Car shipping when you relocate
Car shipping when you relocate is a trailer booking that has to fit the same week as the rest of the move. The household mover does not haul the car, and the car carrier does not pack the house. The detail that slips is the handoff: an empty house, a person with keys, and a truck window that is days wide.
Key facts
- Two contracts
- The household goods mover and the car carrier are different companies with different paperwork.
- The empty-house problem
- Someone with keys must meet the car carrier even if you have already left. Name that person early.
- Boxes do not ride in the car
- Ask the carrier what may stay in the cabin. Household goods belong on the moving truck, not in the trunk as a plan.
- Registration is after delivery
- The carrier does not register the car in the new state or pay that state's tax.
The sources are listed on this page.
Car shipping when you relocate is the trailer booking that has to share a calendar with leases, flights, and a household mover. The fact that causes the most missed pickups is not the price. It is that the house is empty, the keys are in another state, and the car carrier's window is several days wide. Plan the person who will stand next to the car before you plan the farewell dinner.
The company that packs the sofa is not, by default, the company that loads the car. Treat them as two hires until each contract says otherwise.
What a relocation lane costs
These are open car-transport estimates, not a bundled moving price. A sedan from New York to Miami is $804–$1,225 as of , model v1 RideShipper estimate, updated 2026-11-09, based on 3,588 prices that customers reported paying in MoveAdvisor reviews, adjusted for U.S. diesel at $6.13 a gallon for that week (U.S. Energy Information Administration). In testing, the typical difference between an estimate and a reported price was about 20% of the estimate. This is an estimate, not a quote: the carrier sets the price. No pickup date was supplied, so this estimate uses November 2026. Reported prices on seasonal routes to and from Florida and Arizona support different prices in each direction this month.. A sedan from Chicago to Denver is $661–$1,007 as of , model v1 RideShipper estimate, updated 2026-11-09, based on 3,588 prices that customers reported paying in MoveAdvisor reviews, adjusted for U.S. diesel at $6.13 a gallon for that week (U.S. Energy Information Administration). In testing, the typical difference between an estimate and a reported price was about 20% of the estimate. This is an estimate, not a quote: the carrier sets the price. No pickup date was supplied, so this estimate uses November 2026. There is no seasonal direction adjustment for this route and month.. An SUV from Seattle to Dallas is $929–$1,415 as of , model v1 RideShipper estimate, updated 2026-11-09, based on 3,588 prices that customers reported paying in MoveAdvisor reviews, adjusted for U.S. diesel at $6.13 a gallon for that week (U.S. Energy Information Administration). In testing, the typical difference between an estimate and a reported price was about 20% of the estimate. This is an estimate, not a quote: the carrier sets the price. No pickup date was supplied, so this estimate uses November 2026. There is no seasonal direction adjustment for this route and month..
If you can drive one of the cars and ship the other, price both in ship versus drive. A second car is not an automatic discount. Read shipping several vehicles. Military orders are a different entitlement conversation on the military page. An employer-paid move is the corporate page. The cash price of the truck can be the same. The person who may sign is not.
Registration and tax in the new state are not inside these estimates. Insurance proof before registration is the later task. This page does not state a state's deadline.
How to time the car with the move
- Book the car window as soon as the travel days are real. A household delivery window and a car window will not match unless you force the conversation.
- Decide who is at the origin on pickup day. If you will be gone, name a person now. Pickup from an empty house or storage and if nobody can meet the driver are the two failure modes.
- Decide who is at the destination. Delivery to someone else needs a name and a phone, not a hope that the apartment office will sign.
- Keep documents with you: title if you need it for the new state, insurance cards, and the moving inventory. They do not belong in the car on the trailer or in a random box.
- Ask each mover what it will not carry. Fuel cans, paint, and a trunk full of clothes are the usual arguments. The split between car and moving truck is the list to have before pack day.
- Photograph the car. The household inventory does not describe the bumper.
Have the car out of the garage if the house will be locked, or leave a way in for the person you named. Alarm off. Fuel at the carrier's written level. A car in a storage unit needs the unit's hours, not just your lease end date.
What to ask, and the mistakes
Ask the car company for a window in dates and a meeting point a trailer can reach on a street full of moving trucks. Two large vehicles on the same block is a practical problem. Ask the household mover, separately, whether it touches vehicles at all. Check the car company's number on SAFER. A broker bond of $75,000 under 49 CFR 387.307 is not the mover's valuation coverage, and it is not the car's cargo policy.
The mistake is one phone call that "handles the move," then a car that never gets a booking. Another is a cheap car quote paid by digital wallet while you are distracted by boxes. The Better Business Bureau's 21 July 2023 alert describes no-shows and cars held for more money. Moving week is when people skip the lookup. A third mistake is flying out before a person is confirmed for the keys.
Limits
A relocation shipment will not pack the house, break a lease, forward mail, or register the car. It will not wait a week for free if your new place is not ready. Storage, if a carrier offers it, is a written extra. RideShipper does not move households or cars, set either price, take a deposit, or insure either load. World Media Group LLC operates the quote service for cars. Companies that receive a car-shipping request may pay RideShipper.
Read moving a car and a household together if you want the two jobs on one checklist. Keep the contracts separate even if the week is the same.
Questions
Can the moving company take the car?
Only if that company's contract says it hauls vehicles, which is uncommon for a household shipment. Ask each company what it will and will not load. Assume they are separate until both contracts say otherwise.
What if I am already in the new city when the truck comes?
Name a person at the old address with keys and authority to sign. Read the guide on a pickup from an empty house. A carrier will not accept a car it cannot unlock.
Should the car leave before or after the furniture?
Whichever way leaves a person at each handoff. Many people send the car so it is waiting, then fly. Others need the car until the last day. Tell the carrier the true first day, not the day you wish the move were over.
Can I pack the trunk to save on the moving truck?
Ask the car carrier. Many refuse household goods in the car, and a cargo policy is about the vehicle. Use the guide on what goes in the car versus the moving truck. Do not store documents in either truck.
Does RideShipper move the house and the car?
No. RideShipper requests car-shipping quotes only. It does not pack a house, dispatch a car carrier, set prices, take a deposit, or insure either load.