Buying and Importing a Used Uhaul Truck. Has anyone done it?

[robertother]

U-haul tends to keep their vehicles a long time. When they're selling them, they're worn out. This is regardless of the condition they're kept in when they're in service (which has somewhat improved).

As far as the quality of u-haul fleet in service, it really does depend. Usually they only use the old junkers for in-city moves, and use the nicer equipment for one-ways. I recently rented a 26' 2005 truck with 100,000 miles and it was okay.

They are also registered in Arizona because:
-Company is based out of there
-Apportioned plates which don't expire, removing the hassle of updating registration where the trucks move all over the continent.

Penske generally keeps newer equipment so the surplus vehicles aren't heaps of scrap:
http://www.penskeusedtrucks.com/used...s/non-CDL.html

I think this information is quite true. Since I was considering importing from the US, I did a bit of research to see if the maintenance was as bad in the US, and it seems it is (or perhaps was?). They even coined a new expression for falsifying the maintenance records "hanging paper".

U-Haul admits they don't retire the trucks at a specific age or mileage, leaving you to surmise they get rid of them when they are getting too expensive to maintain. In the information on the trucks they are selling they say they are well maintained, but the maintenance records they present always stop some years before the truck is up for sale. Sometimes the last record is 2008, but often it is as far back as 2004.

It seems when U-Haul sees the end of the road coming for a particular truck, they stop spending money on maintenance, and when they are about finished, they sell them. Maybe I'm being cynical, but that's the only conclusion I can draw.

I looked into Ryder and Penske. Ryder has no sales office in BC, where I live, and the only trucks almost suitable (too short) in Calgary, AB are too expensive for my needs. True, they are probably good trucks. There is also the same problem of getting it through the ridiculous "safety inspection" in BC, though there would be a better chance there would be no problems.

Penske only has 2 trucks for sale in BC at the moment, neither suitable and also expensive.

I will keep looking, but at this point I seem to be at a dead end!

[jason9945]

I think this information is quite true. Since I was considering importing from the US, I did a bit of research to see if the maintenance was as bad in the US, and it seems it is (or perhaps was?). They even coined a new expression for falsifying the maintenance records "hanging paper".

U-Haul admits they don't retire the trucks at a specific age or mileage, leaving you to surmise they get rid of them when they are getting too expensive to maintain. In the information on the trucks they are selling they say they are well maintained, but the maintenance records they present always stop some years before the truck is up for sale. Sometimes the last record is 2008, but often it is as far back as 2004.

It seems when U-Haul sees the end of the road coming for a particular truck, they stop spending money on maintenance, and when they are about finished, they sell them. Maybe I'm being cynical, but that's the only conclusion I can draw.

I looked into Ryder and Penske. Ryder has no sales office in BC, where I live, and the only trucks almost suitable (too short) in Calgary, AB are too expensive for my needs. True, they are probably good trucks. There is also the same problem of getting it through the ridiculous "safety inspection" in BC, though there would be a better chance there would be no problems.

Penske only has 2 trucks for sale in BC at the moment, neither suitable and also expensive.

I will keep looking, but at this point I seem to be at a dead end!

Sounds like you might be better suited for a Shipping container or trailer. You will have to pay somebody to haul it around as needed, but you won't have to worry about the maintenance.

[robertother]

Sounds like you might be better suited for a Shipping container or trailer. You will have to pay somebody to haul it around as needed, but you won't have to worry about the maintenance.

I looked into this some time back, but the problem is that for non-commercial transporting, ie domestic/private, you get ripped off. A few years back I shipped a container from Britain to Montreal and was quoted around $150 to unload it to the warehouse and $2000 to get it across Canada to BC.

When it arrived, the agent in Montreal tried to charge us $1,000 to unload and $4,000 to transport it! After showing him the faxed quote, he whimpered and said he would "just have to absorb the loss, I suppose" Poor sod! We got the unloading cost down to the quote, but we used a U-Haul to transport the stuff in the end because we couldn't get any transport company to accept the quote, they wanted the $4K or nothing.

U-Haul has just come out with a new (to them at least) idea: pods. A 300cu ft box you can fill up and they will transport through a freight company, so I got a sample quote for Vancouver to the East Kootenays the other side of BC. and also for a 17ft truck. Price for the 300 cu ft pod $1350, 17ft truck, which has the capacity of several pods, $1267, sure there is the fuel cost and need to drive the truck....

In short, as a non-commercial user, the cost of transporting a container around the place from time to time make it not financially sane, compared with using my own truck, if I can get one at the right price... I don't want a lot of money tied up in it.

[jason9945]

I looked into this some time back, but the problem is that for non-commercial transporting, ie domestic/private, you get ripped off. A few years back I shipped a container from Britain to Montreal and was quoted around $150 to unload it to the warehouse and $2000 to get it across Canada to BC.

When it arrived, the agent in Montreal tried to charge us $1,000 to unload and $4,000 to transport it! After showing him the faxed quote, he whimpered and said he would "just have to absorb the loss, I suppose" Poor sod! We got the unloading cost down to the quote, but we used a U-Haul to transport the stuff in the end because we couldn't get any transport company to accept the quote, they wanted the $4K or nothing.

U-Haul has just come out with a new (to them at least) idea: pods. A 300cu ft box you can fill up and they will transport through a freight company, so I got a sample quote for Vancouver to the East Kootenays the other side of BC. and also for a 17ft truck. Price for the 300 cu ft pod $1350, 17ft truck, which has the capacity of several pods, $1267, sure there is the fuel cost and need to drive the truck....

In short, as a non-commercial user, the cost of transporting a container around the place from time to time make it not financially sane, compared with using my own truck, if I can get one at the right price... I don't want a lot of money tied up in it.

Ummmm, you said you wanted to use it as a mobile storage unit, and now you are quoting cross country moves?

Anyway, if you do want a mobile storage unit check out greystone. $4200 for a new 20' unit and probably a few hundred for a local tow company to haul it from place to place. I know a guy who used to rent shipping containers out, he used to just hire a local tow company with a flatbed to do the deliveries.

But, once more depends on your usage. The local u-haul depot has an 88 international that was a local rental. Its only $3300!

If you do buy a new cube, check out the Ford LCF or the Isuzu/Chevy w5500 cab overs! Great fuel economy, and they haul ass too. Oh and you can drive them pretty much anywhere. Heck I'd take one through the drive thru

[robertother]

Ummmm, you said you wanted to use it as a mobile storage unit, and now you are quoting cross country moves?

Anyway, if you do want a mobile storage unit check out greystone. $4200 for a new 20' unit and probably a few hundred for a local tow company to haul it from place to place. I know a guy who used to rent shipping containers out, he used to just hire a local tow company with a flatbed to do the deliveries.

But, once more depends on your usage. The local u-haul depot has an 88 international that was a local rental. Its only $3300!

If you do buy a new cube, check out the Ford LCF or the Isuzu/Chevy w5500 cab overs! Great fuel economy, and they haul ass too. Oh and you can drive them pretty much anywhere. Heck I'd take one through the drive thru

I just looked at Greystone, but they are out east, so presumably is you local U-Haul with the 88 international? That' the problem. I am in BC and there's nothing comparable here. Our local U-haul sales outlets only offer 14ft trucks! I will see if I find something like Greystone here... Though this and the container solution is not ideal because of the inflexibility. Buying something out east, the transport cost across the country aside, also has the infamous "safety inspection" waiting in BC. to add an unknown cost to the price of the trailer or truck.

Even without all the reasons not to buy a worn out U-Haul, the larger trucks just don't come up for sale out west. I have a task timer set up on the computer which brings up U-Haul sales depots in Vancouver and Calgary every week and since 2009, when I started looking, nothing has come up for sale larger than a 14 footer (apart from the occasional dead 17 footer in Calgary, usually with both transmission and engine not operating). I have certainly never seen a 24 footer in either location.

We don't anticipate more cross country trips, but it's definitely not out of the question, certainly cross province is on the cards again, in the next couple of months in fact. Rental costs add up rapidly when you do this every couple of years or so. It is a movable storage unit because it might not get unpacked for months, possibly years, but we need access to the contents. Or, it may be in a storage compound for some time etc. We need flexibility and loading, racing across the province and unloading in a hurry, then doing it all again some short time later, wears a bit thin after doing it for the nth time with rentals.

I appreciate all the suggestions and welcome any others!

[jason9945]

I just looked at Greystone, but they are out east, so presumably is you local U-Haul with the 88 international? That' the problem. I am in BC and there's nothing comparable here. Our local U-haul sales outlets only offer 14ft trucks! I will see if I find something like Greystone here... Though this and the container solution is not ideal because of the inflexibility. Buying something out east, the transport cost across the country aside, also has the infamous "safety inspection" waiting in BC. to add an unknown cost to the price of the trailer or truck.

Graystone does have a place in Vancouver.. http://www.graystone.ca/Rates.aspx?cityID=6

I'm curious what the deal is with the BC inspection. I've had a few friends buy, register and insure beaters in BC and bring them back to Ontario. Our Ontario inspection on the other hand is pretty fierce. Especially for commercial vehicles, which need a yearly inspection here. (U-Hauls exempted of course)

[robertother]

Graystone does have a place in Vancouver.. http://www.graystone.ca/Rates.aspx?cityID=6

I'm curious what the deal is with the BC inspection. I've had a few friends buy, register and insure beaters in BC and bring them back to Ontario. Our Ontario inspection on the other hand is pretty fierce. Especially for commercial vehicles, which need a yearly inspection here. (U-Hauls exempted of course)

We imported a vehicle from France in 2006 and took it to an inspection agency where they told us a tiny little stone chip in the windscreen with a star crack no more than 6mm across would have to be repaired (covered up) before the inspection or it would fail!!!

We had the cover up done, but hunted down another inspection agency where the owner looked about 75 and spun a tale of woe about needing the vehicle to get work so it couldn't fail and he seemed sympathetic... and we got the vehicle through. I watched as he did the inspection and our choice of inspector was good: he tried to remove the rear brake drums and had difficulty, so he didn't bother, and so on.

I'm not suggesting there was anything wrong with the vehicle we wanted to hide, we had just driven it 4,000km across from Montreal to BC towing a travel trailer without the slightest difficulty and before that had driven it all around Europe for several years, but after the stone chip incident, it seemed like anything other than a perfect brand new vehicle could get very expensive in the hands of these inspectors.

The stupidity of this whole thing of course is that we have all seen the vehicles driving around with complete windows missing and the opening covered with a sheet of poly, and any number of major defects. It just seems that the "inspection" is being used as a territorial deterrent - why should a Canadian vehicle driving quite happily in Alberta or Ontario suddenly need a "safety inspection" when "importing" it to another province and how can they justify the need for such a vehicle to meet such high standards that a stone chip is inadmissible, but complete windows missing for local vehicles is OK??

As I said, we were lucky to find a sympathetic inspector, who knows what the bill could have been if we had gone through the inspection with the guy who was horrified by a tiny stone chip.... I think you might better understand my allergic reaction at the thought of the "safety inspection" now!

Maybe we just had a bad experience, I don't know, but because this inspection is such an unknown and could easily cost more in "repairs" to get it up to the inspectors standard than the vehicle cost in the first place when considering older trucks. There is a check list, but the whole thing seems to be somewhat subjective and dependent on the whims of the inspector. Just did a quick search for the check list and the site that came up had this to say about the inspection, which matches our own experience:

Quote:

"It may take several attempts to pass and whether or not you have to pay for your re-test varies from shop to shop so ask this in advance. You can fix items yourself but no doubt they will ofter to replace items for you and charge you parts and labor to bring your vehicle up to code. This is the whole point of the inspection: to generate revenue for the shops and bring your vehicle to a higher standard than other vehicles in BC that have never left the province.

I hate to worry people simply by being thorough but ask anyone who has been through the process and they will tell you that it's aggravating. I'm all for safe vehicles on the road but the way the inspection criteria is worded is flawed.

Expect items such as windshields with a 1 in. crack, leaking mufflers to require replacement before you can pass. All lighting must work, horn, wipers etc. This is typical safety stuff but the standard is so loosely worded virtually anything can fail you. For example:

* Any tears in driver's seat cause a failure (buy a snug fitting seat cover)
* Any torn or cracked rubber items in the undercarriage. "

End quote.

[jason9945]

We imported a vehicle from France in 2006 and took it to an inspection agency where they told us a tiny little stone chip in the windscreen with a star crack no more than 6mm across would have to be repaired (covered up) before the inspection or it would fail!!!

We had the cover up done, but hunted down another inspection agency where the owner looked about 75 and spun a tale of woe about needing the vehicle to get work so it couldn't fail and he seemed sympathetic... and we got the vehicle through. I watched as he did the inspection and our choice of inspector was good: he tried to remove the rear brake drums and had difficulty, so he didn't bother, and so on.

I'm not suggesting there was anything wrong with the vehicle we wanted to hide, we had just driven it 4,000km across from Montreal to BC towing a travel trailer without the slightest difficulty and before that had driven it all around Europe for several years, but after the stone chip incident, it seemed like anything other than a perfect brand new vehicle could get very expensive in the hands of these inspectors.

The stupidity of this whole thing of course is that we have all seen the vehicles driving around with complete windows missing and the opening covered with a sheet of poly, and any number of major defects. It just seems that the "inspection" is being used as a territorial deterrent - why should a Canadian vehicle driving quite happily in Alberta or Ontario suddenly need a "safety inspection" when "importing" it to another province and how can they justify the need for such a vehicle to meet such high standards that a stone chip is inadmissible, but complete windows missing for local vehicles is OK??

As I said, we were lucky to find a sympathetic inspector, who knows what the bill could have been if we had gone through the inspection with the guy who was horrified by a tiny stone chip.... I think you might better understand my allergic reaction at the thought of the "safety inspection" now!

Maybe we just had a bad experience, I don't know, but because this inspection is such an unknown and could easily cost more in "repairs" to get it up to the inspectors standard than the vehicle cost in the first place when considering older trucks. There is a check list, but the whole thing seems to be somewhat subjective and dependent on the whims of the inspector. Just did a quick search for the check list and the site that came up had this to say about the inspection, which matches our own experience:

Quote:

"It may take several attempts to pass and whether or not you have to pay for your re-test varies from shop to shop so ask this in advance. You can fix items yourself but no doubt they will ofter to replace items for you and charge you parts and labor to bring your vehicle up to code. This is the whole point of the inspection: to generate revenue for the shops and bring your vehicle to a higher standard than other vehicles in BC that have never left the province.

I hate to worry people simply by being thorough but ask anyone who has been through the process and they will tell you that it's aggravating. I'm all for safe vehicles on the road but the way the inspection criteria is worded is flawed.

Expect items such as windshields with a 1 in. crack, leaking mufflers to require replacement before you can pass. All lighting must work, horn, wipers etc. This is typical safety stuff but the standard is so loosely worded virtually anything can fail you. For example:

* Any tears in driver's seat cause a failure (buy a snug fitting seat cover)
* Any torn or cracked rubber items in the undercarriage. "

End quote.

That sounds pretty standard for Ontario & Quebec.

[robertother]

That sounds pretty standard for Ontario & Quebec.

I don't quite understand that last comment.

Are you saying that in Ontario and Quebec you have mandatory annual safety inspections for all vehicles older than a certain number of years, say 5, as in Europe or what? If so, that would be very interesting from my point of view, because trucks from Ontario should have a better chance of getting through the (bad) joke BC inspection, where there is no safety inspection required for resident vehicles, just "imports". Personally, I think this should be a nationwide requirement, though my trusty F150 would probably get scrapped, along with many, many others! Even then, I can't see how a tear in a seat cover could possibly be safety problem....

[robertother]

PS

Thanks for the link, but GrAystone in Vancouver doesn't seem to be the same outfit as GrEystone in Ontario: the former only sells/rents containers and has nothing to do with trailers?

[jason9945]

I don't quite understand that last comment.

Are you saying that in Ontario and Quebec you have mandatory annual safety inspections for all vehicles older than a certain number of years, say 5, as in Europe or what? If so, that would be very interesting from my point of view, because trucks from Ontario should have a better chance of getting through the (bad) joke BC inspection, where there is no safety inspection required for resident vehicles, just "imports". Personally, I think this should be a nationwide requirement, though my trusty F150 would probably get scrapped, along with many, many others! Even then, I can't see how a tear in a seat cover could possibly be safety problem....

Commercial vehicles have a yearly inspection. Private vehicles have a safety inspection any time they change ownership, unless its between family members. I don't think the seat rip would be a problem, but the windshield certainly would fail a vehicle.

But we don't have any mandatory yearly inspections out here.