
FINAL THOUGHTS
To be fair, the truck got us where we needed to go. I am sure, too, that many of U-Haul’s trucks are in better shape than this one. But the problem is you just never know what you’re going to get. And that’s not a good thing when your entire moving experience depends upon it.
Recommended:
No
Punctuality: Showed up late
Ease of Filing Claim: N/A
Lost Goods: N/A
Amount Paid (US$): 133
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Bruguru
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Member: John Staradumsky
Location: Atlanta, Georgia.
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