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Toronto Rental Trucks: Where's the Real Discount?
Unless you've got a friend with a pickup willing to make a few trips or you're hiring professionals, come moving day it's time to turn to the rental truck. U-Haul, Budget, and Discount seem to have the personal moving market blanketed, but Penske and Ryder have locations too.
The appeal of do-it-yourself moving is purely economical; renting a truck is cheaper than hiring a moving company. And instead of using the fuel efficient four-wheeler to get the job done, a rental truck offers the opportunity to get the whole ordeal of moving over and done with. And the last time I checked, mattresses don't fit in cars.
I've come to the conclusion that the names Discount and Budget aren't really a reflection of pricing, but that at least U-Haul is honest with theirs: you will definitely do all the hauling.
U-Haul has earned a reputation in the US and Canada alike that just because you have a reservation doesn't mean you'll actually have a truck when you show up at the appointed time. Even though they dangle what is potentially the cheapest price in front of you ($30 and 80 cents/km), it is only a good deal if the truck is there for you come moving day. Plus, even though the website advertises this as a 24 hour rate, if you want the truck on a weekend, especially the first or last weekend of the month, don't count on getting it for more than 8 hours.
Budget reliably has trucks to fill reservations, but the price may not be worth it, especially over short distances. Budget, like Discount, works on a shift system. So for around $130 you get 100km and 8 hours. Discount gives half the kilometres and only 5 hours for $140. Full price breakdowns are below.
I like to be able to get a truck the night before to either load that night, or to be able to get started first thing and not have to go deal with picking up a truck in the morning. Unfortunately, the shift system doesn't allow for this unless you buy two shifts, something U-Haul doesn't allow and something Budget and Discount just charge you double to do. In other words, none of the big three are suited for this.
Enter Penske and Ryder. Both offer a truck for 24 hours, although Ryder may not reliably do so. Penske is a real premium base rental price, but less per km, while Ryder is slightly higher than U-Haul, including the km charge, but if you get it for 24 hours, is potentially the best deal, especially if you catch one of their many web specials. For those looking purely at the final price U-Haul will likely be the cheapest, but for me, I'll pay about the same or a little more (but less per hour!) for the peace of mind that I can take my time; for a short move especially, Penske won't cost any more, and may be less, than Discount or Budget.
The other factor is definitely location. U-Haul, Budget and Discount all have more locations than Penske and Ryder, so it may not be worth driving across town to get the truck. One thing to keep in mind is that the trucks have to be returned to the same location they're picked up, so it doesn't really matter if you pick a spot close to where you start or where you end.
Prices vary considerably, and may at times be negotiable, based on when you want the truck, what size you get and so on. For my recent move I was looking for a 16 foot truck, give or take a few feet. Expect smaller trucks to cost a bit less and larger trucks to cost a bit more. Also, the timing varies based on what day of the week and if you want an overnight or morning time.
Here's a price breakdown, with the cost per hour shown based on 50km of use, not including any extra taxes or insurance.
Budget - $130, 8 hours, 100km included, 50 cents per extra km ($130; $16.25/hr)
Discount - $140, 5 hours, 50km included, 50 cents per extra km ($140; $28/hr)
Penske - $100, 24 hours, 50 cents per km ($125; $5.21/hr)
Ryder - $50, 24 hours, 90 cents per km ($95; $3.96/hr)
U-Haul - $30, 8 hours, 80 cents per km ($70; $8.75/hr)
Top left photo by manny diller and top right photo by trbpix.
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The Star today has an article:
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/478955
and the article has its own grim story about moving.
I took advantage of Discount's late moving shift and picked up the truck at 1 pm. If you return it before the store opens the next day you only get charged with one rental shift fee. Make sure they have an over night key drop box at the location before you try this.
I once did a cross-border move (only U-Haul allows this) and my truck had ~40,000 miles (>60,000km). When I got it to Toronto the guy remarked how it had only been in service about 6 months!
Definitely make note of any damage or issues with your truck before you leave the rental place.
The came right to my place (30 minutes after I called him), did all of the heavy lifting (with my help) and we moved a couch, a large chair, couple tables, picked up a couple things from Ikea (including a bed board) and moved everything in in only two hours. I didn't have a lot to move, it's true, but it was perfect for me. Just something else to consider.
If the truck's engine makes the slightest unappetizing noise when you fire it up, I would refuse it.
You forgot National -- I have had good luck with them the last few times I rented cube vans. But I have to say, I have also had good luck with Ryder and Penske!
Brian
Penske's price was twice as much as U-Haul...but I chose them anyways because their customer service was excellent and I have heard so many horror stories about U-Haul, such that they far outweigh the good stories I've heard/experienced. I was willing to pay double the price for the reliability that Penske offered...and I wasn't let down. The truck was in excellent shape, was there as promised and overall, the whole move was painless.
To be fair though, I have had a good U-Haul experience. About 5-7 years ago, I helped some family friends move from Toronto to Prince George, BC, in a U-Haul. The trip took about 6 days, but the truck never let us down and was there as promised upon pickup.
Back in school, whenever we needed a truck (which was quite often, actually) we used these guys.
BAD BAD BAD. Even though it's the cheapest - it never works out that way since you are SURE to have problems. Don't even bother with them.
Very informative and resourceful. I'm moving out in a couple of months and this post is really gonna help me out on my rental truck company decision.
Thanks again! Cheers!
When I moved from Montreal to Toronto, in Quebec only U-haul could do the one-way thing, so I had no choice. When we picked up the truck, the car mecanic himself had trouble starting it (bad sign). It was the only truck though so I had no choice. On the way to Toronto, the truck broke down in Belleville. The CAA came and they had to tow it and said it could only be fixed on the next day. At least U-haul paid for the hotel for us in Trenton that night (they better do...)
After the move I complained to U-haul that the truck should not have been given to me if it was not in working condition and I asked for a full refund. I tried and tried, in the end I could only get $80 in U-haul gift certificates (I did not want to do business with them again, even if it was going to be free!)
The year after, I move again within Toronto, so I used to gift certificates. I made reservation by phone for one truck and one dolly, and I asked the guy about the gift certificates, he said it was no problem, I just give them to the U-haul dealer when I pick up the truck.
When went to pick up the truck, the guy didn't want my gift certificates at all, he wanted money. From there I called U-haul, waited in the call queue seemingly forever, and finally talked to a guy who told me to pay with my credit card and then mail the receipt with the gift certificates to them. Fine.
I then asked the U-haul dealer about the dolly, he said he didn't have any, even if I reserved one. Great. So I had to go rent one from those rental place and it cost 3 times as much.
After that move, I had all sort of problems trying to get U-haul to honor the gift certificates, it was horrible.
i found a LOT of complaints about u-haul and their unreliability and poorly maintained trucks. i had zero issues with penske. i even called them afterward to ask for a receipt and breakdown of my rental, and they emailed it to me within minutes. i wouldn't hesitate to rent with them again. the truck i rented was in excellent condition and their customer service and staff were helpful in answering questions before and after my rental.
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