logo
  • Home
  • FAQs
  • User Videos
  • Quote Calculator
866-221-1664
Get Your Free Quote
logo
866-221-1664
  • Home
  • FAQs
  • User Videos
  • Quote Calculator
Get Your Free Quote
Get Your Free Quote

Shipping a car to or from California

50,000+ Reviews
1,000,000+ Customers Helped
Home  |  Car Shipping   |   Shipping a car to or from California

shipping a car to CaliforniaPricing is always the biggest question when customers start to research auto transport. Many customers may expect to find simple pricing based on the mileage of their transport. But the reality is that pricing for auto-transports can vary depending on a number of factors including route/region, season, and even the direction of travel. Sometimes the very same mileage to the very same cities can price differently depending on the direction of travel and time of year the vehicle is shipped. Let’s take a look at shipping a car to or from California to see how that works.

Currently, it is cheaper to ship a car out of California than it is to ship a car in to California. Even if you are shipping between two cities where the mileage is the exactly same, there can be a price difference of $50 or even more depending on if you are going east or west. And there is a perfectly logical reason for that difference: supply and demand. Your vehicle is going on a truck with other vehicles, and your carrier has to have a full load. Unlike buses or planes that run on a regular schedule no matter what the capacity, auto carriers do not. There are no “mass transit” options for shipping a car to or from California by truck. Each transport is contracted individually and each scheduled route is unique because there are different customer addresses each run. And there are times when there are many more potential customers going one direction than the other. If there are more potential customer jobs on one end than there are spots on trucks, carriers will always take the best paying contracts first. So if there happen to be a bunch of customers moving out of Dallas to Los  Angeles at a time when there really aren't many customers going from Los Angeles to Dallas, the carrier will be able to book the highest offers from the pool of customers heading west, and will be desperate for any jobs out of Los Angeles.

It’s simple supply-and-demand economics. Whether you are shipping a car to or from California, pricing depends in part on the popularity of your route. Sometimes you are on the better deal side of the shipping direction and sometimes you are in competition for limited spots.  Either way, we’ll always suggest the best possible price for the season.

Please give us a call if you have any questions about pricing your transport: 866-221-1664.

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to Your Car Moving Questions

The hardest thing for people researching car moving companies to understand is that the prices they are getting are not hard and fast gaurantees, but rather ESTIMATES of what one company thinks it will take to get a vehicle moved promptly versus another company's opinion of what it will take. Don't be fooled, there are not carriers committed to take your vehicle at these quoted prices, the company you choose will still have to get to work getting a carrier to commit to move it at the price they quote you.

Your total price breaks down into two parts, the broker's fee (or 'deposit' as everyone calls it) and the carriers fee (your COD amount) Make no mistake about this, EVERYONE YOU ARE GETTING SALES CALLS FROM IS GOING TO BROKER YOUR MOVE. In this industry, there are brokers who try to fool you into thinking that they are the actual carriers and there are an equal amount of carriers who sell themselves on the fact that they have a truck or two but are not being honest about the fact that they broker out 90% of the orders they book. Here is a quick easy way to tell, if a company takes an up front fee, whether they call it a deposit or any other name, they are a broker. Carriers do not take any payment until the vehicle is delivered.

In our opinion, you are crazy to do so. Have you ever been paid up front for the work that you perform for your employer? Why would you pay a fee up front when there are reliable and trustworthy companies like ours that won't ask for it until we provide you with your carriers details?

The average transit time from pick up to delivery on any vehicle going coast to coast will be between one and two weeks. From there you can figure your transit time based on how far your vehicle is traveling, i.e. from either coast to the Midwest might average 3-7 days.

View All FAQs
Ship a Car Direct BBB Business Review
4.9
Over 35,000+ Reviews
TransportReviews.com
4.8
Over 17,000+ Reviews
ShopperApproved.com
4.9
Over 3,500+ Reviews
ConsumerAffairs.com

We’re Loved by Customers

See Reviews by Our Verified Buyers!

shipacardirect.com widget logo
Get Your Free Car Shipping Quote
Get Your Free Quote
  • About Us
  • Quote Calculator
  • User Videos
  • FAQs
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
MC-632461
logo
© 2023 Ship a Car Direct. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Site Map