Handy Andy Rent-A-Tool

Initially when we drove up to the place, I thought… what a dump. It look like the business is located at an old and decrepit building. There are a lot of trucks and machinery parked on the outside. You kind of feel like you’re at a tow truck lot or car crushing facility, at least that is what I imagine it to be.
The people aren’t exactly friendly either. They kind of slop through to the next customer as though you’re at the dmv offices or walmart. No customer service whatsoever. When we got our truck, we noticed that they had added an extra mile onto our milage before we left the lot. We hadn’t gone anywhere but it was already marked one more than what we had not traveled. My husband addressed this when we got back out of principle but the guy didn’t correct the «mistake.» He just brushed what my husband had said, aside and proceeded to charge us.
Although there were many lowlights with coming here, there were some positives. They had far more trucks than Home Depot down the street. Home Depot always has a truck broken and on a Saturday, it gets really busy. You have to wait hours to get a truck/​van. Here, they have plenty on site. Another bonus was that they charge you less than Home Depot or UHaul. Their mileage price is a lot lower, though their base rate is about the same.
If you can overlook the poor customer service, then this place is for you to rent a truck/​van or tools.

Rough around the edges. Truck did the work, but boy, it was not in the best shape. I was concerned the brakes would give out. They were very noisy. But, the truck was rented at the best possible price, so, I should be happy. Glad it all worked out.

They have the best prices for rental equipment and trucks, and you get what you pay for. I’m a landscape contractor, and I’ll go here in a pinch, but will steer clear if I can. Their trucks are rough, and so is their equipment. Never had an actual problem with any of their trucks, but their equipment is another story. Both times I’ve rented machinery here for a landscape project, the equipment was damaged or improperly maintained, and failed to perform as it should have. It cost me a bunch of time and money to wait for their rude-​asses to get me a replacement. They really take pride in being snarky and bitchy — it’s part of the company culture. If you’re okay with the risk of using bad equipment, then it’s worth it to save like the $ 5 a day to rent here. If you want to be safe & sound, go to Aurora Rents.

Stopped by for a truck on a rainy morning. First off, your fading signage isn’t 100% clear where you want us to stand. I stood outside the door patiently waiting, only to get barked at because I was 1 YARD too close. These guys obviously were NFL referees in their past work history.
Easy enough to get the rental. Truck was pretty beat up, but I returned it cleaner than when I picked it up. The interior of the store is by far the most unorganized and cluttered business in Seattle. But for the price, the value was adequate.

I’m kind of torn about what to give this place.
I needed a truck on a Saturday morning to swap some furniture from my storage unit to my home. Uhaul, Budget, everyone was already booked up.
Handy Andy gets bonus points for being able to accommodate me without an advance reservation. They also got us checked out quickly and charged the same rental fee as the other «big boys.»
The subtraction point is because the truck was an absolute junker. There was a hole in the driver’s seat so big I could put my whole arm through it all the way to the floor. The truck cab was filthy. The cargo area floor was ripping up and there was no ramp. The truck was making a horrible noise — as if a belt was about to go. It felt like the suspension and shocks were totally shot. We had to be extra careful about using enough furniture padding and tie-​downs.
The place itself is an absolute dump. A literal junkyard. We left there wondering about the company’s worker’s comp history. There are tools hanging hap-​hazardly all over the walls, multiple story shelves and an enormous crazy-​hot totally open space heater that would have caught my pants on fire if I had been unfortunate enough to back into it while in line.
The guys were nice enough and I did get a last-​minute truck. But yeesh — what a rundown dump.

I rented a dump truck from Handy Andy to dispose of two tons of construction debris from a home remodel I am doing. Prior to this I was moving the material in my minivan, which is inefficient and known to cause marital discord.
I called another place in town and their 5000# dump truck rentals were five times (!) as much as Handy Andy’s. Of course, they probably also emptied the ashtrays and vacuumed the sunflower hulls off the dashboard between customers.
Handy Andy got my business. I picked up the truck Saturday night and brought it back Monday morning for one low fee. The place and the equipment are not fancy but they were nice to me and way, way, (way!) cheaper than other places. The truck worked fine and got the job done. Bonus: I got to use a dump truck! What fun!
A common complaint with Handy Andy is getting charged for not filling the gas tank. It was very tricky to get the tank full. I had to finesse it quite a bit and pump very slowly. I probably topped it off 20 times. I filled it until fuel spilled out on the ground. Voila – no fuel charge. Basically, if the amount of fuel you put in indicates that you got more than 5 miles per gallon, put more in.
Seriously, do you really want your budget-​priced truck rental place to have the atmosphere of a Starbucks? Where’s the fun in that? I got excellent value for my money at Handy Andy and would rent from them again.

my go-​to truck rental place for whenever I need to haul some stuff to the dump or whatever.
The trucks and vans sure aren’t pretty but who cares as long as they get the job done, right? I’ve rented both pick up trucks and full size cargo vans from these guys. The process is pretty simple and as long as their office isn’t too busy you can get in and out of there within 15 minutes.
It also helps that they’re located near my house so I can just ride my bike there, pick up my truck, toss my bike in the back, and then take care of business.
I haven’t rented anything other than trucks and vans from them so I can’t speak to the other equipment but when it comes to needing a cheap truck/​van for the day Handy Andy can’t be beat!!!

have rented a couple dump tucks, a bobcat and other misc equipment from them. i guess this is one of those instances where the people are nice enough and the prices are good enough that I am ok with the other stuff. yes, the place is a madhouse, and the driveway/​parking situation is confusing at best. yes, the trucks all have torn up interiors and a gazillion miles on them. yes, the staff can be businesslike in their interactions. but the equipment i get from them always works, the selection is pretty amazing, their prices are significantly lower than anyone else’s, and the people who work there are always helpful and will be nice to you if you’re nice to them.

I’ve rented from Handy Andy for over 10 years and they’ve always been messy but the equipment worked… OK. Their equipment has since become worn out and does not appear to be properly maintained. Rented a carpet cleaner, got home, and the machine was missing a drive belt and only one of the three spray jets was functional. They didn’t seem to care that they gave me a crap rental nor did they attempt to make it right. Will NEVER rent from them again.

Pay extra for better service somewhere else. First, they are apparently perpetually grumpy. When I picked up the rental they said to drop it off between two times I thought I heard 6 to 6 but I didn’t remember. I looked down on the paper in my hand, pew a little note saying to return trucks between 6am and 630. OK cool.
The next day at 6 I return the truck to the east side of the street like I was told, a half hour earlier than the slip says, but no one was there. After a few frustrated minutes trying to figure out exactly what to do and cross aroura a few times, we parked the truck, left the fuel receipt on the dash and left a voicemail explaining the situation.
The next morning I returned with the truck keys to a whole lot of attitude. Apparently there was a key drop where I am supposed to drop my keys and trust that the truck will be fine and that I will be charged the appropriate amount on my card. I’m sorry, but at Uhaul, they examine the truck and you need to talk to a person in order for the truck to be considered returned. Apparently that is not so with Handy Andy.
Then the dude with the bad attitude behind the counter had the audacity to tell me that I was lucky that the truck wasn’t ticketed and towed at midnight. UM excuse me? No one was there when I dropped the truck off WITHIN the time it said on the paper they gave me when I drove off the day before. So if something, anything happened to that truck between my being on time for a drop off and them opening, its my fault? I think not.
This whole experience was a nightmare. I will use them again if I must, but the attitude, sloppy unprofessional business and exceptionally misleading and contradictory instructions made this a frustrating experience. Next time, I will happily pay more somewhere else.

I can’t possibly give this place more than A-​OK. Even though our one-​day truck rental was cheap (all said and done with a hand truck/​small truck and gas, we paid $ 50). But as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, we could see why it was so cheap. Here is what you need to know:
— The place looked like someone’s house from the Hoarders TV show.
— The driveway has a one-​way entrance (the second driveway if you are heading south on 99).
— If you rent it after 4 pm on a Saturday, you get to keep it until Monday morning since they are closed on Sundays.
But like I said, it worked out just fine. As miserable as moving can be, finding this cheap truck rental was a highlight for us.

I can do dismissive and rude. I am from New York. But dismissive, rude and a shop vac that doesn’t really work… That is unacceptable, particularly when the surly guy ignored me when I told him I hadn’t had much luck.
If you enjoy wasting your money (grant it, not much money…), this is the place for you. They don’t charge extra for rude.

Couldn’t get the gas tank full when I returned a truck. You know. You squeeze and squeeze but it’s like trying to pour booze down the throat of college freshmen. They can only take so much. No, I kidding! But you get the point.
They ended up taking the truck to their local gas hole and put in 3 more gallons. That costs about $ 87.03 nowadays. Anyway, I’m ready to launch into a rage about «It wasn’t me, it was the gas nozzle!» which is a great argument, since it has the dual effect of proving that I’m incompetent, but also proves that I am no smarter than a gas nozzle. But Handy Andy only charged me for the gas. No penalty, no additional labor charge.
Handy.

Do you need an axe? How about a sledgehammer? If you’re like most of us, you might need these a couple of times but not enough to buy one to keep. If this is the case, Handy Andy is the place for you.
Call ahead to ensure they have what you need. If they don’t, they’ll refer you elsewhere. I’ve had good luck here the two times that we’ve rented tools.
The guys are nice and as friendly as is needed. Maybe they were really friendly to me since I’m female. At any rate, I’d come back here if the need arose!

I hate giving it even a single star. Followed one of their truck on the freeway and the gate was open with garbage coming out the back end. Tried calling Handy Andy, but he could give a care less. Most disturbing situtation as several cars nearly crashed and driver was most oblivious. If there’s a good scenario to this, it’s only that while our friend Handy Andy could care less, the State Patrol thought differently. In the past, I too, had looked at renting one of Handy Andy’s dandy’s trucks, but upon inspecting it and the premiseses, saw that it was total garbage. A word to the wise sufficient, to the foolish necessary.

Handy Andy… you were oh… so.close. I needed to rent a truck at a moments notice to move a bed. The rates were reasonable and the truck did what I needed it to do. So far, so good. I went to return the truck and was told the speedometer was on the fritz and that they would figure out my mileage in ten min. Well. after driving all day, I decided to call back later to find out how much I owed. They charged me an extra $ 10.00, since they claimed I didn’t top off the gas tank. THAT IS UTTER BS. I went to the 76 gas station one block away and showed a receipt as proof and they ok’d it. They told me that it must have been an «air pocket» and that it wasn’t full. I was too tired over the move to quibble over $ 10. But I can warn people about your poor practices.

The trucks are pretty bad. Dirty, grinding, taped-​up no padding left in the cushion, terrible suspension… but, they are EASY to rent from. So easy!
I called early in the day to reserve a cargo van and the guy was like: Just come in. I said: Really? Like you won’t run out? He goes: Let me check my list (checks it), yep we got all in, you should be alright when you show up.
I was a bit skeptical but did as he said.
Located quite conveniently, right in the center of our Point A to Point B, we found them on the left (if heading north) side of Aurora. I circled the block to look for parking (the neighborhood right behind has some unfriendly no parking signs), and we wound up pulling into their lot, which had a lot of activity. But a guy showed up and gave me directions on where to park.
Once inside, we told them what we wanted, a cargo van… they asked us what we were moving. We told them a 7.5ft red phone booth (yes, this is true, ask me about it). They suggested increasing our rental to the box truck which was only $ 5 more (for $ 25/​day, $ 0.49/mi) We decided more room was better than the opposite, and agreed.
Then we signed up and put down a $ 150 deposit. They offered renting to us extra blankets for padding or a dolly, but we were okay.
Drove to the apt to load up the bigger stuff, and realized that the back doesn’t lock. It’s just a couple hooks to keep the door closed, but nothing secured. So that kind of put a kink in our moving, and we had to keep someone out with the truck (even though the door was closed) at all times. We were in shady Northgate! :P Maybe have a lock rental and penalty $ 30 if the lock isn’t returned? That would have helped shave some time off our moving.
Anyway, so we used it to go to the house and then up north for the booth. It was probably VERY wise to upgrade our rental, because the booth fit just nice enough and there were hooks to tie rope and secure it in the back.
Returning the truck was simple, just fill it up with gas, print a receipt that shows how many gallons you put in. Leave it on the dash and park it on the right side (if going north) of Aurora, across from the store. There is an AM/​PM station right there for super bargainy convenience. Then leave the key in their drop box. We returned the truck to them about 5hrs later.
The whole endeavor was about $ 60, not including gas (which I think was $ 20).
And so, not bad at all. very easy to rent and return. The middle part where you use the truck is kind of crappy, but hey, whatever!

Ok I know I’m don’t know anything about tools and equipment. I know you just want me to show up get my stuff and get out. But maybe, possibly a little, tiny smidgen of acting like you care about giving good service? Is that possible? Don’t get me wrong, I got my plate compactor and it worked great and you helped me load it and unload it. but I don’t like feeling like I’m inconveniencing you when I’m the one put’n down the dough.

This place will forever remind me of Seinfeld soup Nazi!
1. You wait at the stop sign until you hear «nnext»
2. Tell them why you are here
3. Don’t be asking for any soup, you may or may not get it but I never
had the balls to ask
4. Follow the exit path
They’ve got all kinds of stuff. I’ve rented trucks from here couple of times, got the job done.
I’ve never seen Mr. Andy, but I have a feeling he might look like this:
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\ \ /​: \ | /​{ «No truck for you. }
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\ IIIIIII /​{ One year» }
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These guys are serious business. Step right up, wait in line, they’ll call next and ask what you need. You better know too, or you get that look like you’re wasting their time. It’s not that they’re trying to be unfriendly, they just run a tight ship. I had some questions about stump grinding and they guided me in the right direction. Playing it on the safe side I requested to have the small stump grinder «all day», but when I got the job done in under 4 hours and returned the grinder back early they matter of factly just charged me the 4 hour fee no problem. They helped load/​unload and I didn’t even have to fill it up with gas.
I didn’t see anybody there named Andy though…