Are you buying that car you always wanted? Moving? Shipping cars isn’t just for manufacturers and dealers. Regular people like you and I ship cars. I just happen to do it for a living.
That’s the first question on most people’s minds. Is this a common thing? How much does it cost and is it work the price? How long does it take? Will my car see a lot of wear and tear? Well, let’s get into that.
Yes, it’s very common actually. People ship cars state to state for a variety of reasons. Some I already mentioned. Like moving, buying, selling. Just about any time you can’t or would rather not drive a car yourself to a destination, interstate car shipping's the way to go.
It’s all about the money and convenience in most cases. How much do you have to spend on interstate car shipping and does that cost equal any sort of convenience or savings in both money and time?
Most people find that especially if it’s a crossing over a few state, a full cross-country move, or just to shippin a car to a neighboring state that auto transport will save money and time.
As of 2024 to ship a car 100–200 miles will be $1.75 per mile. Shipping 200–300 miles will typically be $1.50 per mile. If you take a trip that is over 500 miles, like a state to state transport , you will then look at a rate of about $1.20 per mile. Finally, if shipping a car 1,000 you are looking at $0.90 a mile.
When you gather all your expenses to drive a car yourself to another state, there’s of course fuel, food, hotels, and of course your time. In some cases safety. Let’s go over those.
Since the truck does all the work, this example is short.
So, according to our Car Shipping Cost Calculator a trip from Miami to Dallas with an SUV will cost $1024.00.
The carrier takees you car and your keys, ships your car to your destination state and that's all she wrote. The only task you worry about is getting it at delivery. Done deal.
This one takes longer to go over, because all the steps are done by you. So let’s break it down doing interstate car shipping on your own. Or should we say self driven interstate car relocation. Sounds fancier.
Fuel — Gas isn’t cheap. With some parts of the country at $5 a gallon, you’ll have to make sure you are aware of your fuel costs going. A great way to look at this would be with a fuel calculator. I put in a BMW X5 from Miami to Dallas, and it said my fuel cost would be $238 to go to that state. So let’s take that off the transport price.
Hotel — Count on 1–2 hotel stays. Each about $139. We could go lower but it depends on your tolerance for iffy rooms and bad coffee. If you spend 2 nights, all fees, lets’ say $300. Take that off.
Food — You could pack some sandwiches in and drink s in a cooler, or take the fast food route. To eat on your 2 day road trip, you’ll have to spend anywhere from $50 to $150 on food. Since I don’t know your eating habits or your will to live on carrot peels and Aquafina, let’s average that at a conservative $75.00.
Safety — The road can be an unsafe place in remote areas. If you are broken down on a long desolate road, you could be risking your safety.
Wear and Maintenance — Then there is wear and tear along with mileage. If your car is leased, the bump in miles can put you over on your lease later on down the road. If you car is older, it may need service before and after. Like an extra oil change. These run about $140.00. You may have to change tires for your car to be long-tip roadworthy. Or the trip may puncture a tire. There’s a lot going on here.
On our example trip, your cost is $411 in comparison to shipping. This is not including extra items like car maintenance that may be needed. Your time that could be used more productively as well. As, here’s something nobody could put a value on. Time. Is it worth your time for the cost? Is it worth anything going sideways on your road trip?
The answer is up to you.
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