Unhappy with U-Haul West Seattle

[eliolevanto]

I had a trailer hitch installed by U-Haul. Everything seemed fine, but a few months later when I needed to access my spare tire – I could NOT!
On my car (a Lexus SUV), the spare tire drops down under the car. You turn a crank and the tire lowers. Well guess – what? When I went to do this the hitch was in the way and you could not access the tire!
Of course I was annoyed. When I brought the car back to U-Haul they said there was nothing they could do about it. They insisted they installed the hitch properly, according to “the manual”. I politely explained to them that it does not matter what the manual says if I cannot access my spare tire. I brought the car to my mechanic who came up with a fix that they said could be done. I went back to U-Haul with the suggested fix and they said they could not do that. I asked them if they would then pay for the fix or at least contribute to the cost of the fix that someone else COULD do. They said no.
I was astounded. Is this customer service? They installed a hitch that does not function properly on my car. When they admitted they do not have the ability to modify it, they refused to offer to pay (or even share in the cost) for a third party who COULD fix it.
They were not willing to help in any way alleviate a problem they caused.

This was the U-Haul on 35th Ave SW in West Seattle. If this is how they handle customers, I would not wish to do any business with them and I could not recommend their services to anyone.

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[2 Much Whine]

I stopped going to that U-Haul several years ago due to their total ineptitude. I used to get my propane filled there. Now I go to Central Welding Supply – it’s cheaper, there is never a line and they know what the heck they are doing.

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[mark47n]

While I’m not a huge fan of doing business with UHaul their options with hitches are limited and it’s also your responsibility, as the buyer and owner of your car, to do your due diligence.

So, a few observations:

You asked UHaul to install a hitch. They did. That part’s pretty cut and dried. Both of you should’ve made sure that the car/hitch combo was approved/compatible.

UHaul cannot modify the hitch. The liability that such an act would open them up to is unacceptable and it matters not what your mechanic says.

You say that the hitch doesn’t work. Does that mean that you cannot tow with it? If that’s the case then it doesn’t work. If it interferes with access to other things that is, again, a compatibility issue.

Personally, I don’t subscribe to the philosophy that the customer is always right. Often they are not, either technically nor ethically.

Perhaps next time you want a vehicle modification made you’ll go to a specialist rather than a storage company. I recommend Rack and Road.

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[Graciano]

I’m curious, what year and model is your Lexus. I want to look up the install instructions.

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