Car Shipping for a Job Relocation: How to Plan Your Pickup and Delivery

Starting a new job in another state comes with a long list of things to coordinate. There may be a new home to find, movers to schedule, flights to book, utilities to set up, and a firm date when you’re expected to show up for work.

Then there’s your car.

Do you drive it to your new home yourself? Fly to your destination and have the vehicle shipped? And if you decide to ship it, how do you make sure the timing works with your move and your first day on the job?

The biggest thing to understand is that auto transport operates within estimated pickup and delivery windows rather than exact shipping dates.

That doesn’t mean you can’t plan around a job relocation. You absolutely can. You just need to understand how the timing works and build some flexibility into your moving schedule.

Verdict at a glance

• For a cross-country relocation, your vehicle may spend roughly 5–7 days in transit after pickup, although actual transit time depends on the route.
• Most J&S open-transport pickups are arranged within approximately 2–9 days of your earliest available pickup date, depending on your route, location, vehicle, season, and carrier availability.
• Pickup and delivery dates are estimates when you get a quote and initially book your transport. Once a carrier is assigned, you’ll have a more specific pickup date. After pickup, the driver provides a more definite delivery date.
• If your new job has a firm start date, give yourself a cushion and have a backup person available for pickup or delivery if necessary.
• For shorter relocations, driving may make more sense. For longer moves, shipping can save several days of driving and thousands of miles on your vehicle.

How many days does it take to ship a car for a job move?

Short answer: Once your vehicle has been picked up, a cross-country transport will often take approximately 5–7 days. But you also need to account for the time required to schedule the pickup.

There are really two parts to the car shipping timeline.

The first is pickup. Once your vehicle becomes available, the transport company has to coordinate a carrier that is traveling your route and has room for your vehicle. With J&S Transportation, most vehicles being shipped on open transport are picked up within approximately 2–9 days of the first available pickup date.

The second is transit. Once the vehicle is loaded, delivery can take anywhere from one to seven days on many routes. For a true coast-to-coast move, you’ll generally be toward the longer end of that range.

As a general rule, car carriers travel approximately 500 miles per day. You can estimate transit time by dividing the route distance by 500, rounding up to the next full day, and allowing an additional day for possible delays. For example, a 1,150-mile route would take approximately three days of driving, so allowing three to four days for delivery is reasonable.

A vehicle moving from Denver to Dallas, for example, will obviously take less time than one moving from Seattle to Miami.

Your pickup and delivery locations matter too. Vehicles near major metropolitan areas and interstate highways are generally easier for carriers to accommodate than vehicles in remote areas that require a driver to travel several hours away from established shipping routes.

That’s why we don’t recommend simply adding a generic pickup window to a generic transit time and assuming that will be your exact schedule.

When you get a quote from J&S Transportation, we provide initial estimated pickup and delivery dates. Once we assign a carrier, we’ll have a more specific pickup date. After your vehicle is picked up, the driver provides the planned delivery date. Those dates can change if an unexpected delay occurs, but they give you a much clearer schedule to work around.

Why can’t car shipping companies guarantee an exact pickup date?

A pickup window is the estimated period when your vehicle can be picked up after it becomes available for transport.

This part of auto transport surprises some first-time customers. You may be used to booking a flight for Tuesday at 10:15 a.m. or scheduling movers to arrive Thursday morning.

Car shipping doesn’t work quite that way.

A long-distance car carrier may be transporting several vehicles belonging to several different customers. The driver is coordinating pickups and deliveries along an entire route while dealing with traffic, weather, loading times, customer availability, construction, and federal driving-hour limitations.

One delay earlier in the route can affect everything that comes afterward.

That’s why reputable auto transport companies generally provide estimated pickup dates rather than guaranteeing a specific day.

You can certainly tell us which day would be ideal. We’ll do our best to accommodate it. But we don’t want to promise an exact pickup date before we know we can deliver on that promise.

When you first book your transport, the pickup dates are estimates. Once we assign a carrier, however, we’ll have a specific day the driver is planning to pick up your vehicle. That date usually holds, although unforeseen circumstances such as weather, traffic, or equipment problems can occasionally cause it to change.

J&S keeps customers updated as the pickup is arranged, provides approximately 24 hours of notice when possible, and then provides a shorter notice as the driver gets close.

For someone relocating for a job, that communication is especially important because your own travel schedule may be changing at the same time.

Is it cheaper to drive or ship your car when relocating for work?

There isn’t one right answer.

For some job relocations, driving is clearly the best option. For others, spending several days behind the wheel while you’re trying to relocate and prepare for a new job doesn’t make much sense.

Our advice is to compare the entire trip — not just the price of gasoline versus the price of shipping.

Cost is only one piece of the decision.

If your new job is 400 miles away and you can make the drive in a day, shipping probably isn’t going to make sense.

If you’re moving 2,000 miles away and starting work shortly after you arrive, the calculation changes. You may be comparing the cost of shipping against several days of driving, hotel rooms, meals, fuel, time away from work, mileage, and the inconvenience of arriving at your new home after a long road trip.

Sometimes driving wins. Sometimes shipping does.

Why Do Cross-Country Trucks Experience Road Delays?

A car carrier traveling across the country isn’t driving directly from your house to your new house with only your vehicle on the trailer.

Most long-distance carriers are transporting multiple vehicles at the same time. Your pickup and delivery are part of a larger route.

Along the way, the driver may have additional vehicles to pick up or deliver. Some customers take longer than expected to meet the driver. A dealership may not have a vehicle ready. Traffic can back up around a major city. A winter storm can slow an entire interstate corridor. Construction, road closures, equipment problems, or other unexpected issues can change the driver’s schedule.

Even something as simple as getting a large car carrier into a congested residential area can take more time than expected.

That doesn’t mean lengthy delays are normal. Most transports proceed very close to the original forecast.

It does mean that a planned delivery date can occasionally change because of unexpected delays along the shipping route.

Once your vehicle is picked up, the driver knows when they expect to deliver it and provides us with that date. Most of the time, delivery takes place as planned. If something changes during transit, J&S communicates with the driver and keeps you informed rather than leaving you wondering where things stand.

When Is Driving Your Own Vehicle the Better Choice?

For shorter job relocations, driving is usually the easiest and least expensive option.

If your move is around 500 miles or less, you can often complete the trip in one day. You’ll avoid coordinating a transport altogether, you’ll have complete control over when you leave and arrive, and you’ll have your vehicle with you immediately.

Driving may also make more sense if you enjoy road trips.

Maybe you’re moving from Minnesota to Arizona and you’ve always wanted to take a few days to see the Black Hills, Colorado, or Utah along the way. If you have time before your new job begins, your relocation can become part of the adventure.

Driving can also be more practical if you’re bringing pets or need to move more belongings than an auto carrier allows.

On the other hand, the longer the distance becomes, the more factors you have to weigh. A multi-day drive means fuel, hotels, meals, mileage, wear and tear, weather, traffic, and potentially several days when you’re doing nothing but driving.

If you’re expected to report to a new job shortly after arriving, flying and shipping your vehicle may be worth the additional cost simply because of the time and convenience it gives you.

How far in advance should you book car shipping for a job move?

This is probably the most important part of planning a car shipment for a job relocation.

You don’t need to book your transport a month or more in advance. For most job relocations, booking approximately two weeks before your earliest available pickup date is ideal.

Most car carriers schedule their loads about a week to 10 days in advance, so booking much earlier generally doesn’t mean your vehicle will be scheduled any sooner.

The important thing is to plan around your earliest available pickup date, not necessarily your first day at the new job.

For example, suppose you’re relocating across the country and starting your new job on Monday. You probably don’t want to plan on having your car delivered Sunday night.

Even if that delivery date looks reasonable under normal conditions, a weather delay or scheduling change could leave you without your vehicle when you need it.

A better approach is to give yourself several days of cushion whenever possible.

There is another option that can make scheduling much easier: you don’t necessarily have to be present for the pickup or delivery yourself.

If you need to fly to your new city before your vehicle is picked up, a family member, friend, neighbor, or another responsible adult can meet the driver and release the vehicle for you.

The same is true at delivery. If you’re already working, someone you trust can meet the driver, inspect the vehicle, and sign the delivery paperwork on your behalf.

Someone at least 18 years old must be present at both pickup and delivery. The driver inspects the vehicle at pickup and documents its condition on the Bill of Lading (BOL). At delivery, the vehicle is inspected again and the paperwork is signed to acknowledge its condition. J&S does not perform unattended pickups or deliveries where the keys are simply left somewhere for the driver or customer.

That flexibility can be extremely helpful during a relocation because your flight, move-in date, orientation, first day at work, and vehicle shipment aren’t always going to line up perfectly.

If your employer provides relocation assistance, it’s also worth asking whether auto transportation can be included or reimbursed as part of your relocation package.

How Should You Prepare Your Car Before the Driver Arrives?

Preparing your vehicle for transport is pretty straightforward.

Before pickup, remove valuables and loose personal items, take out toll transponders and garage-door openers, and make sure any removable exterior accessories are secured or removed.

It’s also a good idea to clean the vehicle enough that its existing condition can be easily inspected and photographed.

If you plan to put personal belongings in the vehicle, know the transport company’s policy before packing.

With J&S Transportation, you may include one suitcase, duffel bag, tote, or box weighing up to 100 pounds. It must be securely stored inside the vehicle below the window line or in the trunk.

Personal belongings are not covered by the carrier’s cargo insurance, so don’t pack medications, important documents, expensive electronics, valuables, or anything irreplaceable.

Finally, someone at least 18 years old needs to be available at pickup. Before the vehicle is loaded, the driver will inspect it, document its condition on the Bill of Lading, and have the person releasing the vehicle sign the paperwork.

Is Open or Enclosed Car Shipping Better for a Job Relocation?

When choosing between open or enclosed car shipping, most people relocating with a normal everyday car, SUV, crossover, or pickup truck, open auto transport is the most practical shipping option.

It’s the type of carrier you’ve probably seen on the interstate transporting multiple vehicles. Open transport is widely available and significantly less expensive than enclosed transportation.

Enclosed transportation protects the vehicle inside a fully enclosed trailer and may make sense if you’re relocating with a restored classic, collectible vehicle, exotic car, or particularly valuable vehicle you don’t want exposed to weather or road debris.

There are two important things to consider with enclosed shipping:

• It’s considerably more expensive. Enclosed shipping typically costs 80–90% more than open transport right now.
• It usually takes longer to schedule. There are far fewer enclosed carriers available today, so arranging a pickup can take longer, particularly on less popular routes. As a result, the overall shipping process may take longer as well.

Our recommendation? Unless you’re transporting a particularly valuable or collectible vehicle, open car shipping is usually the best option. It’s more affordable, there are more carriers available, and you’ll generally have more flexibility when scheduling your transport.