Is it Cheaper to Hire a Van and Move Home by Yourself?
Times are hard and probably going to get harder, so naturally we're all looking for ways to save a bit of money wherever we can.
So if you happen to be moving home in a city like London it may cross your mind to look into hiring a van and moving by yourself (or at least with a mate or two) but the question is does it make sense and would it really be cheaper, let's take a look.

Moving in London soon? Come on guys, let's do it the easy way
So, moving day is fast approaching and you have a lightbulb moment which typically goes something like.. 'why bother using a Mover when I can just hire a van and move my stuff by myself' or maybe you're just wondering.. 'is it cheaper to hire a van than using a man with a van'?
Both are reasonable questions but to answer them properly there are a number of factors that need to be considered.
Movers do it for a living
Like everything else, when you do something regularly you gain valuable experience, and you become much more efficient and faster at it. In fact some of the most frequent words a Mover hears from a satisfied customer at the end of their move is.. 'I can't believe how quickly we did it'.
Packing the van
It might seem like a simple task for you and your mates (if they turn up) to just chuck all your stuff in the back of the van, but guess what.. it takes experience to know how to do it quickly and efficiently (there's that word again) and most importantly safely, so that it won't all get thrown around in the event of having to break hard en route, or even just going around corners!
You will ache all over
Yes you might be a gym bunny with a honed and muscular torso, but moving is different to lifting weights and resistance machines. In some ways it's the ultimate workout as you get to use muscles you forgot you even had. Until the next morning that is.
Any Mover will tell you what they felt like in the first few days when they started, and it takes conditioning through repetition to get used to it.
Hiring a van isn't that simple
First you have to spend time researching the different van hire options, including prices and the all important terms and conditions. Van hire is a competitive market so if it's your first time hiring one it's likely going to take you an hour or two at least to properly look into it before deciding on which one to go with.
Oh, and remember you'll have to travel to wherever the van is to pick it up, and then return it after use when you're tired from the move, once you've filled it back up with fuel or whatever else you have to do with it.
Driving in London
Because you're most likely a young professional living in London, the chances are you don't own a car and quite possibly haven't driven one in years. Then you're going to jump straight into an unfamiliar van and off you go into the busy London traffic.
Even though you will (hopefully) have a Sat Nav, it's still going to be a daunting experience, and if you so much as put a scratch on that hire van, you'll probably end up losing your deposit.
Why bother?
It's easy to say 'I can just hire a van and do it myself' (even with friends) but do you really want to spend all day moving home and messing around with a hired van, when you can just get the Movers to come round and do what they do best, in a fraction of the time it would take you.
And to top it all off, when you weigh it all up the difference between London van hire prices and our man and van rates is often not that much, so what's the point. Your time would be much better spent preparing for the move and making sure everything is well packed, boxed and ready to go.
Here's some much better ideas for how to save money moving home that sure beats hiring a van.
Happy Moving!
Date published:
Categories: Removals Man and Van Man with a Van