Minotaur029 wrote:So...avoiding the extra charges = good thing.

Still, if anybody can come up with a good reason to pay a lot extra to keep this rental 100% legal, lemme know.

General cross-country moving suggestions are also welcome.

the 22 year old me would never have paid the extra charges.

the 34 year old me would be falling all over myself to pay the extra charges. An extra $100 or so could save you a whole lot of headache and misery. Don't give the bastards at U-haul any reason to hang you out to dry by lying to them. Also, check with your credit card about insurance, because many times your credit card offers you free insurance on rental vehicles.
When we clean out my wife's grandmother's house I'll be making a similar cross-country trip from St. Louis to either Houston or Las Vegas. It should be fun.

Hey,
Re: paying for 2nd driver -- A friend recently rented a car and didn't put her boyfriend down as an authorized driver. As luck would have it, he was driving, and rear-ended someone. the rental co. said the car was totaled, and threatened to sue said friend for the cost of the car (around $10,000). Her dad's a lawyer and worked out some kind of deal with the rental co. but it was after months of dealing with it, when if she'd just paid for another driver there would probably not have been as big of an ordeal.

So, I would think twice about that, esp. if you're driving across the midwest in the winter, with the ice storms and blizzards and whatnot. I never used to get the extra driver on there, but after that happened, now I definitely would.

Bob--We won't be using U-Haul. We're going to have a big van or a Ford Explorer or something like that.

I talked to Rag (Raj?). I couldn't make it down in early December to see the apartment because of a school project that came up that weekend. The project ended up getting cancelled anyway due to a crazy snowstorm. Rag (Raj?) seemed a bit pissed at me for not being able to make it down...I tried to reschedule, but he said there were a bunch of people interested in the apartment. Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, I just finished a final and I've been working on papers.

Maybe the apartment is still available? I doubt it...in any case, we still don't know where Melissa will get a job...we might end up renting in Oak Park or something.

Ubercat--we do have a beta fish. What should I do about this? My girlfriend does not want to give it away.

Beth--you are a super nice lady. I don't think we'll be driving through Texas...are there any other states in which I should watch my speed limit?

Jon M.--You told the nightmare story I've been waiting to hear. Now we must decide...gamble?...or have me pay out the ass for an additional driver/being under 25.



Is there anything I can do to make the moving portion of the move less stressful? Where are some good places to look for boxes?

Where are you moving to?

Minotaur029 wrote:Is there anything I can do to make the moving portion of the move less stressful? Where are some good places to look for boxes?

this time of year any retail store will have a ton of boxes they will give you for free, as they have to pay to have them hauled away...

yaledelay wrote:

Minotaur029 wrote:Is there anything I can do to make the moving portion of the move less stressful? Where are some good places to look for boxes?

this time of year any retail store will have a ton of boxes they will give you for free, as they have to pay to have them hauled away...

Yeah, but try to show up early or ask ahead of time. Most stores get their trucks unloaded by store opening and make their bales then. However, most receiving department people are nice and will set aside boxes for you if you stop in and ask. Grocery stores are usually pretty decent because the produce boxes are sturdy, about the right size for most items, and they are a pain in the ass to break down so the employees are filled with glee pawning them off to you.

I didn't read the whole thread, but anyway, when I was 19 my boyfriend got in a bad car accident and broke his hip over winter break. We had to get back to school but his car was totalled and he couldn't drive. He, being over 25, rented the car and I drove it across the state with no problem. We didn't get pulled over, or in any accidents, so I can't say what the consequences would be in that case, but I can say that is probably isn't worth the extra money you would pay for that extra security.

Also, in this case, he was the passenger- it sounds like you are planning to have someone rent the car and not come with you- and I don't know how that would work if you did get pulled over/in an accident/ etc.

Minotaur029 wrote:Still, if anybody can come up with a good reason to pay a lot extra to keep this rental 100% legal, lemme know.

If an accident of some sort does happen, you run the risk of having the insurance company deny your claim. In my experience, they will use anything they can to weasel out.

sunset_gun wrote:If an accident of some sort does happen, you run the risk of having the insurance company deny your claim. In my experience, they will use anything they can to weasel out.

Very true. Insurance companies are notorious for this. The time that I was consensually fighting my future husband and best man, I cracked a rib and the insurance tried to pin it on one of their insurance policies. It was a mess and I wound up having to lie to all parties involved in order for my insurance to pay for my wounds/x-rays/painkillers which I obtained/got through the process of being dumb and reckless.

(yaledelay--was that also the night where I set you on fire?)

Mandroid wrote:Where are you moving to?

I'm flying out to Albuquerque on Christmas Eve to help tocharian move from Albuquerque to Chicago. It's too bad you are in California...I think you two would have made fast friends...seeing as you are two kind ladies who enjoy similiar culture and all. I'm nervous because I want everything to go smoothly...but it probably won't, no matter how hard I try. I hope the weather isn't too shitty...especially if we go balls out on the cutting additional rental costs thing.