How to Move Your Car Across the Country

If you’re planning a big move out of state, one of your biggest questions is likely how to move your car across the country. You can plan to drive your car yourself or opt for a shipping company. Using a shipping company or hiring professional movers is often an easy, hands-off process, but it can be costly. Let’s review your car-moving options.

What Does Moving Your Car Across the Country Look Like?

If you’re moving across the country and don’t want to ditch your current car, you need to figure out how to get it there along with the rest of your belongings. You have a few different options to get your car to its destination:

• Drive it yourself: If you’re not moving many boxes or furniture items, you can drive your car across the country, assuming you have the time and space. 

• Tow it: You can rent a moving truck with a hitch and attach it to your vehicle. This option requires the skill to drive a large vehicle with another in tow, which requires experience. 

• Ship it: Have you seen those huge trucks towing a dozen cars? Those aren’t just broken-down cars. Many of them are being shipped across the country. You can pay shipping companies or hire movers (that offer car shipping) to get your car across the country safely. 

How to Prep for Moving Your Car Across the Country

Preparing your car for its move across the country is fairly simple as long as you plan ahead. To fully prepare, make sure you’re doing the following:

• Researching multiple shipping options: If you’re shipping your car, take the time to research different companies in your area and get quotes for all of them so you can realistically budget. 

• Clean your car: While this step isn’t a necessity, for the people handling your car during the shipping process, it’s nice to get into a car that isn't full of trash. Plus, it'll be sparkling clean when you get your car back!

• Document the car’s current condition: Before handing your car over to a shipping company, take photos of your car in its current condition. That way, if you find damage to your car when you get it back, you can prove that it happened during shipping. 

• Take out anything of importance: Make sure to remove important documents, chargers, or any other items from your car. However, leave your car’s registration in your car, as well as any other paperwork the shipping company requires. 

• Prepare any paperwork: Leave your registration, copies of your auto insurance, and any other paperwork the shipping company requires. 

• Stay in contact with the company during the move: Make sure you get a contact number for whoever is moving your vehicle so you can stay in contact during your move. 

How to Move Your Car Across the Country

Moving your car across the country will take some careful planning, but it’s worth the effort. When moving to a different state, here’s how you’ll move your car:

Drive It 

Driving your car cross-country is no small task, but it’s often one of the most cost-savvy ways to move your car across the country. This option takes careful planning and puts more significant wear and tear on your car. 

The cost associated with driving your car yourself mostly comes down to gas prices. You can expect to pay several hundred dollars in gas and tolls, depending on how far you’re driving and the states you’re driving through. 

Pros

• Less expensive option: With the exception of gas and any unexpected maintenance, you don’t have to rent extra equipment or leave your car with a costly shipping company. 

• Keep track of your car: It can be nerve-wracking to turn your car over to a shipping company, and driving it yourself means you have control over the situation.  

Cons

• Time-consuming: Driving across the country takes a significant amount of time. If you plan on flying to save time, you’ll need to make other arrangements for your car. 

• Not ideal for movers with lots of belongings: If you have several rooms-worth belongings, you have to rent a moving truck or ship your belongings. In that case, driving your car isn’t an option, so you’ll either have to tow it or ship it with the rest of your belongings. 

• More mileage on your car: If you drive across the country, that trip puts hundreds or thousands of miles on your car. If you have an older car or one with lots of mileage, this may rule out driving it to your new city. 

Tow It 

Towing your car involves attaching it to the moving truck holding your belongings. If you have enough items to fill a moving truck, this option may cost less than shipping, and you get your car to its next destination at the same time. However, you must be comfortable driving a large truck while pulling your car behind it. 

Renting a moving truck can be costly for long-distance moves, and renting the towing configuration costs extra. On average, you’ll pay $30 to $3,500 to rent a moving truck. You can expect to pay closer to the higher end for a truck that has towing capabilities. 

Pros

• Convenience: Towing your car means you get to keep it with you during the move, but you don’t have to do the work of driving it. 

• More packing space: Your unused vehicle can hold some of your belongings while it’s being towed, creating more space for moving boxes and furniture in the main moving vehicle.

• Flexibility: If you tow your car, you have more flexibility to stop as needed. If you ship your car, you may have to keep to a strict schedule to ensure you’re at your location when your car arrives. 

Cons

• You still have to drive: When you tow a car, you still have to drive a long distance and now you’re responsible for two vehicles. 

• Parking accommodations: When you’re towing a vehicle, you need to find parking that can hold a large tow truck and your car. If you’re stopping overnight, you’ll need to arrange parking for your vehicles 

• Extra costs: When you rent a moving truck, you often have to pay for extra insurance and you have to fill up on gas more often due to the increased weight. 

Ship It

Shipping companies transport your car by boat, plane, or truck to your destination. You simply call, set up a time, and make arrangements for payments. From there, the shipping company handles the rest of the work. 

Shipping your car is costly, but may be slightly less expensive than renting a moving truck to tow it, depending on how far you’re moving. The average cost to ship a car is $950, but rates depend on the distance and shipping method, so the price can range up to $40,000.

Pros

• Easiest moving method: Shipping your car doesn’t take much effort from your end. All you need to do is research to find the right shipping company, and then come shipment day, you hand the keys over. 

• Saves time: If you can catch a flight and have your car in your new town within the next few days, you’ll save time compared to someone driving across the entire country.

• No wear and tear: The shipping company isn’t driving your car across the country for you. They’re loading it up on a cargo ship, plane, or truck, meaning you won’t add milage to your vehicle. 

Cons 

• Costly: Convenience comes at a price. If you’re shipping your car across the country or overseas, it’ll be an investment to ship it. 

• No control over car: Many shipping companies are reliable, but that doesn’t mean accidents don’t happen. When shipping, you risk someone else causing serious damage to your vehicle. 

• Limited access to your vehicle: While your car is shipped, you don’t have access to it like you would if you were driving yourself. Make sure you have alternative modes of transportation when you get to your new destination.

Tips for Moving Your Car Across the Country

Photo: Grigory Bruev / Adobe Stock

Moving your car across the country can be an intimidating process. To help the process run more smoothly, here are a few tips:

• Get your car inspected beforehand: Run your car to the mechanic before driving or using a shipping company. This way, you have your car’s condition documents before handing it over to a shipping company, or you know you’ll make it all the way across the country without issues. 

• Plan way ahead: You can’t start planning too soon. Shipping companies often book months out, so contacting them a few months before you plan to leave is helpful. 

• Enable vehicle tracking: Many new vehicles have tracking capabilities that pair with your smartphone. Or you can install one yourself. A tracking system can help you keep an eye on where your vehicle is during transport. 

• Plan the fastest route to save on gas: If you’re driving your car across the country, the best way to save money is to follow the fastest route. Plan out gas station trips ahead of time if you can, prioritizing stations in low-cost areas. 

• Make copies of all your documents: You’ll need to leave important papers in the car, but make sure you have copies of insurance documents and car registration.