Missouri to Utah in 3 Days for $4,816
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Columbia, MO → Santa Clara, UT
$3,578
Cheapest of three, 2,480 pounds
$4,816
$1,238 over, on box count
1,360 mi
Delivered in three days
- I compared three quotes for my Missouri to Utah move, and they ranged from $3,578 to $4,975.
- My things covered 1,360 miles in three days, which was faster than I expected and turned into its own problem when the truck arrived before I was ready for it.
- I shared all of it, my quotes, my bills, and my ratings, as part of moveBuddha’s Better Moves Project.
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This account is based on a conversation with Jen H., who moved from Columbia, Missouri, to Santa Clara, Utah, in May 2023 using American Van Lines. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
My move from Missouri to Utah
A new job took my partner and me 1,360 miles west, and it happened to put us closer to family too. We were going from a two-bedroom apartment in Columbia to a three-bedroom in Santa Clara, with a dog and two cats along for the ride.
We had a mix of extra small, small, medium, and large boxes, a lot of furniture, and a couple of bikes. Cost was my main worry, because it was a big move on a budget. My job is demanding and taking time off for this was a real ask, so I also needed a company that would show up when it said it would and get on with the job without much hand-holding from me.
I’m a planner. I started strategizing this six months out to get everything lined up.
I started with a Google search for local movers and found moveBuddha instead. What I liked was seeing companies and their ratings side by side on the best movers list, which saved me a lot of time. According to moveBuddha, users who compare movers this way save more than 30% versus taking the first quote they get.
My American Van Lines experience at a glance
Here’s what stood out most about moving with American Van Lines, good and bad.
- Communication: The best thing about the whole move, and the one category I rated a 5. They stayed in touch by call and text before and during, and they answered every question I threw at them beforehand.
- Pricing accuracy and transparency: I was quoted $3,578 and paid $4,816, a difference of $1,238. That’s a lot more than the roughly 10% you’re told to budget for, and the reason is that I had many more boxes than I’d estimated.
- Professionalism: Inconsistent. Pickup day was excellent. The unload was noticeably less organized, and that’s because a partner company handled it rather than American Van Lines themselves.
- Timeliness: I rated this a 2, which surprises people given how fast the move was. The crew turned up late to pickup because they went to the wrong address first, and then the truck reached Utah days ahead of the date I’d asked for.
- Loss and damage: Dings in a coffee table and a chest, wobbly legs on a desk and a nightstand, and a new couch that arrived dirty. I’d chosen not to pay for packing materials or packing services, which is the part I’d revisit.
- Would I use American Van Lines again? Probably not. I rated the overall experience a 3, and my real conclusion is that I should have done more research instead of taking the cheapest quote.
over my original American Van Lines quote
Find out what a move from Missouri → Utah actually costs before a mover tells you.
Why I chose American Van Lines
I submitted a few quote requests through moveBuddha and waited. Some companies called to talk the move through and then emailed a number. Three came back, and American Van Lines was the cheapest by a wide margin. With cost as my priority, that decided it.
They also earned it on the phone. I asked a lot of questions before booking, particularly about how the price would move if I packed everything myself or if I ended up with more boxes than I’d counted, and they answered all of it. I went into move day feeling well informed, which is not nothing.
The $3,578 was in line with what I’d expected. It covered pickup, transport, and unloading at the other end. I packed everything myself to keep the cost down, and I declined the extra packing materials as well.
rating
- Experienced & fully trained moving crews
- Specializes in moving art & antiques
- Competitive pricing
- Can handle last-minute moves
- Climate-controlled storage
My move at a glance
Here are the basics of my relocation, including what I was quoted and what I actually paid for my Missouri to Utah move.
| Moved from | Columbia, Missouri |
|---|---|
| Moved to | Santa Clara, Utah |
| Distance | 1,360 miles |
| Move date | May 10, 2023 |
| Move size | 2 bedroom apartment |
| Moving company | American Van Lines |
| Moving quote | $3,578 |
| Actual cost | $4,816 |
We found that when you use moveBuddha’s moving cost calculator, you can save 30% on moving costs compared to customers who go with the first quote they receive.
Quotes I compared
Here’s how my three quotes stacked up, cheapest to most expensive.
| Company | Estimated weight | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| American Van Lines | 2,480 pounds | $3,578 |
| International Van Lines | 3,507 pounds | $4,800 |
| Safeway Moving | 3,409 pounds | $4,975 |
The weight column is the thing I’d look at differently now. American Van Lines sized my apartment at 2,480 pounds while the other two put it around 3,450. They weren’t cheaper because they charge less, they were cheaper because they thought I owned a thousand pounds less than I did. The other two were closer to right, and my final bill is the proof.
Pickup day
I gave American Van Lines a list of everything, furniture and boxes, ahead of the move. Their only instruction back was to put a cover on my mattress. Everything else I handled myself.
Packing took a long time, partly by choice. I wanted to use as few boxes as possible, so I spent a while Tetris-stacking things to fit. The irony of ending up with more boxes than I’d estimated is not lost on me.
The one thing I’d tell everyone to copy is the color coding. I put yellow sticky notes on anything that had to be on the truck and pink on the nice-to-haves that could go if there was room after loading. It made the priority decisions on the day take seconds instead of arguments.
My coordinator called a few days out to go through everything one last time. On May 10 the crew arrived at 4:50 p.m., 30 minutes past the window they’d given me, because they’d gone to the wrong address first. They kept me posted by text and phone the whole time they were lost, which I appreciated. What it cost me was being there: I had an important work meeting by then, so I wasn’t present while they loaded. Loading took an hour and a half, which is remarkably fast.
Delivery day
My things covered 1,360 miles in three days. That’s genuinely impressive, and it became a problem.
Because of timing with my apartment I’d asked for delivery on Monday, May 15. On Friday the 12th they called to say they’d be there Saturday, and that holding my things until Monday would cost $500. I was still driving across the country. I spent that stretch of the trip on the phone to my apartment office and my family, and my mother-in-law and sister-in-law stepped in to oversee the unload for me.
The unload was handled by a partner company rather than American Van Lines, and it showed. There was confusion about which boxes in the truck were even mine, and the crew struggled to reassemble a bed frame and needed direction from my family to get it done.
Most things arrived fine. The damage was dings in a coffee table and a chest, wobbly legs on a desk and a nightstand, and a new couch that came off the truck dirty and needs professional cleaning. Once I’ve finished unpacking I’m submitting a damage claim for the repairs and replacements.
Final thoughts
Here’s how I rated American Van Lines on a scale of 1 to 5: communication 5, timeliness 2, quote accuracy 3, and overall experience 3.
A lot went right. Three days across 1,360 miles is a fast turnaround, an hour and a half to load is fast, and the communication was better than what I hear from most people who’ve done a long-distance move. The 2 on timeliness isn’t about the speed. It’s that they were late to pickup because they had the wrong address, and then arrived days early at the other end with a $500 charge attached to the date I’d actually asked for.
On the price, the $1,238 over my quote came down to my box count. I estimated wrong, and more boxes means more space and more labor. If I’d paid American Van Lines to pack, they’d have counted the boxes themselves and I’d have had a far more accurate number going in. That’s the trade I got wrong, and it’s the same trade that caused the damage.
I declined the packing materials to save money and ended up with a dirty couch and four pieces of furniture that need attention. Shrink wrap and moving blankets on that couch would have cost a fraction of what cleaning it will. I’d also look properly at coverage options next time rather than assuming the basics were enough.
Two things I’ve since understood better. Delivery dates on an interstate move are genuinely hard to predict, and the honest answer is to stay as flexible as you can at both ends. And national companies routinely hand parts of a move to partner companies, which is why my pickup crew and my unloading crew felt like two different businesses. Neither of those is unusual, and knowing both in advance would have changed how I planned.
Would I use them again? Probably not, and my real conclusion is about my own process rather than theirs. I picked the cheapest quote without asking why it was the cheapest.
Comparing quotes on a long-distance route? Use moveBuddha’s moving cost calculator to see what a move your size should cost, so you can spot a quote that’s low for the wrong reasons.
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Tips for future movers
These are the practical steps we recommend based on Jen H.’s experience:
- Ask why the cheapest quote is the cheapest: American Van Lines estimated Jen H.’s apartment at 2,480 pounds while two other companies said roughly 3,450. The low number was a low guess, and her final bill landed $1,238 over. Compare the weight estimates before you compare the prices.
- Color-code boxes by priority: Jen H. used yellow sticky notes for must-go items and pink for nice-to-haves. It turns a load-day judgment call into something the crew can read off the box.
- Let the movers pack if you want an accurate number: Jen H. packed herself to save money and underestimated her box count, which is what drove the overage. Packers count boxes for a living, and their estimate reflects that.
- Pay for the materials on anything upholstered: Jen H. skipped packing materials and her new couch arrived dirty enough to need professional cleaning. Shrink wrap and blankets cost a fraction of that.
- Stay flexible on delivery dates, and ask what an early arrival costs: Jen H.’s truck reached Utah three days out and holding it to her requested date carried a $500 fee. Ask about storage charges at booking, not from the road.
- Find out whether a partner company will handle either end: Jen H.’s pickup crew and unloading crew were different businesses, which is normal and explains why the two days felt so different. Ask who is doing each half before you book.
- Be there for the load if you possibly can: Jen H. had a work meeting when the crew finally arrived late, so nobody watched the truck get packed. That’s the hour where most damage is decided.
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