Texas Auto Transport & Car Shipping

What it costs to ship a car to Texas, by origin

Texas is one of the largest inbound relocation markets in the country and, unlike Florida, its demand is spread across the year with a summer peak rather than a winter one. From California, the most common origin, a sedan costs $1,000–$1,400 on an open carrier for the roughly 1,500 miles to Dallas, Houston or Austin; Los Angeles to Dallas, the single busiest city pair, is $975–$1,350. From Florida it is $850–$1,250, from Illinois $750–$1,050, from Georgia or Colorado $675–$950, and from New York $1,050–$1,500. Enclosed adds 40–60% on every lane.

The table above sets out the main origins with distances, ranges and transit windows. Two features of the Texas market shape those numbers. The first is that Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio all sit on major interstate crossings, so carriers arriving from any direction have loads waiting to take them out again; that keeps inbound prices low. The second is the size of the state. El Paso is closer to Phoenix than to Houston, so a west Texas delivery from an eastern origin is priced as a different, longer lane. The quote form uses your actual delivery city.

Summer is the busy season. Corporate relocations, new-hire moves and university terms concentrate demand between May and August, and prices run 5–10% higher then. Autumn and winter are quieter and cheaper.

Origin distance

Neighbouring states are a one- to two-day trip; Florida and the Midwest three to five; California three to six; the Northeast four to six. Price follows at a falling per-mile rate.

Delivery metro

Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin are on major interstate crossings and price lowest. West Texas and the Panhandle are separate, longer lanes.

Relocation season

May through August brings job moves and student arrivals. Expect the top of the range then and the bottom in November through February.

Vehicle class

Texas ships more pickups than any other state. A pickup adds about 20% to the sedan price; a lifted truck or a dually up to 45% because of deck height and weight limits.

Trailer choice

Open is the default. Enclosed adds 40–60% and makes sense for classics, exotics and low-clearance cars, or for hail-season shipments into north Texas in spring.

Urban access

Downtown Austin, the Houston inner loop and parts of Dallas restrict car haulers. Drivers arrange a nearby meeting point; it is routine and does not change the price.

Paying less to ship to Texas

Avoid the summer peak if your dates allow. A shipment in October, November, January or February typically lands at the low end of the range, while the same lane in July is 5–10% higher. If the move is tied to a start date in summer, book two to three weeks ahead and give a pickup window of a few days; carriers building loads toward Texas place flexible cars first.

Deliver to a major metro. Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin are all cheap to reach because carriers have outbound loads waiting. A delivery an hour or two outside them is fine but costs a little more, and a delivery in the Panhandle or far west Texas is a different lane entirely.

Choose open transport for a daily driver or a work truck, and be exact about the truck: a lifted pickup or a dually needs a carrier that can take the height and weight, and telling us up front avoids a price change at pickup. Two vehicles from the same address ship cheaper together.

Delivering in Texas: trucks, downtowns, hail and the border

Texas ships more pickups than any other state, and the trailer has to fit the truck. A standard half-ton pickup takes a normal position at about 20% above a sedan's price. A lifted truck, a long-bed crew cab or a dually needs deck height and weight allowance that not every carrier has, and prices up to 45% above a sedan. Telling the specialist the exact configuration, including tire size and any lift, is the difference between a truck that loads on the day and one that turns up unable to.

City access varies. Downtown Austin, the Houston inner loop and parts of central Dallas restrict car haulers on many streets, so drivers arrange a meeting point at a large lot near the interstate. The suburbs are easy: wide streets, long driveways and few gates. San Antonio and Fort Worth are straightforward almost everywhere.

Spring hail is the weather event that matters. North Texas from March through May sees storms that can dent an open-carrier load in minutes. Carriers watch the radar and pause loading when a cell is coming through, but a customer shipping a valuable car into Dallas–Fort Worth in April has a fair reason to consider enclosed transport. Summer heat is a non-issue for the shipment itself, though a car left in the sun for a day before pickup should be started to confirm the battery.

For international moves, carriers deliver to freight forwarders at Port Houston, the Port of Galveston and the Port of Corpus Christi, and to customs brokers on the border at Laredo and El Paso. The domestic leg is priced like any other delivery; the international leg is arranged with the forwarder. Paperwork for a domestic shipment is only keys and a photo ID at pickup, plus the name and number of whoever receives the car. Texas requires no state form to ship a vehicle in or out.