Having just read Jim's skewering of Uhaul, I figured I'd take him up on his offer to relate a moving story. While I haven't been screwed by Uhaul this year, I am moving (also in NJ) and can explain why I refused to give them the chance.

As luck would have it my wife was able to make quite a large number of calls to various truck companies in order to find us the best deal. The scenario is we're moving about 15 miles between two NJ towns. We need a 24 foot truck. We opted to move ourselves for the first time since our initial move out of my parents' house because we simply can't afford the $2000 smackdown of paying a company to move us again. Basically, we decided we (and some friends) could break all our own stuff for less money instead of paying someone else to break it for us.

We actually called all of the companies Jim mentions (Uhaul, Budget, Hertz) and found them all to be a worse deal than a local place which end up being a Penske reseller. Uhaul is a miserable deal even if they didn't screw you. It's not even close to a good price because you pay for the truck AND the mileage.

Short story is call around because you can find a local gas station with a truck and pay MUCH less. We found a place where we can pick up the truck the night before and we get 100 miles for just over $129 + gas (diesel at market).

Short story, I agree with Jim. You can do much better. Put in some calls and you can get it done yourself with much less hassle.

[Update Post-Move:] Moving is terrible. Ever time I do it I swear I will never do it again. Moving yourself is even worse. Also, driving a 24-foot truck is not easy. I hit two gardens, jumped 4 curbs on right turns, and bent one telephone pole. Three weeks later we still aren't unpacked. Toss up is on paying out the butt or doing it yourself and I can say neither is a great option.mortgage calculator