Car Shipping 101: How To Transport Your Vehicle From A To B

Fly-And-Drive. This option is ideal for those who enjoy road trip. United States has the best inter-state highway system in the world. Besides, what could be a better way to test drive the newly purchased vehicle than you driving it across the country? This option is not recommended for vehicles more than 10 years old. Also have the vehicle throughly checked out before you leave the town.

"I drive your car for free!". Check under road share section in the newspaper, you might actually find someone that can drive your car across the country for you. It is the labor for free-ride deal. The driver moves the car for you, and in exchange, you provide free use of the vehicle, and maybe some gasoline. This option is less often used because most people do not want to hand over the key to a stranger.

Ship a vehicle within the continental US. Most of the passenger cars are transported by an "open" carrier, the big truck you see on the highway moving about 10 vehicles at a time. For high dollar collectors vehicle, or race car, "enclosed" trailer is used, which carries less vehicles, and offers maximum protection for the vehicles from flying rocks, hails, or dust on the road.

Be prepared to pay $750-$1,200 for coast to coast vehicle transport. Add $500 extra for enclosed trailer. And the cost from the Midwest to either coast would be around $750 with regular trailer. Vehicles are picked up by the trucking company, and they may first be stored at a regional shipping center for a few days before they get shipped out. It would normally take about 2 weeks before it reaches the nearest terminal in your area. You have the option to have it shipped to your door step or to pick up the vehicle at the terminal yourself, which usually saves you $50-$100.

Quick estimate of shipping cost to different states from Texas: Alabama(AL)($600) Alaska(AK)($1800) American Samoa(AS)($2000) Arizona(AZ)($500) Arkansas(AR)($400) California(CA)($700) Colorado(CO)($600) Connecticut(CT)($800) Delaware(DE)($800) District of Columbia(DC)($750) Federated States of Micronesia(FM)($2200) Florida(FL)($750) Georgia(GA)($650) Guam(GU)($2400) Hawaii(HI)($2400) Idaho(ID)($700) Illinois(IL)($600) Indiana(IN)($700) Iowa(IA)($700) Kansas(KS)($600) Kentucky(KY)($600) Louisiana(LA)($400) Maine(ME)($800) Marshall Islands(MH)($2100) Maryland(MD)($700) Massachusetts(MA)($700) Michigan(MI)($600) Minnesota(MN)($700) Mississippi(MS)($600) Missouri(MO)($600) Montana(MT)($800) Nebraska(NE)($700) Nevada(NV)($700) New Hampshire(NH)($800) New Jersey(NJ)($800) New Mexico(NM)($600) New York(NY)($800) North Carolina(NC)($750) North Dakota(ND)($700) Northern Mariana Islands(MP)($2100) Ohio(OH)($700) Oklahoma(OK)($350) Oregon(OR)($850) Palau(PW)($2000) Pennsylvania(PA)($700) Puerto Rico(PR)($900) Rhode Island(RI)($800) South Carolina(SC)($700) South Dakota(SD)($700) Tennessee(TN)($600) Utah(UT)($600) Vermont(VT)($750) Virgin Islands(VI)($800) Virginia(VA)($800) Washington(WA)($800) West Virginia(WV)($750) Wisconsin(WI)($700) Wyoming(WY)($800).

Shipping vehicle from overseas. Do some research and see if you can import the vehicle from source country, and what the custom procedure is. Do you need to make modifications to the vehicle before it can be legally registered? What is the restriction on importing older model vehicle? And tax? Normally you hire a custom agent for the clearing custom part. And you hire a shipping agent to handle the paperworks, inspections, and dealing with ocean liner part. You may want to purchase marine insurance when your ship vehicle from overseas. But basic marine insurance only covers total-loss. It does not cover scratches, dings or dents incurred during the transit.

To ship a vehicle to other countries, budget around $2,000 to Europe(France, German), $2,000 to MidEast(Mid East, Iraq, Saudi Arab, UAE, Kuwait), $1,800 to South America(Brazil, Chile), and $2,500 to Asia(China, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia). The estimates here include fees charged by the shipping agent. Tax abd tariff varies from country to country. An experienced custom agent of your country may give you a better answer of that. If you opt out marine insurance, it could save you around $250. Importing a vehicle from oversea is risky and not for the faint of heart. But the reward can be excellent if you do it right.