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Jennifer Cook is a writer for USA TODAY Homefront and has spent hours perusing sample warranty contracts from vehicle manufacturers and warranty providers. She began her career in automotive content researching insurance and vehicle shipping companies. Jennifer is based in the sleepy town of Cedar Mountain, North Carolina and spends much of her time exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains. She hopes to become an accomplished scuba diver in the coming years but knows that fear of sharks is a healthy thing.
Shipping your car during a move means you won’t be able to use it to move your belongings.
Driving your car during a move adds wear and tear to your vehicle and has out-of-pocket costs for lodging, meals and fuel.
Long-distance car shipping can help reduce stress and moving expenses.
If you’re planning a big move, you may have to decide whether to ship your car or drive it. Driving the car yourself may be the most cost-effective option for short distances. You can use your vehicle to move your belongings, and you’ll always have access to it during transit.
However, if you’re moving a few hundred miles or more or need to drive a moving truck, working with a car shipping company provides help and peace of mind.
The best way to decide is to weigh the benefits and drawbacks. Consider what is and isn’t in your budget as a first step. You can expect to pay between 37 cents and $1.55 per mile to ship your vehicle. This wide range depends on factors such as distance and transport type.
You’ll pay on the lower end of that rate range if you’re shipping your vehicle over 1,000 miles. You’ll pay more per mile for shorter trips, but typically less overall.
Since you can contact shipping brokers for quotes, estimating the cost of your shipping needs is relatively straightforward. You can visit the broker’s website, enter your shipping details and request a free quote for the necessary services. Estimating the cost of driving, however, can be a little trickier, and it involves knowing gas prices as well as how much you anticipate spending on food and lodging for you and your family.
We contacted more than a dozen of the industry’s leading car shipping brokers to request quotes for shipping a 2019 Toyota Camry over a range of distances. As mentioned above, it can cost between 37 cents and $1.55 per mile, but the average is around 89 cents per mile.
Below, we’ll show you the average cost across all providers that gave us quotes for different shipping distances. Notice how the cost per mile decreases as the total trip mileage increases, but you’ll still pay more for a cross-country trip than a smaller road trip.
Also, shipping 1,530 miles on an open carrier is more than $600 cheaper on average than using enclosed shipping for the same distance.
To further break down the above costs, here are some sample quotes from our top three companies, Montway Auto Transport, Mercury Auto Transport and AmeriFreight. Each of these quotes is for shipping a Toyota Camry over 1,530 miles from Salt Lake City to Memphis, Tennessee, using open shipping.
Based on the above quotes, you can see that auto shipping costs vary by provider. However, several other factors have an impact on car shipping costs, including these:
The total cost of driving your car a long-distance varies on several factors, making it difficult to predict accurately. Of course, you’ll pay out of pocket for gas, but you may need to pay for tolls, hotel stays, meals and any other incidental expenses during the trip.
If you move belongings in your vehicle while driving, the additional weight may decrease fuel efficiency during the trip. Also, you’ll put more wear and tear on your car by driving it long distances versus shipping it.
Beyond cost, there are several benefits and drawbacks of driving or using a car transport service that might help you choose the right method.
If you’re already hiring a moving company, you may be hesitant to take on the cost of vehicle shipping, especially if planning a cross-country move. Enclosed auto transport tends to be expensive, so you may not want to spend that much on top of other moving costs.
Open auto shipping services are typically the cheapest way to move your car over long distances, say coast-to-coast. This could be a more practical option if you can’t drive your car to the new location.
When you rent a moving truck, some companies offer tow dollies that attach to the back of the truck so you can tow the vehicle yourself. We recommend this if you feel confident about properly loading and securing the vehicle as well as driving a moving truck with a vehicle towing behind it.
Driving your car may be the better choice if you need to move within a tight timeframe. Shipping companies don’t always offer guaranteed pickup or delivery dates, meaning it could take longer to ship your vehicle than initially anticipated.
While it may be faster than shipping in some instances, you’ll always put more wear and tear on your vehicle by driving it during a long move. Long drives can stress engines and wear down tire tread, increasing chances of breakdowns. You’ll also run up the odometer, which reduces your car’s resale value.
Driving increasing chances of encountering road debris, severe weather and other hazards. Even with a full-coverage car insurance policy, you could be left paying out of pocket for your deductible or an expensive vehicle repair.
If you want to save space on a moving truck or do away with the truck entirely, driving your car allows you to use its cargo space for transporting belongings. Shipping prevents you from packing personal belongings inside your vehicle — and you wouldn’t want to if you could.
Car transport companies don’t insure any personal items inside the vehicle, so you’re out of luck if they’re damaged or lost during transit.
Plus, packing a car adds to its total weight, driving up shipping costs.
Moving is almost always stressful, especially when you’re moving long distances. If you’re using movers or a moving truck, your car is just one more thing that needs to be transported, especially if you decide to fly to your new destination or have more than one vehicle.
Shipping your vehicle allows you to rent and drive a moving truck and gives you the peace of mind that your vehicle will be waiting at your destination.
If you want to get excellent shipping service within your budget, the best place to start looking is at the brokers and carriers. Take a close look at each company’s reputation, and pay attention to Better Business Bureau scores and customer reviews.
Try to go beyond just looking at ratings and read what customers say about their experiences with each company. Were the shipping carriers on time for pickup and delivery? Were there any hidden fees? Were the company’s shipping rates reasonable?
We also recommend requesting quotes for different shipping options well in advance of your desired shipping time frame. Most companies are shipping brokers, meaning they network with shipping carriers — the companies that actually move your vehicle. The brokers need ample time to connect you.
When you request a quote, these brokers offer your job to their carrier networks. Carriers bid on the job, and the broker selects the best offers. The earlier you start, the more carriers can bid on your shipping job and the more likely you will get the best price.
Driving your vehicle during a long-distance move has a few benefits, including having uninterrupted access to your vehicle, which can be used to move your belongings. However, shipping your vehicle can help you save money on hiring moving truck drivers, as well as on lodging, food and other expenses.
Get started comparing car shipping quotes with these auto transport companies:
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