Moving Company recommendation needed

July 2, 2007 11:07 AM

My friend and his family are relocating from Freehold New Jersey to Coral Springs Florida (Broward County) he is trying to find a moving company, but prices quoted vary greatly from company to company! Could you guys recommend an honest company that you or someone you know have used to do this kind of trip. Also any tips on what to expect will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
posted by FLHunter3006 to travel & transportation (11 comments total)

We used Teacher's Moving years ago. Their trucks still say "Florida Specials" so I assume they're familiar with that sort of thing.
posted by djb at 11:28 AM on July 2, 2007

Creepy. I grew up in Coral Springs. Whenever we moved, we always used Nice Jewish Boy Moving. I'm sorry that I don't have anything else to add, it's just that it rare for me to see anything about Coral Springs ever.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 11:37 AM on July 2, 2007

I have used Two Men and a Truck for 3 different moves, and each crew has been great! They were shorter moves than your friend is dealing with, but my experience has been that TMAAT staffs honest and hard-working people that actually care about your stuff and getting it to the destination in one piece.
posted by odi.et.amo at 11:41 AM on July 2, 2007

Is it a corporate relocation? Is your friend paying for the move himself? If it's a corporate relo I would think the relocation group at the company will tell him who to use, or at least have options.

If not - remember that most of the moving companies are franchises. The fact that somebody had a great experience going from Topeka to Seattle using North American means little. So your friend should look for local referrals from friends and neighbors on who they used. Those will be the most relevant referrals.

If he wants to save a lot of money - look at Upack. No local moving crew is involved. They drop the trailer at your house, you load it, they drive it to the new place and leave it for you to unload. I used them for a GA to VA move and was very happy.
posted by COD at 1:18 PM on July 2, 2007

I've had great luck with Moovers Inc, going from SW Florida to the DC metro.
posted by feloniousmonk at 2:13 PM on July 2, 2007

My grandmother recently moved from North Carolina to Boston, and used Daley and Wanzer. They specialize in these east coast moves, and my Grandmother was _thrilled_ with how nice and easy to work with they were. They stopped at her house on their way down TO Florida, measured all her stuff so they could leave room for it, and then picked it up on their way back to Boston. Worth a look.
posted by autojack at 2:14 PM on July 2, 2007

The forums at Moving Scam have a ton of reviews of different movers, advice, etc., even beyond the handful that give the site money to recommend them.
posted by jules1651 at 2:18 PM on July 2, 2007

Be sure to check the Better Business Bureau wherever your moving company is based to see how many complaints there are and how they were resolved. The info is often online. It is pretty rare to find a mover with no complaints, but if you look at Starving Students, for example, you'll usually find a gazillion complaints.

You sort of get what you pay for with movers. Cheaper can be OK for local moves. I don't like cheap for longer moves. Don't put any stock in a quote until a person actually comes to look at the stuff being moved.
posted by Mozzie at 4:35 PM on July 2, 2007

Creepy? I live in Coral Springs. Have been doing so for a good part of the last two decades, so I don't know much about available movers, but if they need any help finding things once they're here, um, hi.
posted by casarkos at 6:13 PM on July 2, 2007

Seconding Upack - I used them for a VA to FL (Tampa Bay) move in late 2005, and had a great experience (also saved a ton of money and anxiety since I didn't want to drive a giant U-Haul).
posted by mewithoutyou at 6:49 PM on July 2, 2007

Whatever you do, avoid Father and Sons. They are very well-known along the eastern corridor for providing shoddy service, holding people's belongings hostage for additional fees and failing to stand behind their estimates. Good luck in Broward. South Florida sucks IMHO.
posted by notjustfoxybrown at 9:47 PM on July 3, 2007