Goleta Motors

This is a great place to rent from. They are UHaul officially. I came in towards closing time, but they rented to me anyway. Khaled is very helpful and courteous. Wish I knew to always get my uhaul from here ! Try to come in no later than 6:30.

For the Uhaul service: Kelly was awesome. I forgot I had my reservation and he had to wait 30 minutes past closing to get me checked out. Great service.

My update here is not for this Goleta Motors U-​Haul contractor, but rather for U-​Haul corporate, for being responsive to my comments about my experience, acknowledging that my experience did not meet their standards — and for making things right. I’ll rent from U-​Haul again — just not this location. Thankfully, there are a few others around town.

No way in hell anyone gave this place 5 stars. NO WAY!
The owner was incredibly rude (middle aged, short, middle eastern guy). Starting from the time he called me, he was NOT courteous, polite, or friendly. He barked the time I was to pick up («11am!»). When I told him I needed the truck earlier he said «no, 11am!». Then I asked what time did the place open-​because he initially gave no explanation for denying my early time request-​he barked, «10AM but I can’t have everyone here at the same time!». Wow! I told him I needed it earlier and he said, «fine, 10:30!» as if we were haggling! Then when we got there it was more of the same, no greeting at all-​he actually ignored me for about 10minutes while I waited for him to finish with another guy-​who was outside. When did finally talk to me he began curtly demanding things…“driver’s license? Credit card?” «Truck here… sign here. keys here…» When I did read the contract he started exhaling very loudly with his arms crossed standing right next to me”. My friend who was with me was shocked. On top of that the «office» is basically a shack in a dirty unkempt narrow lot. The place is dirty, crowded, and hard to get in to and out of. I saw a few «Top 100 Uhaul…» awards prominently displayed. Let me explain something. This location is THE closest to UCSB. Where each year thousands of students move in or out, of the area. Ted Bundy would be a «top producer» here. That is no excuse to overlook the shocking manner in which this man runs this business. Worst U-​haul experiences. One of the worst service experiences period! STAY AWAY!
**originally written 2013-​post date is wrong**

I have been a uHaul customer for years both on the personal and business side of things. I rely on their attention to detail and reliability when securing a trailer /​truck to keep me business running smoothly. After talking directly with Goleta Motors three times last week confirming my reservation of an enclosed trailer, they call me 1 hour before pickup to say they gave my trailer to someone else! I will never rely on Goleta Motors for a vehicle sale or uhaul reservation!

For Uhaul
I went to the Uhaul center at Hollister and Modoc first but all they had was large trucks. I came here next but they didn’t have any small trucks either. But while I was there, they made calls around town and ended up finding one in Atascadero and drove there to get one so I could rent it the next day. Very impressed. Check out and drop off went with out a hitch.

DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM GOLETA MOTORS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. They buy junk cars trade-​ins from dealers in CA and try to sell them. I bought two cars from them and none of them lasted more than 4 months.

***For U-​Haul rental***
I was a little nervous about renting my U-​Haul from here given the negative reviews. But I must say, it was just fine.
I made an advance online reservation and it didn’t matter. I had to redo it all when I arrived, which took a while. Definitely get there early, the check-​out is not that efficient. If you are moving on a Saturday or other busy time, like the 1^st of the month, I might really try and get there early and be prepared to wait.
But once I had the truck it was fine. They were pretty lax about most things. No truck inspection, didn’t really seem to track the time I had the truck, just tossed me the keys and I was good to go. I liked that.
The Dad and the son were fine with me; the son being particularly helpful.
The return was even easier. I filled up the gas (do be sure you do this, they say they will do it, which is true. You pay $ 5 a gallon plus a $ 30 service charge!!) I pulled in, left the keys, got a receipt, left. For a quick and short move (about 30 miles), cost me 35 bucks for the smallest moving truck (10 foot I think) they had.

My first Unilocal review ever and I signed up the Unilocal account to rate it. Family owned. Very very rude owner. The son is good though. One star for the son. No star for the owner.

In May, I rented a U-​haul truck from Mr. Hassoun and his son and found their customer service to be excellent. I was skeptical given the reviews but found my personal experience to be great, therefore, I felt compelled to write an awesome review for them. I found Mr. Hassoun and his son to be honest, friendly, and very helpful in giving me a good deal, which was important to me being a graduate student with little income. Although the actual office is not grand, I do not see how it should reflect on their great customer service. The office suites its purpose and that is what I expected from a local small business. People need to be less frivolous in matters such as these and I cannot believe the racism by some reviewers in having to point out that the owners are Middle Eastern. Remember, we are all human trying to make a living. As for my drop-​off location, as the contract states, you are to call U-​haul customer service to find out where to drop of the truck in order to make sure the location accepts the particular equipment rented. Overall, I had a great experience with them.

Absolute worst service. I made a reservation online for 8 am pick-​up on a Saturday. Owner of Goleta Motors U-​Haul began calling & emailed incessantly the day prior. When I was able to speak with him Friday night at 8 pm he told me that my online reservation was «irrelevant» and that reality was that I could pick-​up the truck when he wd be there. He yelled at me, was demanding and when I finally got the truck to So Cal, the drop-​off location he had guaranteed refused to accept the truck. They told me they don’t accept 1-​ways as a practice. I called Goleta Motors U-​Haul to let him know that and that the 800 number he provided did not answer, he told me to just continue calling the 800 number. I had to find storage for the vehicle overnight. The following morning when the 800 number was finally answered, the representative told me the nearest drop-​off location was 23 miles away.

Okay, the reviewer who reviewed this place is a hoax or a family member. Their two line review couldn’t be further from the truth!
BUYER BEWARE AT GOLETA MOTORS. Run by a middle eastern slimeball, who told me the car that I was interested in and driving from Northridge to see, had 121K miles on it. The photos look good and I took the 150 mile roundtrip drive to see the car!
MISTAKE!!! I get there and the battery is dead. He has to fiddle with the jumper cables to get the car running. Finally, the car is running and we take it for a test drive, and besides the drive train rattling in first gear, I see that the odometer isn’t working which begs the question!!!
HOW CAN YOU SAY IT HAS 121K miles when the digital odometer isn’t working. How dumb does this foreigner think we American’s are??? Lot was full of crappy cars and so it shouldn’t surprise me, but i drove 150 round trip for the asshat to lie to me.
Go to Goleta motors at your own risk.

Honest business. Great location if you are looking for an affordable car.