U-HAUL = Idiots

[maxwedge]

Anybody else have this experience? I've probably rented 2 dozen various trucks and trailers from them over the years and never once has it been an easy or smooth transaction. Today was no exception.
Interesting things about U-haul that I have discovered over the years:
1) Customer service -not even remotely important.
2) If you make a reservation and confirm it twice, this practically gaurantees there is no way in hell they will have the equipment when you get there.
3) If they tell you they don't have the equipment on hand, look out the window for yourself because there's likely 7 of them sitting out front that the manager didn't know about.
4) Calling the other area U-haul dealers is a task way beyond the skill level of most U-Haul employees.
4) Certain popular cars do not exist in U-hauls world. Non existant cars can't be trailered. Showing them the car in person does not change this fact.
5) It's perfectly ok to tow a full size conversion van with an F150, but a Celica All-trac is much too heavy. :idea:

[JB in so cal]

Budget rents trucks, dollies, and trailers:idea: Pretty new stuff and a large company backing it up:idea: U Haul has trucks in their fleet that were built in the 80's!

[Outnumbered]

Budget is a complete nightmare too. Go Penske unless you want to break-down with all your shit in tow like I did:mad:

[Cheap Thrills]

You forgot to mention their specialty lighting connectors that you have to buy from them at an astronomical price in order to tow one of their trailers. :rolleyes:
T.

[uvindex]

Went into a large U-Haul store a couple of years back to ask about having a hitch installed on my truck. There were three guys behind the counter. One was actually helping the only other customer in the store. The second was on the phone talking to his buddy about his weekend adventures (I know this because I stood there for a long time listening to it!). The third guy was slowly counting nickels. Thinking that a customer might get priority over counting change I approached that guy, waited patiently, got no response so I asked, "Can you help me?" The goon didn't even look up, just said, "hold on" and kept counting.
I turned and walked out then called the corporate complaint number and told my story. The corporate guy hooked me up at another U-Haul store for a half-price deal on the hitch. (But I'm still never going back to U-Haul if I can help it.) :)

[Sleek-Jet]

You forgot to mention their specialty lighting connectors that you have to buy from them at an astronomical price in order to tow one of their trailers. :rolleyes:
T.
???
The last couple trailers and dollies I rented from them had a flat 4 connector to the trailer harness... just like the boats..
Uhaul also doesn't gaurantee that the equipment you reserve will be available. Found that out when I moved to AZ... I had a 20 foot truck reserved, and when I arrived to pick it up, all they had was a 15 foot truck, though they'd rent me a large trailer for an additonal C note a day... :rolleyes: I put half my stuff in storage and moved in the 15 foot truck... I'll never rent red again.
If moving across country, I suggest PODS...

[ULTRA26 # 1]

There is a book that was released a couple of years ago about U-Haul and its owners, the Shoen family. U-Haul, and/or the Shoen family also own an insurance company, Republic Western. These are some scary folks.

[Boozer]

Use Penske.
Over the years I've moved far more times then I care to admit. I've rented UHaul, Ryder, Budget, and Penske. By far Penske has been the best experience and I will only use them from now on PERIOD.
Penske deals in mostly commercial truck rentals so their service is all geared towards a smooth B2B experience. Their customer service is second to none and their guys are always more then happy to go out of their way to help you out. Not to mention all their trucks are very nice and in tip top shape.

[DeltaSigBoater]

Whenever me or my brothers mentioned the idea of dropping out of school, my dad send us down to U-Haul to buy some mundane item :D

[maxwedge]

...If moving across country, I suggest PODS...
What about packing all your stuff in an old Mazda 626? I hear they can be pretty reliable cars.:D

[Cigalert]

Budget is a complete nightmare too. Go Penske unless you want to break-down with all your shit in tow like I did:mad:
Penske has it's problems too but they're the least of anyone that I've tried.
I spend a couple nice boat payments a month with Penske and I'm still just a turd in the litterbox when someone there is not familiar with me. After we get on a first name basis everything is back to cool.

[It's Only Money]

Did any of you guys read the Los Angeles Times series about U-Haul and all of the injuries and deaths attributed to lousy equipment? It's pretty interesting.
Here's the URL: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-haul24jun24,1,6679268.story?ctrack=4&cset=true
You have to register to read them but registration is free. Read them and you will NEVER rent a thing from U-Haul and be much more cautious in general about rental equipment.

[Big Kahunaa]

You forgot to mention their specialty lighting connectors that you have to buy from them at an astronomical price in order to tow one of their trailers. :rolleyes:
T.
the new trailers all have flat fours on them and they have started leaving the adapters on the old trailers

[YeLLowBoaT]

I will never rent another U haul...
A few years back I drove my grandparents from sac to Idaho... it broke down 3xs. the 1st time was in the drive way. :mad:

[Big Kahunaa]

i am a private uhaul dealer (since 1991) yes they are a dumb a$$ company and they are on a new system that sucks they will setup reservations and speek for us and the equpment we have even if we got our own res that a walkin customer has made before and yes it makes alot of pissed off customers

[BigDogIvan]

My brother in law went to U-Haul to rent a small trailer to move a couple small pieces of furnature. They declined to rent to him stating they can not rent there trailers when being towed buy a Ford product. Thats all they would tell him and walked away. We never could get an explaination on why.

[Sleek-Jet]

What about packing all your stuff in an old Mazda 626? I hear they can be pretty reliable cars.:D
626, I don't think so, but ask me how much trunk room is in a new Hyundai Sonata... :D

[Cheap Thrills]

???
The last couple trailers and dollies I rented from them had a flat 4 connector to the trailer harness... just like the boats..
the new trailers all have flat fours on them and they have started leaving the adapters on the old trailers
Well it has been 10 years since I've needed to U-Haul anything.
I'm glad they changed that crap. I can remember at least a few times I wish I had kept that 25 dollar adapter :rolleyes:
T.

[maxwedge]

626, I don't think so, but ask me how much trunk room is in a new Hyundai Sonata... :D
Uhh..How much trunk room is in a new Hyundai Sonata?:D

[Shreve"T"]

My brother in law went to U-Haul to rent a small trailer to move a couple small pieces of furnature. They declined to rent to him stating they can not rent there trailers when being towed buy a Ford product. Thats all they would tell him and walked away. We never could get an explaination on why.
I think it is part to the roll over's with the Ford Explore....:D :D :D :D

[Rexone]

I've had bad experiences with Uhaul too, and one good one.
I go for Penske whenever possible. Their trucks are newer and ususally in top shape (for rental trucks). I don't think they do small trailers tho.

[Sleek-Jet]

Uhh..How much trunk room is in a new Hyundai Sonata?:D
About twice what a mid 90's 626 has... :D

[Riverat84]

yeah ive had some shitty run-ins w/ uhaul also...

[BoneDaddy]

I just rented a car hauler last weekend and went through a mess. The one u-haul shop I had originally called had the trailer there on site and was available for pick up the next day in the morning. I was supposed to wait by my my computer for the reservation to be e-mailed to me. I waited until 3:30 in the afternoon and called the original shop to verify that I still have trailer to pick up in the morning. The original guy now tells me that he has 9 trailers and 15 reservations and that he wants me to bring the trailer back at noon so that he can rent it out again. While he is explaining this to me on the phone I get a text message from U-Haul Reservations that my trailer is ready to be picked up at a different location the next day in the afternoon. I hung up with the origianl guy and called the location on the text message. This person explained that the trailer is supposed to be there at noon but he can't guarantee this. I explained that the reservation I had made was for me to pick up the trailer early in the am. This didn't matter. I hung up on that guy. I called the original guy back and said that I will take his trailer in the morning and get it back by the afternoon. He then says that I have to pick it up at a different location that is about 10 miles further and when I am done bring it back to him at noon! I am not happy with this. I hung up and called several other rental places in the area and of course everything is rented for the next day and it is almost 5 o'clock. I then called the location (10 miles further) where I am supposed to pick up the trailer to confirm it will actually be there and the girl there was very pleasant and reassuring that it will be there and it is no problem. 2 minutes go by and I get a phone call from the person from the text message u-haul office (the one that wouldn't have a trailer ready until noon) and says the office where I am supposed to go (where every thing is no problem) does not have my trailer and that my trailer is at their office???? And it will be ready at 7:30am???
Are you confused? I was! I can't believe I typed all this crap!
Anyway I got there at 7:30 on the dot. Took the trailer and got out of there as quick as I could.
I won't rent from u-haul again. This is a classic case of over promise and under deliver and the customer gets screwed. I got lucky that all I lost was my time on the phone and gained a couple of points on my blood pressure.

[RitcheyRch]

I will never rent from u-haul either. Tried to rent a moving van from them a few years back and rented it on-line for the day. When they called to confirm they informed me that6 it needed to be back at the rental company within 8 hours. I guess my day (24 hours) is different than theirs (8 hours) and that it would cost me $40 for every hour it is late. I probably could have done the move within the 8 hour time frame but didnt want to rush.
Needless to say, I didnt rent from them and found it to be much easier to hire a moving company. In the end it costed me $400-500.
I posted my bad publicity on www.uhaulsucks.com but dont think that site exists anymore.

[Rexone]

I posted my bad publicity on www.uhaulsucks.com but dont think that site exists anymore.
http://www.freewebs.com/uhaulsucks/index.htm

[YeLLowBoaT]

I should post about My lovely trip to Idaho...
you know its bad when the damn thing breaks down in the drive way.
We had to leave at o'dark thirty... so I want to make sure the lights work the night before. They would not go off. " no big deal, I'll just pull a fuse" "the fuse box is under lock and key" "wtf?". "ok we will just pull a battery cable" " um the battery box is locked too" " your kidding right" "no" after that came lots of 4 letter words. Then there was the next break down... turns out some jack ass put about a gallon into a diesel... well when we hit that layer it was ofcorse 50 miles away from the nearest city...thats when we found out that after 350 miles into the trip. the oil was a gallon and a quater low. atleat they fixed the AC after they drained the tank, new fuel filter... reprimed the fule system etc.

[RitcheyRch]

I saw that link but remember leaving a message on uhaulsucks.com
http://www.freewebs.com/uhaulsucks/index.htm

[BshyBvrGirl]

What about packing all your stuff in an old Mazda 626? I hear they can be pretty reliable cars.:D
umm..I think you need to leave my dear 626 alone. What happened was a tragedy :D
And while the sonata is a nice car, definitely enough room to hide a few bodies...I much prefer the beemer :D :D :D
so why the hell are you complaining about U-Haul anyways? You moving? (btw...there's not enough room out here in AZ for everybody, I suggest staying in IL :D)

[H2O]

I'd rather buy a trailer than rent one from U-Haul:devil:
You see all kinds of them for sale on Craigslist from people who did the same thing (for a one time cross-country move, etc).

[lalhc]

The parent company of U-Haul is AMERCO, which is completely family ran. As large as of corporation U-Haul is I find it hard to believe this one family still makes all decisions. I use to work w/U-Haul selling Nextel phones and the majority of the people that work at their locations are morons. Most of the time they spend their day on the phone talking to friends.
Another strange fact about U-Haul is that on any given day they have no idea where 50% of their inventory is located. Nextel tried to sell them GPS on their vehicles, but they declined because one of their family members was trying to create some in-house method to track their equipment.
In the past I have used Penske & Budget for rentals and my experience was good on both occasions.

[Faceaz]

Interesting topic & one I'm a bit hot over after my experience this past week:
I went to U-haul - renting a trailer to move some boxes to storage for work from Huntington to Phoenix. As we're hooking it up, not all the lights on the trailer are working. So there's a short somewhere in the trailer wiring on my car & we narrow it down to a small electrical box installed by Uhaul (when they wired the car), which basically takes the five wires from the car (each turn, stop, tail & ground) & converts it to a flat four connector. The kid tells me they have a way of wiring the car without the box, which will work fine. He finishes, we check the lights & everything is working fine - so off I go.
The problems started the next morning @ 3:30am driving to Phoenix. First problem is my cruise control won't work (not a big issue - but annoying) & I had no reason to think it had anything to do with Uhaul. About another 20 minutes go by & my anti-lock brake light comes on - now I'm a little concerned. Roughly another 20 minutes later the transfer case light starts blinking. So now I'm pretty concerned & considering not going to Phoenix. I pulled into a gas station & spent the next hour pulling apart the tail lights & retracing what Uhual had done. The kid had wired the stop & tail light circuits into one wire. Kind of seems OK till you consider that while driving with your driving lights on, the stop light circuit is also energized. So the car thinks you're driving with the brake on - so the cruise won't work & eventually the car thinks there's an issue with the brakes. I cut the stop light wire, disconnected the battery for 10min to clear the codes, reconnected it & didn't have anymore problems.
In short, F Uhaul!!!!