Should You Drive or Ship Your Car? Pros, Cons & Cost Comparison

When you’re facing an upcoming move, there’s a major decision you’ve got to make- should you drive your car to your new home or ship it and let someone else handle the heavy lifting?

At first thought, driving your car yourself sounds like the adventurous choice, a road trip across the great USA! Playlists galore and gas station snacks could all be yours.

Don’t forget to remember, traffic, gas costs, hotel bills, endless construction zones, and that backache you get from sitting 8 hours at a time. Suddenly, the idea of shipping your car looks a lot better. Now let’s talk options so you can weigh things in a responsible manner. 

Before you grab the keys or sign the car shipping contract, iMoving is here to help you break down the pros, cons, and costs.

1. The Timeline Is All Yours

Want to leave at 5 a.m. and knock out 700 miles in a day? Go for it. Prefer to stop off at every tourist trap across the continental USA? Everything is your choice. You’re the boss. This is a great time to knock out that family road trip you always wanted.

2. Potentially Cheaper

On paper, driving can save you some cash with no shipping fees, just gas, hotels, food, and a few oil changes if it's a really long trip. Don’t forget to take into account the wear and tear on your personal car. Take into account the miles that will be added to your car and how that will damage its resale value. 

3. Road Trip Memories

Driving gives you the chance to create those amazing family road trip memories, or at least hilarious stories about getting lost in middle America. It’s not every day you have this many days off for a task you can’t stand- aka moving. Make the most of it with the kids and give them memories to laugh about.

1. Wear and Tear

Long-distance drives are tough on your car. Every extra mile means more maintenance sooner. Tires wear out, oil needs changing, and that tiny crack? Well, it’s probably a spider web now in the glass. Don’t forget about the affects on the resale value of your car. Saving money now on movers means losing money later when trying to revalue your car.

2. Costs You Didn’t Plan For

Gas prices aren't exactly user-friendly lately and can be unpredictable. Add in hotels, food, road tolls, and potential repairs if your best car buddy breaks down, and you might spend more than you thought. Really ensure to weigh these potential costs with the costs of a mover for your car. 

3. Time Is Money

If your move is across the country, driving could easily eat up 3–7 days of your life. Or this could be a family fun road trip of 3-7 days, which could be more fun than Disney World. That’s a full week of vacation days or missed work hours — not ideal when you’re trying to unpack, register at a new DMV, or just figure out where the nearest grocery store is.

4. Exasution is Real

Long drives are exhausting, really exhausting. After day three, even the world's best road trip playlist can't fight off driver fatigue. Driving while being tired can be extremely dangerous. There is only so much that coffee can do for you when driving through the boring Midwest.

1. Time and Energy

Time is money. Hand off your car to the pros, grab a flight, and arrive at your new place fresh as can be. Shipping saves you literal days of your life. If you count up the work hours you will save it might be a lot more than anything a car shipping company would cost.

2. Avoid Wear and Tear

Your car arrives with the same mileage it left with. No breakdowns, no new rattling noises that make you say, “Was that there before?” Car saftey is a big and very expensive thing.

3. Reduces Stress

Driving 3,000 miles might sound like a blast if you love adventures. That is, until you're in the middle of highway construction, detours, and the horror of realizing you’re 300 miles from the next decent bathroom with a full bladder from all that coffee. Shipping lets you skip all that and simply settle into your new home. This might be worth all the money in the world.

4. Insurance

Reputable car transport companies provide insurance during shipping. Every carrier you consider should be licensed, insured, and actually know what they’re doing. Make sure you know and fully understand any down payments you’ll need to pay upon any damage.

1. Money Makes The World Go Round

Yep, shipping isn’t free. Life in general isn’t free. Costs will be based on distance, transport type (open vs. enclosed), season and timing. But when you add up the real costs of a road trip (plus potential repairs), it often evens out or costs slightly more.

2. Limiting Your Flexibility

Once your shipping date is locked in with your moving company, you can't really decide halfway through that you want your car rerouted through Las Vegas for "personal reasons." You hand it off, and it goes straight to the destination. This is your number one chance to take on Vegas and feel responsible about it. 

3. Waiting Period

Depending on distance and car carrier schedules, your car might take several days to a week to arrive. You’ll need a backup car at your new place if you get there first or you’ll have to learn the public transport system.

Driving Costs:

• Gas: $300–$1000 (depending on distance and fuel efficiency of your car as well as detours your choose)
• Hotels: $100–$150/night x 2–5 nights = $200–$750
  
  
• Food: $20–$50/day x 3–5 days = $60–$250 (depending on your lack of control for gas station snacks).
  
  
• Potential Car Maintenance: $100–$500+
  
  
• Your Time: Priceless

Estimated Total: $600–$2,200+ (and that’s if nothing goes wrong)

Shipping Costs:

• Open carrier: $600–$1,200 (typical cross-country move quotes comparison)
  
  
• Enclosed carrier: $1,500–$2,000+ (for fancy/luxury cars)
  
  
• Peace of mind: if you book with iMoving- totally free!

Bottom line: unless you truly enjoy long drives or road trips or are moving a short distance, shipping often saves your peace of mind and doesn’t necessarily cost much more - especially when you consider hidden driving expenses.

When You Should Truly Consider Driving:

• The move is under 300 miles and not a big deal
• You want a mini-vacation road trip with your family
• You have time and flexibility,y and are willing to DIY it
• Your car isn’t worth much, and you're okay with risking wear and tear

When You Should Ship:

• Moving over 500 miles (especially cross-country or rough boring drives)
• Tight schedule for school for the kids or work responsibilities
• High-value cars that you don’t want to add miles to
• You want your free time and don’t want extra mileage on that Toyota Prius

If you decide shipping is the way to go (smart move, by the way), iMoving makes the whole process extremely easy if you choose our services. They will connect you with licensed, insured car transporters who won’t ghost you on moving day, or lose your car in the flatlands of Kansas. If you are at a point in your life that a road trip sounds great, then consider the DIY version of this, but if not, it’s better to fork up the funds and go with the pros.