There are a variety of reasons why you may need to transport a car to another state. Maybe you’re relocating to another state or buying or selling a car across state lines. Perhaps your kids are going to or from college in another state and you need to get their vehicle transported. Maybe you’re a snowbird making your annual migration south for the winter or back north for the summer.
Whatever the reason, you need to get a car moved from one state to another and you want to know what your options are. The three most common options for interstate car transport are driving a car yourself, hiring a driver, or using a car hauling company to ship your car to another state. Let’s take a look at each one and then you can determine which option is best for you.
3 State-to-State Car Transport Options
1. Drive The Vehicle Yourself
The most straightforward option is to drive the vehicle yourself from point A to point B. This may seem like the most convenient and cheapest option, but that’s not always the case. The length of the move and your personal situation and comfort will ultimately determine if this is the best option or not.
If you only need to transport your vehicle to a neighboring state, you’ll likely be able to make that drive in a day so your expenses and travel time would be minimal. If this is your situation, then driving your car may indeed be the most convenient and cheapest way to move your vehicle to another state.
When you’re facing a move across multiple state lines, however, driving the car yourself isn’t always the best choice unless you like to drive and enjoy long-distance road trips. For most people, driving a car across several states or from coast-to-coast isn’t convenient (especially if they have kids or pets in tow), and isn’t the cheapest option either when you start adding up the costs.
The cost of gas, food, lodging (if it’s a few days journey), and then maybe a bus or plane ticket back to your point of origin can add up quickly. On top of the cost of travel, there is the potential cost of lost wages if you have to miss work to make the trip, and the cost of the wear and tear on your vehicle.
In addition to the costs of driving yourself, there are also potential hazards of a long-distance road trip to consider. Car break downs and accidents, inclement weather, poor road conditions, and driving through states you’re unfamiliar with may add more stress to an already stressful situation.
If all that scares you away from driving your car yourself, towing your car instead might be an option that works for you depending on your situation. For example, if you’re renting a moving truck to relocate to another state, you may be able to rent a tow dolly. This will allow you to tow your car behind the moving truck you’re already driving, eliminating additional mileage and wear-and-tear on your vehicle.
You’ll have to decide if the additional cost of renting a tow dolly is worth it and you’ll have to decide what your comfort level is towing your own vehicle.
2. Hire a Driver
If you don’t want to make the drive yourself, you could hire someone to drive your car for you. This could be someone in your family, a friend, or a professional driver. This option is more expensive than driving yourself, but it can still be one of the cheaper ways to transport a vehicle across state lines. It also saves you from spending time on the road and from all the potential risks of state-to-state travel that we discussed earlier.
The main hurdle with this option is trusting the person you hire. Most people don’t like to lend out their car for a trip to the store, much less a cross-country trek!
3. Hire An Auto Hauling Company
Hiring a professional auto transport company to ship your car to another state is usually the most convenient and safest option. And it is usually the cheapest way to ship a car too.
There are thousands of car shipping companies to choose from so it will require a little homework and research to find one that you can trust. Here are some things to consider as you do your research:
- Choose which type of transporter best fits your needs, an auto transport broker or car carrier.
- Get quotes from multiple companies so you have a general idea how much it’s going to cost to ship a car. And don’t just choose the one with the cheapest price because you get what you pay for!
- Look for testimonials from customers on the company’s website.
- Even better, look for online reviews on third party sites such as TransportReviews.com and Google.
- Check their safety rating with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
- Check their ratings with agencies like the Better Business Bureau.
- How long have they been in business and how many vehicles have they shipped?
- When you contact companies, do they seem knowledgeable? Do they seem helpful and friendly?
There are a lot of interstate auto transport companies out there, and like in any industry, some are better than others. Your car is a valuable asset, and it’s worth the time it takes to separate the good from the bad when trying to find a company to move your car to another state.
J&S Transportation: An Interstate Auto Transport Company Worth Considering
If you determine that hiring an interstate car transport company is your best option to move a vehicle from one state to another, we hope you consider J&S Transportation. J&S has been shipping vehicles state-to-state throughout the country and making our customers happy for over 20 years now. We have shipped over half a million vehicles and counting so we know what we’re doing!
We have the experience and knowledge to make your auto transport experience a positive one. At J&S we’re committed to providing phenomenal customer service, prompt and safe delivery, and open and honest communication throughout the entire process.
Whether you decide to hire us or another interstate car transport company, it all starts with getting a quote. Get a free instant quote from us today!
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