Students & First-Time Movers

You are moving for uni, for a first job, or just moving, and the car needs to come. The budget is genuinely tight and you have never done this before. Both of those are fine.

The cheapest way, honestly

Three things make the biggest difference, and none of them are negotiating.

1. Depot-to-depot instead of door-to-door. This is the big one: 20 to 40 per cent off for the cost of an hour at each end. If you can get a lift from our yard, take it.
2. Flexible dates. Telling us “any time in the next three weeks” lets us put you on a run with a gap. A fixed date means we build the run around you, and you pay for that.
3. Avoid December and January. If you can move in February instead, you will pay materially less. Peak is peak.

Is it cheaper to just drive it?

Sometimes, and we will not pretend otherwise. On a short run like Sydney to Canberra, driving is almost certainly cheaper.

On a long one, add it up properly before deciding: fuel, two or three nights of accommodation, food, the wear on the car, and the days of your life. Sydney to Perth is four days of hard driving through very remote country. People who have done it once generally do not do it twice.

Things worth knowing the first time

• Take everything out of the car. Personal belongings are not covered by transit insurance, and they add mass. Boxes in the boot are a genuinely bad idea.
• Leave about a quarter tank of fuel.
• Photograph it yourself before we arrive, on top of our condition report. Takes two minutes.
• Someone else can drop it off or collect it if you have already flown. They just need photo ID and to be nominated in advance.
• Check the rego rules for where you are moving. Most states give you around 14 days once you are a resident.