Anyone returned a U-haul truck lately ?

[Deschodt]

Hey, it's OT after all...

I just returned a Uhaul rental yesterday, and was surprised at their new procedure for doing so, in my neck of the woods anyway..

You can't just give it back, you become a UHaul employee for 2 minutes... they make you get back in, demonstrate proper reverse light, turns signals F/R, headlights etc, before settling your bill... OK, it's not a major imposition but it struck me as a little odd. Hertz doesn't make me check the oil when returning a rental car, do they ?

Especially when the truck in question rides like it's just completed the Baja 1000 and only drives straight with the steering wheel cocked 25 degrees to the left, both of which the personnel couldn't give less of a $hit about. Ironic... But hey, at least the bulbs are good ! Meh....

[KFC911]

It's probably my fault... I've been rentoing U-Hauls for years and stealing the bulbs. It's been very lucrative, but I reckon they're on to me now...oh well, I had a good run while it lasted...

[74-911]

I've returned two trucks lately to two different locations. One location was as you described - checked out all the lights, interior being clean ,etc. At the other location (this past Saturday), he just raised the door to be sure nothing was left inside and that was it? Guess it just depends on the location.

As an aside, I rented a 5x8 Uhaul trailer last year and when I got it to home and lifted the door, the trailer was full of junk furniture and boxes ??

[Mike80911]

I am wondering how you would have been responsible if a bulb blew out while you had the truck. Bulbs do not last forever. Last one I rented I returned when the place was closed so I just dropped it and ran.

[recycled sixtie]

That is not your job. Request a discount. Probably just that branch. Weird.

[john70t]

A decade ago Uhaul demanded $2,400 to rent their smallest truck. 1-way cross country.

I bought and sold a van instead. For the same price.

[widebody911]

I rented a U-Haul truck last summer, and just dropped the keys in the box after-hours.

[KevinTodd]

I think most of these guys are independent contractors or franchisees. Sounds as though the branch you dealt with is overcompensating for something that occurred in the past.

[Gogar]

It's not like you would've paid extra if a bulb was burnt out.

Checking all the lights is an easy job, when done by two.

[VINMAN]

Been about a yr and a half since I rented from them. I have a pretty good rapport with the local guy near me. I've rented from him a bunch of times over the years. Its always been just a quick walk around to check for any damage and to make sure its clean. last two times he didn't even want to check just asked me if everything was ok with the truck/trailer.

[Norm Faustino]

I guess location has a lot to do with how retailers' policies change depending on locale. The gas stations here in sleepy Port St Lucie are open in the daytime and free of bars on the windows. If I drive 2 hours south to Florida City however, it's a whole different story. I guess that location might have had a rash of vandalized trucks or incompetent renters.

[coldstart]

Their trucks are old.

The last two I rented were from 1972 and 1977 and had a million miles (exaggeration) each. That is too old for a truck that gets beat on daily.

[Tobra]

It is not so much that the trucks are old. It is more that they are horribly maintainted and frequently have dangerous tires and brakes. I did business with u haul once, that was enough. Broke down like 10 times driving from Houston to Sacramento

[Rick Lee]

What you really need be checking is the calibration of the tripmeter and odometer.

A few years ago I switched storage garages that were exactly seven miles apart and right off the same hwy. I made one trip and had the truck back in under an hour. Clerk even commented, "You're done already?" Then he told me 48 miles!!!! I said it was 14 miles and maybe 16 due to my going a mile farther down the road to get gas. They "gave" me 20 miles, but I was still irate and filed a complaint with the odometer fraud folks at DMV or the State Police, forget which. They eventually said they couldn't determine what happened because the truck I rented ended up in FL. I have heard they put smaller tires on those trucks to make the speedo read higher than you're really going so you go slower. But 48 miles when I went absolutely no more than 16 is ridiculous.

[VINMAN]

Beside the fact that the mileage rate they charge sucks...

[HardDrive]

I would never call U-Haul. They're awful. Budget or Penske for me thanks.

[FastCarFan]

I rented a U-Haul truck in August & the return procedure was easy & quick. A U-Haul employee did a walk-around looking for body damage, & then he confirmed that the fuel level was what it was when I picked it up. That was it.

[bell]

One word......penske.......
I'll never rent trucks from anyone else....
Have used pesnke, budget, uhaul, plus some others....

Penske is by far the best......never ever had any issus

[Tobra]

You never want to rent anything from U-haul. That is what the independant contractor guy who came out to help us in the middle of Texas told us. He said they would leave you to die if if would save them $20

[GWN7]

Type in "U Haul Problems" to Google and 4 web sites come up listing their shortfalls as a company.

Wikipedia has this to say about them:

In Canada, various news agencies have found serious safety problems on U-Haul equipment. In July 2005, the Toronto Star reported statistics suggesting that about half of U-Haul vehicles in Ontario were not road-safe.[7] Shortly afterward, the Ministry of Transportation (Ontario) reported that, of 296 U-Haul vehicles inspected in the summer of 2005 (43.5% of all inspections performed), 58 (19.6%) were found to have out-of-service defects, meaning that they are not road worthy.[8] CTV followed in October 2005, conducting their own inspections across the country, and finding that all 13 rented U-Haul trucks failed to meet basic provincial safety standards.[9]

Replying to the Toronto Star, the company's Canadian officials cited its inspection policies and procedures that employees and dealers are expected to follow. In response to the CTV results, Canadian U-Haul vice-president admitted to not heeding earlier warnings to improve their vehicles' safety conditions, and said older trucks would be replaced.

In October 2006 CTV W-Five re-investigated U-Haul by renting trucks from 9 locations across Canada. The rentals were then taken to mechanics for an inspection. Of the 9 trucks rented, 7 failed basic safety standards and were not deemed roadworthy; the other 2, while roadworthy, had minor problems.[10]

On June 24, 2007, the Los Angeles Times published a story on U-Haul's safety problems titled "Driving With Rented Risks".[11] There were also related articles published such as "Upkeep Lags In U-Haul's Aging Fleet"[12] and "Key Trial Evidence Goes Missing".[13]