Mover recommendation

Time to call all your friends... hehe.

From the old IHB board, one of the recommendations was Joel's Moving Labor from IPOPlaya:
http://www.joelsmovinglabor.com/

I used them once and they were pretty good but at the time they didn't have their own truck (not sure if they have one now) so you basically rented your own truck and they moved the stuff.

A place that has their own truck (if you need it) and was recommended by a few of my friends, 3 Guys Moving Company:
http://3gmunow.com/Home_Page.php

Then there are referral sites like:
http://www.hireahelper.com/movershttp://www.movinghelp.com(UHaul affiliate)

Good luck and let us know how it works out.
 
I used Joels one time and would recommend them. Ill use them again for our next move. Its very cost effective. I rented a Uhaul truck for under $50 for everything then paid these guys about $200 plus tip.
 
Its that time again...we plan to move this week. Any suggestions?

Does above recommendations still stand good?

At joels, they do not have truck even now. Their hourly is also not cheaper $125 for first 2 hours and $55 an hour after that. Not sure of the costs of truck/insurance.
 
Patrick Star said:
Lucky Moving.  We have used them 3 times, including a Bay Area-So Cal long distance move.  Nothing but professional, never anything broken or a dented wall in three moves.  They recently switched to a $95/hr flat fee and send 3 movers.  That's a good deal --- many of the cheaper per hour movers only have two movers and it takes longer.  Just moved our SFR 65 miles away, and completed the whole thing in just 8 hours.  Very efficient.  I think they charge a $50 surcharge for gas to Irvine, but well worth it. 

http://www.luckymoving.com/about_us_en.aspx
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I'm quoting this because it's chockful of great info and I don't want to see it go "poof"!
 
Patrick Star said:
Lucky Moving.  We have used them 3 times, including a Bay Area-So Cal long distance move.  Nothing but professional, never anything broken or a dented wall in three moves.  They recently switched to a $95/hr flat fee and send 3 movers.  That's a good deal --- many of the cheaper per hour movers only have two movers and it takes longer.  Just moved our SFR 65 miles away, and completed the whole thing in just 8 hours.  Very efficient.  I think they charge a $50 surcharge for gas to Irvine, but well worth it. 

http://www.luckymoving.com/about_us_en.aspx
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I am moving from irvine to tustin ranch, called them and was shocked by their "double drive" cost - its $130 bucks flat for moving between locations 10 miles apart. This is on the top of 4 hours min at $100 per hour. Total to move (from IRV to TR) would be ($100 * 4) + $130 = $530. There goes my dishwasher!

May be they work better to move between far locations?
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Note to self: Learn Mandarin not because Amy Chua says so... but because it could save me money on moving.
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Or just beg Pstar's wife to do the negotiating for you.  haha
 
I have made reservation with Scott of "3 Guys Moving Company" this weekend. Its $70 per hour and $24 fuel surcharge. Typically they are 3 hour min, but since mine is least furnished apt to home - I asked for 2 hr min. And yes, they come in with truck.

Lets see how they do.
 
I used the 3 Guys as well.  While they certainly got the job done, not the most careful of guys so just pack all the fragile stuff yourself if you can. 

For example, they moved my fridge with all my stuff inside.  In theory it works, but bc of the shifting and stuff, it actually broke one of my shelves.  No biggie but...

Also, they had to make a second trip and Scott initially wanted charge me an additional Fuel Charge!  Dont fall for it!  Especially since I was only moving like 2.5 miles down the road (Irvine to Irvine), I was able to talk him out of it.

Because you are paying them for their time, you kinda feel a bit rushed.  As with most costs, pad your estimated time a bit and maybe you wont feel as rushed as I did.  But overall, they got the job done and I would use them again.  Good luck!
 
bearman81 said:
Also, they had to make a second trip and Scott initially wanted charge me an additional Fuel Charge!  Dont fall for it!  Especially since I was only moving like 2.5 miles down the road (Irvine to Irvine), I was able to talk him out of it.
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My move distance is 1.8 miles. However, scott emailed agreeing with 2 hour min (instead of their standard 3 hr min) and fuel charge is also mentioned. I will reply back today to see if he can waive that fuel charge, since its less than 2 miles. If he agrees - I could pay that money as tips for the helpers.
 
I asked scott and he went on and on about fuel prices, trucks does not come from irvine and do not go to tustin ranch after the move, reduced min 3 hours to 2 hours....etc etc.,

I left it at that. I just hope I can finish my move in less than 2 hours. Will let you know how their service is.
 
Patrick Star said:
bearman81 said:
For example, they moved my fridge with all my stuff inside.  In theory it works, but bc of the shifting and stuff, it actually broke one of my shelves.  No biggie but...
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Lucky Movers would take all the shelves out and bubble wrap each individually.  Yeah, they are more per hour, but as someone said earlier...you get what you pay for. 
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I've always wondered about this.

Being more careful would result in using up more time right? So although you would pay more per hour for these type of things, would that end up costing you more since would have to buy more time?

I'm sure it depends on what is actually done since I don't know how much longer it would take to remove the items and wrap the shelves. And if you do more prep beforehand... that will certainly help.

For example, when we moved last, we had them place all the stuff we could move ourselves in the garage and only move the big things into the house (and up the stairs) like beds, the washer/dryer etc. Had we asked them to move up all of our boxes, toys etc... that would have easily been another hour. Additionally... we did not have them move anything that we could move ourselves in our own vehicles (and we did not want to get dirty) like clothes, linens, towels etc.
 
The first Fuel Charge is fine.  But im saying if you need a second round trip from Old Home to New Home and its less than 3 miles like mine was, dont let him get away with tacking on another Fuel Charge like he was trying with us. 

If you plan on less than 2 hours, you probably have less junk than I did.  I went from a 1 car garage to a 3 car garage and just got my second car in the garage finally 3+ months after I moved in.  Btw, the Fuel Charge in Oct when we moved was just $20 but I know prices have increased since then. 

Remember, move all the fragile stuff yourself and you should be fine.  Good luck!
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Additionally... we did not have them move anything that we could move ourselves in our own vehicles (and we did not want to get dirty) like clothes, linens, towels etc.
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I have moved about 30 pieces (toys, boxes, etc.,) past few days since we took possession, so that we keep it under 2 hours. Moving BIG ones are the focus for the move - I agree!

bearman81 said:
Remember, move all the fragile stuff yourself and you should be fine.  Good luck!
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Today, I plan to take all fragiles in my car. There is less of junk since I am moving from 1-car-detached-garage to 3-car-attached-garage...so my next move is going to be tedious. But thats not until few years.

Thanks!
 
3 big guys moving (3bgm.com) worked well.

3 guys came in at the promised time with truck, dollies and some packing material. We were ready with most stuff packed in boxes except for TV stand, couch, chest, computer table etc., We were five (3 of them + myself + friend). We had about 50 (small, medium and large) boxes and 10 unpacked items (like bed, sofa etc.,) It took 80 min to load and unload from 1000 sq ft 2-bed apartment home to 2-level single family home. Since I had agreed for 2 hours min, I ended up using some of their time re-arranging furniture within the home. Still it was only 90 min.

So I paid a total of $195 : $140 (2 hours * $70) + $25 (fuel surcharge) + $30 ($10 tip for each person). I have moved about 20 boxes myself over last week. On hind sight, I could have avoided that and use whole of 2 hours. But overall, everything seems to be in their working condition - so thats good. All 3 guys requested and used our downstairs restroom (seems like no:1).

I would rate them 4/5. Since tip is unavoidable, just tell them upfront what your targeted move-duration is (I told them I would like to finish all loading in 1 hour and all move in 2 hours) - if they meet the duration the tip can be promised more. That will serve as motivation for them to move faster!
 
I used Safe-Way Moving for my recent move. They got really good Yelp reviews. They are located very close to where I was moving to. I didn't have a great experience with my last movers, so I gave these guys a shot. It was $75/hr. for a 2-man team with a 26' truck. I got their weekday rate because I was moving on a Wednesday. They do have a 3-man team available, depending on what your needs are. I believe that would be an extra $25 an hour but don't quote me on that... my receipt says that much "minimum". There is a 3 hour minimum. They have all their own equipment, moving boxes, etc. Mine was a very local move so these guys didn't even really take a break that I can remember. It was a 4 1/2 hour move. I love that they did not smoke around my furniture like my last movers and they also did not smell of smoke on themselves. My last movers kept me waiting several hours after our scheduled appointment - we thought they weren't coming & they didn't call.... we were panicking. These guys were very punctual. They put runners down on my carpet to keep shoe prints off the high traffic areas. I will be picky and say I would have preferred it went further, such as running the entire length of the hallway and not just stopping at the top of the stairs, for example. Both the guys spoke very fluent English. They were friendly & helpful. They didn't break any of my things that I have discovered so far. I have put their number into my permanent personal phone book in case I ever need another move. They also offer storage if you need it and a "hybrid storage" pod-system type of thing. They did a short-notice move for me. I believe it was about 3 days' notice. I would submit them for your consideration if you need reliable movers nearby.
 
Just called Lucky Moving, lady answered in Chinese, but speaks English, 3 man team with truck, 3hr weekday min, 4hr weekend min, $95/hr, $90 fuel charge.  Gonna try Safeway now
 
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