Enterprise® Truck Rental Review

My move with Enterprise^®

Author: Francesca Di Meglio

Updated: Saturday, December 23rd 2023

How does Enterprise work?

Unlike most other moving sites, Enterprise does not provide a tool to help you determine the size or type of truck you need. So you might be overwhelmed by all the options!

For the sake of personal moves, you will find a list of 14 different vehicles from which you can choose. The description for each can be helpful in helping you pick the right one for your move, but it requires doing a little homework on what your specific move needs.

Once you determine which truck you'll need, you'll see the cost and details on the next page. Their website breaks down the price and offers info such as insurance, the TollPass Service, and other fine print. After that, you commit to the date and price. (You won't input a credit card or pay anything until your scheduled pickup.)

You should know that most of the Enterprise locations require a rental deposit when you pick up the truck. The deposit is not included in the estimate or rental reservation. It is an additional fee!

Also, you won't complete payment until you've returned the vehicle. The one major downside to Enterprise? You have to return the vehicle to the same location where you picked it up. This makes long-distance moves with Enterprise virtually undoable. Instead, use Enterprise for the variety of trucks, if they are relevant to your move, or to comparison shop if an Enterprise store is near you.

How does Enterprise work with local moves?

Enterprise is great for local moves because they might stealthily have a cheaper truck than your local U-Haul store, and they offer so many different kinds of vehicles that you can easily tailor your vehicle to your move (or technically, whatever else you want to use it for). For example, stakebed trucks are often used for landscaping projects, even though they are included among moving vehicles for rent.

The biggest hurdle with renting an Enterprise vehicle for a local move is having to find a convenient location. I planned a local move from Fort Lee, New Jersey to Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. The Enterprise locations available to me were the following:

• Edison, New Jersey
• Long Island City, New York
• Danbury, Connecticut
• Stamford, Connecticut
• Newburgh, New York

Seems like a lot, but none of these locations are that close to Fort Lee or Ridgefield Park. In fact, Fort Lee and Ridgefield Park are closer to each other than they are to any of these stores. In the end, I chose Edison to stay in state, but it is a little shy of one hour away by car or truck.

The point of the story? Your mileage for a local move will vary, literally.

My local move estimate

The cost of your local move varies greatly depending on the type of truck you choose and the number of days you will be hanging onto the vehicle.

For the 24' box truck with lift gate, I was charged $145.99 per day, plus $.59 per mile.

The cost per mile is affordable compared to competitors, so this was not a bad deal. However, there are a couple of fees and other offerings that could increase the price given at the time of the estimate. “Pricing does not include damage waiver. Additional surcharges, local taxes, etc. may apply,” according to the warning on the reservation confirmation. The possibility of price increases is something important to keep in mind as you determine whether to rent from Enterprise.

You provide no credit card or any form of payment when you make your reservation. When you pick up the vehicle, you will likely have to leave a rental deposit. You will pay the total bill once you've returned the truck.

How does Enterprise work with long-distance moves?

Enterprise is not a good option for long-distance moves.

You have to return the vehicle to the location where you picked up the truck in the first place. It really was not feasible for my move, and probably not for yours, either.

If you did want to use Enterprise, the process would be exactly the same and so would the cost. The more days you travel, of course, the more you would have to pay because you'd be incurring additional daily charges. And if you want to rent a truck for an extended period, you have to complete the reservation on the phone with a customer representative, rather than doing it all online.

How much does Enterprise cost?

Initially, the cost for my local move was comparatively high to other companies because I got it for three days. In my case, it was from February 21-24. For a 24-foot box truck with a lift gate, the total estimate came to $483.58. However, I then realized that the site was automatically setting me up for a three-day rental, which is not necessary for a local move. I changed to a one-day rental for a weekend in March, and the cost dropped. The breakdown:

$161.19 for a local move - 3 bedrooms, 5 miles

• Daily fee of $145.99
• Domestic security fee $5
• Vehicle license recovery fee $.50
• Sales tax $9.70
  • Total: $161.19

The cost is pretty affordable, but there are additional charges that could potentially cause an increase, depending on the particulars of your move. Of course, the farther the distance, the more days you travel, the more you will spend.

With the Toll Pass Service, you may end up spending more. This allows renters to drive through electronic toll lanes and pay electronically without having to stop to pay cash. Some toll plazas are all electronic and don't even provide the option to pay cash, so this is a must in some places. The program is offered in different ways, depending on where you rent, so you would have to check with your local branch for more information on cost and the process for buying into the service.

One of the benefits of choosing Enterprise is the ideal cancelation policy. You can cancel at any time, even the day of the reservation, at no cost to you. However, my local branch says it appreciates a courtesy cancellation, which you can complete online. I'm sure yours would, too.

How does insurance with Enterprise work?

For starters, check with your own car and homeowner's policies or other sources of coverage to see if you need anything more. According to the rental reservation, “Minimum financial responsibility for liability is provided with the rental”.

But there are a couple of options you can consider through Enterprise:

• Supplemental Liability Protection (SLP)

  In the reservation sent via email, SLP for my local branch was listed as costing $15 per day. However, the customer representative with whom I spoke said it would cost me $26.25 per day, which is a significant difference. In any case, if SLP becomes necessary and is accepted, it provides the renter and authorized drivers up to $1,000,000 in combined single limit for third party liability claims. In that case, Enterprise provides the Third Party Liability protection up to the applicable minimum financial responsibility limit and Empire Fire and Marine Insurance Company provides excess Third Party Liability insurance coverage from the applicable minimum financial responsibility limit to $1,000,000.

• Roadside Assistance Protection (RAP)

  You can purchase RAP for $5.99 per day, according to my local customer representative. You get 24/7 roadside assistance (where available). It includes replacement of lost keys (including remote entry devices), flat tire service, lockout service, jumpstarts, etc. Two caveats you should know about: If you run out of gas, RAP will provide up to 3 gallons to refill. Also, if there is no available spare tire in case of a flat, you will get towed (but RAP does not cover the cost of the new tire).

• Personal Accident Insurance (PAI)

  For $3.50 per day, you can buy PAI, which if accepted, provides the renter and passengers with accidental death, accident medical expenses, and accident ambulance expenses. You will get this in addition to any other payments from insurance coverage the renter and passengers may have, according to the rental reservation.

Downsides of using Enterprise

Hidden costs may surprise you … in a bad way.

Enterprise is an affordable and convenient option only for those who are making local moves and have an Enterprise branch near both locations.

If you're making a long-distance move, then this is not the right choice for you. While you could feasibly rent a vehicle for the faraway move, you would have to come back to your original destination (the place you're moving from) to return the vehicle, which defeats the purpose and increases costs and headaches for you.

The price offered at the time of the estimate is not locked in. You will pay an additional deposit payment on top of what is expected in the estimate. There are other ways that the price can unexpectedly increase. For instance, the text in the rental reservation suggested I would pay $15 per day for liability coverage, while the customer representative said I would be charged $26.25 per day.

Unlike other moving truck rental services, this one does not provide much guidance on the size of the truck you will need to move your particular stuff. You're left on your own to decide because there is no tool for figuring it out. On the bright side, there is more variety in the types and sizes of trucks available to you.

What I learned using Enterprise

Enterprise is an affordable option for a particular group of renters, and you have to figure out if you're in this group.

Anyone who is making a local move and has an Enterprise branch near him should consider this option. The $.59 per mile charge is a great price and much lower than some competitors. While those making long-distance moves or who have to travel far to arrive at the branch to pick up and return the vehicle might get a good price initially, these inconveniences will make choosing Enterprise impossible.

You get a variety of choices when choosing Enterprise.

There are 14 different vehicle options available to renters, who are planning a personal move. That certainly defeats the small number of options offered by moving container companies and even other truck rental services. If you don't use Enterprise for your move, you might consider it for the renovation or landscaping project you're planning at the new place.

You can cancel at any time. Seriously. Anytime.

The cancellation policy allows you to cancel all the way up to the day you have scheduled to reserve the truck. There is no penalty for calling on the same day. While representatives say they prefer a call - or online cancellation - they will not charge you if you don't alert anyone of your change of plans.

Be prepared to pay a deposit on top of your expected estimate.

This news is in fine print in the rental reservation, and I confirmed it with the customer service representative. Many who opt for Enterprise might not realize the deposit is an additional cost until they are paying it.

Should you choose Enterprise over other moving options?

Enterprise rents affordable vehicles, so it is worth considering for your local move. I can't stress enough, however, that this option is not worth it for those making long-distance moves or those who have to travel far to arrive at their nearest Enterprise branch. In those cases, there are better alternatives.

While the surprise deposit, which is a fee on top of the expected estimate, might turn off some clients, the overall cost is affordable as long as you don't end up paying for other extras. And the $.59 per mile charge in my region is one of the most economical I've seen. As a result, I recommend considering Enterprise if you fit into the sweet spot of making a local move and having a branch close to both destinations.