How to Transport a Car to Another State ? | Citizenshipper

CitizenShipper CitizenShipper · Updated January 16, 2024

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If you need to transport your car between states, chances are you’re either on vacation or moving house. If it’s the former, you probably planning to drive. If it’s the latter, it might make more sense to ship your belongings and take a plane, rather than carrying a home’s worth of clothes and furniture in the backseat. 

If that’s your situation, or something similar, you might wonder about the safest and most cost-effective ways to get your car from one state to the next. You have logistics to think about, maybe a moving budget, and a timeframe. It’s imperative things go as smooth as possible, and you don’t want to take chances, nor incur needless expense.

Even if you’re selling your car, bringing it for display at a show or just vacationing, you’ll want to know the same thing: How does it work, how will it take and where can I find the best deal? Having your car transferred between states safely, on time and at low cost is a weight off the mind of anyone in these situations.

This guide is aimed at those in that situation. First things first, how to go about it?

How can I get my car shipped to another state?

Step one involves a little homework. You’ll need to find a professional car transporter you’re comfortable with. There are plenty of services on offer, so to help your search here are a few key things to look out for:

  • Department of Transport certification
  • Testimonials from satisfied customers
  • Ability to contact, both the service and ideally the driver themselves
  • Experienced and knowledgeable
  • Coverage in the states you’re travelling from and to
  • Does NOT ask for payment before the job has been done

This last point is especially important. A car transporter who demands you pay before the car arrives is very probably a scam artist.

You’ve probably heard of big auto haulers like Montway and might be prepared to pay a lot more for a major brand. But a major brand doesn’t get that way without overheads and drivers whose pay comes from management, not from their quote, meaning they are less committed to caring for your car.

Another tip to note: Larger car-shipping services maximise their profit and efficiency by using Terminals, i.e. they wait until a carrier is full before shipping it. This can mean delays, if a car due to be transported does not appear, and so the carrier will wait before departing. Boutique services with drivers you can speak to mean you can avoid this, if timing matters to you.

Therefore, as far as schedule and budget go, you’re often better off finding a driver on an online marketplace like CitizenShipper. Simply post your shipment to a board of qualified and vetted transporters and start receiving quotes.

Make sure to include everything a transporter may need to know in your initial post, like make of car, destination, origin and dates. Now you can compare quotes, view transporters’ profiles and make an assessment on the right transporter for you. The marketplace element means costs are driven down, too.

Speaking of costs, it’s time we took a closer look at what you might expect to pay (and how long it will take) to ship a car from Florida to Texas, for example.

How much does it cost to transfer a car to another state?

You won’t be surprised to learn there’s no one-size-fits-all cost for shipping cars from state to state. The quote you receive from a transporter will be based on a number of factors:

  • Distance. The further you need your car to go, the greater the fuel costs, charges for time taken and those pesky tolls along the way.
  • Season/off-season. The busiest months for auto haulers come around summer. That’s partly because of people moving their belongings (and cars) to a vacation home, or because people are in the mood to travel, and so want to buy or sell their car to upgrade. If you can book car transport in the winter months, chances are the cost will be cheaper.
  • Size, weight, make and model. Differences between cars account for sometimes big differences in the quote you get for the job. Heavier cars need more fuel to transport; vintage cars require more hands-on care and specialist equipment; bigger cars may limit which streets a transporter may use; and cars with idiosyncrasies that need to be tended to by the transporter during the trip will also mean a higher cost.
  • Type of transport required. In an online marketplace you can stipulate if you would prefer a covered or open-air trailer. The benefit of a covered trailer is protection from bad weather, but they do tend to add to the total cost. A standard container measures 7x7x19 feet.

You can view a handy guide to average costs here. For a flavour of the kind of price you can expect, shipping a sedan from Florida to Texas will set you back around $700. From New York to Texas that cost is closer to $1,000.

To start receiving quotes and choosing the best transporter for your vehicle, post your shipment on CitizenShipper today. It’s free!

Featured Image Credit: www.moving.com