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Should You Ship or Sell Your Car if You are Moving?

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Home  |  Car Transport   |   Should You Ship or Sell Your Car if You are Moving?

When you are preparing for a long distance move, you probably find yourself wondering which items are really worth taking with you. You may even ask yourself, “Should I bring this with me or sell it and buy a new one when I get to my new home?” This decision will need to be made about many things you own, including your car. Moving a car across the country can seem like a daunting task and you may be wondering whether or not you should just sell your car and buy a new one. The decision on whether or not to sell or ship your car will depend on your unique circumstances. Here we will break down all the factors that can affect your decision so you can decide for yourself how to navigate this situation. 

Why Ship Your Car?

Save Money- Depending on the size and make of your vehicle, you could be looking at several hundred or even more than a thousand dollars to ship your car. While this may seem like a big expense, it actually pales in comparison to the price of a brand new car. It’s almost always cheaper to ship a car than it is to sell it and buy a brand new one.

Convenience-  Moving across the country is no easy feat and having your car shipped means one less thing you have to worry about. You don’t have to worry about selling it before you move and rushing to buy a new car as soon as you arrive. Shipping your car is easy and convenient and can save you a great deal of hassle. 

Why Sell Your Car?

As stated before, buying a new car is always going to be far more expensive than shipping your car. However, there are times when it might be more cost-effective to sell your car and buy a new one. 

Your Car is Worn Out- If your car is on its last leg and you are planning to replace it soon anyway, then the price of shipping probably isn’t worth a few months of driving it in your new city. In this case, you are probably better off using the money you would have spent on shipping as a down payment for your new car. 

Your Car Isn’t Worth Much- If you have an old car with several thousand miles on it, you may be better off buying a new car than paying more than the car is worth to ship it. This definitely depends on the condition of your vehicle and how much longer you plan to drive it. 

You Need Cash- If you own your car, then the proceeds of selling it can help offset some of your moving expenses. Just be mindful about setting some aside as a down payment for your new car. 

All in all, the decision about whether or not to sell your car or ship it comes down to how much your car is worth, how old it is, and whether or not you plan on upgrading your vehicle. In many cases, it is far more cost effective and convenient to have your car shipped. Car shipping is easy, convenient, and very affordable compared to buying a brand new car. That said, be sure to consider all of the costs before making your decision. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Honest Answers to Your Car Shipping Questions

Yes, we always ask for your specific pickup and delivery addresses, if the carrier can get right to the addresses you provide, they will. If the addresses that you give us are not safely accessible for a Multi-car carrier, however, you will need to make arrangements with the driver to meet at a nearby location where the carrier can safely get in and out.

People do it all the time (rarely for free) but the official answer is no.

Not what you wanted to hear, we know, but that is the honest answer.

We are not licensed to broker the shipment of household goods and, likewise, no car carrier that operates in the USA is licensed to transport them from state to state either. Despite what you might be being told by other car shipping companies you may speak with.

Remember, at the end of the day we're all salespeople, and the true answer to this question is not a great selling point.

You will hear a lot of companies tell you that you can put up to 100 pounds of items in the trunk, but that is not entirely true. That fact is that items of that amount are fairly common and the department of transportation is probably not going to split hairs and fine the trucker over items of that amount, provided they are not over their weight limit. They could fine them, however, if they see a vehicle stuffed full of personal items so the car carrier will most likely try to negotiate something with you to cover themselves against any costs they could incur. It's not something we can build into your contract though.

We have a short and helpful video on this topic in our user videos.

Only in rare cases and car carriers will usually charge a premium to make it happen.

All dates given by car carriers are typically estimates and projections.

For this reason (and to keep your cost down) we ask that you build in some flexibility and give us the earliest possible date you would be WILLING to release the vehicle, even though it may not be your preferred date.

We'll put you in direct contact with your car carrier and the driver will also typically call you the afternoon or evening before your pick up and delivery (they won't just show up unannounced, and if they do we want to hear about it). However, car carriers are out on the road battling traffic, weather and any number of other factors that can and do throw them off of their pickup and delivery projections from time to time.

If the projected dates we give you come and you are unable to make contact with your carrier, please call our office immediately so that we may help resolve the situation.

The average transit time from pick up to delivery on any vehicle going coast to coast will average 7 to 10 days. 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.

Yes!

Even better, we do not even ask for payment until we have you confirmed for pickup by a safe, reliable, fully insured, direct car carrier. If for any reason you do not ship your car with the carrier that we arrange for you, there is no fee.

The fees paid directly to the carrier however, (in most cases, their fees are not paid until your vehicle is delivered) are not directly controlled by us, so any requests for a refund of the carrier's portion would need to be addressed with the carrier directly.

Of course! And you are always backed by our Damage Free Guarantee policy.

Part of what you pay us for is to verify that the car carrier that we put you on is covered by the proper amount of insurance and that everything is up to date.

There is never any additional cost to you for this coverage, and their insurance is always primary.

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