Penske® Reviews
Their trucks have speed caps and some times you are only going 45 mph on the freeway because that is the maximum speed the trucks will go. They also have dinged us TWICE for ridiculous diesel fees even though we have filled their tanks to the top, took pictures of the tank opening (diesel), and the gas gauge on full. They say the fuel bubbles and it wasn't really full. b.s. Also, if you are going round trip from Vegas to CA to Vegas then you will be charged 4X as much as a one way rental. Go with U-Haul or someone else.
We requested a 22 foot truck but received a 26 foot one instead which was way too big for our move I was told the was all they had because it was a busy moving month/time. We called around 11am and asked for an exchange to a smaller one...even a 16 foot, but didn't get a return call until later that evening after we'd already given up and packed up about 1/3 of the whole truck and were all on our way. The larger truck made our trip very slow and cumbersome adding many hours of travel time. After about 4 hrs on the road, in 97 degree heat, the A/C went out. The following day we had an issue with another part of the engine about 50 miles from our destination for the evening and it was going to take 3 hrs just to get someone to come to us to diagnose the problem. We decided to keep moving anyway and the problem actually cleared itself. We got to our destination and realized that one of the headlights was also out. The rental was for 5 days which left us 2 more days for us to move the main portion of our home which was in storage near our destination. Overall we had a too big, older, somewhat run down vehicle that should not have been on the road for a long 1200 mile move. We are not happy with this company. The only consolation was that it was cheaper than the alternatives. Then again, you get what you pay for!
We rented a 16' Penske moving truck in Kansas City, MO to carry a 1 bedroom apartment worth of furniture to Binghamton, NY. The truck did the job we rented it for: it carried all of my stuff without much trouble, and it didn't break down along the way. That said, it was very loud inside the cab, and we couldn't have any music playing throughout the 2-day drive. While the A/C worked well, the center of the cab just below the dashboard around our feet was very hot to touch throughout the trip. If renting a truck like this were my best option for another cross-country move, then I'd consider it, but having experienced this particular way of getting the job done, I'd look for other options before settling on renting another moving truck for a long road trip.
Truck tires were in bad shape. We told them we were concerned at the time we picked up the truck. They assured us everything was fine. We could only go 50mph and the truck shimmied. Our requested blankets and hand trucks were not at the rental site. We had to travel to a different location to pick them up during peak commuter traffic.
Penske came in clutch. When U-Haul called me the day before my reservation to inform me they did not have a truck for me, and that a "reservation is really just a request", I cancelled with them and called Penske. Penske not only managed to track down a 26' truck, but had it brought in to our location (I believe from out of state) within 24 hours. At a time of year where college kids are moving into dorms and apartments like crazy, Penske managed to save our move! The ONLY reason Penske doesn't get a 5 star on this..... you know what.... no, they deserve the 5th star as well. The only reason I was going to say is that the truck seemed SUPER weak for the size. Going up only small hills (not even enough to have a grade % sign), the truck would slow to a crawl. The drive that is normally around 13 hours took my 20 because I was going 45 MPH for a vary large portion of it (basically any time the road was anything more extreme than "flat"). With that said, we had the truck fully loaded, front to back, top to bottom, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt and assume we were maxing out the weight. Had we needed to tow a vehicle behind it, however, I don't think we would have been able to
Penske called one hour before our reservation pick-up time (two hours before the movers were to arrive) to say they didn't have our truck and had no idea when they would. They wouldn't provide an alternative truck. We ended up calling UHaul and getting a day-of reservation for a larger truck and they matched Penske's price. Never using Penske again.
I booked a 16' truck w/loading ramp for 5 days but finshed the move 2 days in advance. Truck and ramp in great shape but be advised that they DO NOT pro rate and I was informed the price I was quoted was for a "package deal" . ..a deal for them, I suppose. As well, I reserved 2 hand trucks but when I went to pick up the truck, they said they could only provide 1, thus reducing my productivity by 50%. To make up for it, they added another 12 free furniture blankets on top of the 12 I had already booked... WTH? Thanks for doubling my workload.
Cyle and Lester did an awesome job loading up my apartment. They communicated clearly and promptly, arrived on time, treated the boxes with care, packed them expertly, and were very nice and pleasant throughout the process. Would have used them for the whole cross-country move if we had realized they also drive and unload at your destination!
Minus one star for the below average customer service when I picked up a 26 footer in Ontario, CA. I asked for two dozen blankets and the guy only picked up one bundle. When I went behind him to pick up the second dozen he told me there was two dozen in each bundle. "They're packed real tight". Sure enough, when I started loading the truck there was only one dozen. Minus another star for no lift gate on the truck which is basically why I went with Penske in the first place due to the tight spaces I would be loading and unloading. "All our one way trucks have a ramp. Only our local rentals come with a lift gate." Minus a third star for the box having a leak which let rain water run down inside the box onto some of the cardboard boxes I was transporting. The check engine light came on about two hundred miles into my trip necessitating a stop at the nearest Penske maintenance facility to have it taken care of. I won't take any stars away for that one, things happen and the truck performed well otherwise. Overall, I give my whole Penske experience a C-. Nothing special and definitely plenty of room for improvement.
Our reservation was scheduled for 8:15 a.m. the person at the store did not show up until 8:47 a.m. our movers were scheduled to arrive at our home at 9 a.m. This was a massively stressful start to the move and we weren't able to get home with our truck until 9:40 a.m. Luckily our movers were great and helped make the process smooth despite Penske's screw up. To make up for the delay, Penske offered us a hand truck which we did not need. There was no discount for messing up our pick-up.
The truck was excellent, a nearly new truck. We had some hassle returning the truck, because fuel gauge was reading 7/8 even though tank was obviously full, with fuel sloshing in the filler tube. The check-in person persisted in trying to charge us about $90 extra, but eventually let us have the victory, which we justly deserved. However, the dispute wasted an hour of time and made us late for our next activity.
