Why is it so expensive to rent a van one way internationally?
One-way international van rentals can cost thousands of euros, making it cheaper to abandon bulky items like TVs and chairs rather than move them. This leaves people without enough time off work or money to drive long distances scrambling to find affordable shipping alternatives.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Renting a one-way cargo van
- 2Buying a used trailer to haul items behind a personal car and reselling it
- 3Selling belongings and buying replacements locally
- 4Renting a U-Haul or U-Box
- 5Pricing out a Relocube from ABF Freight
- 6Replacing the furniture entirely instead of shipping it
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My initial idea was to rent a van and leave it there, since I have some things that won’t fit in suitcases (TV, fan, chairs, etc.), but Avis quoted me €4,600 lol.”source ↗
“I also have a 2004 diesel Toyota, but I’m not sure if it’s worth taking the car with me either.”source ↗
“I dont have the time off work or the money to get a uhaul and drive it to him but I might be able to scrape up money if theres a way to ship it.”source ↗
“the first idea was to rent a van one way and not buy and sell it after, I think this may be too much trouble!”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Is it cheaper to ship a TV or buy a new one?
- 2Why won't companies ship specialized products to Alaska?
- 6Where do I declare gold bullion at LAX customs?
- 2How do you stop losing things during a cross-country move?
- 2How to pack a moving container so stuff doesn't break
- 2Handling hostile outgoing IT providers during migration