Auto transport route
From $1,000 · 3–6 days · Door-to-door on I-10 and I-20 and I-40
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Price by vehicle
Ranges come from carrier quotes received on the California to Texas lane, last checked September 12, 2026. Your firm price depends on the exact addresses and dates.
No deposit until a carrier is assigned.
| Vehicle | Open carrier | Enclosed carrier |
|---|---|---|
| Sedan / coupe | $1,000 – $1,400 | $1,450 – $2,050 |
| SUV / crossover | $1,125 – $1,575 | $1,625 – $2,300 |
| Pickup truck | $1,200 – $1,675 | $1,750 – $2,450 |
| Van / minivan | $1,250 – $1,750 | $1,825 – $2,575 |
| Motorcycle | $800 – $1,125 | $1,150 – $1,650 |
What moves the price: the season (peak months run 5–10% higher), whether the vehicle runs (winch loading adds about $150), how flexible your pickup window is (a 3–5 day window beats a fixed date), and modifications such as lift kits or oversized tires.
More people move from California to Texas than between any other two states, and the car goes with them. Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego to Dallas–Fort Worth, Austin, Houston and San Antonio is a daily run for dozens of carriers, which makes it one of the easiest lanes to book and one of the most competitively priced for its distance. At about 1,500 miles from Los Angeles to Dallas, a running sedan ships for $1,000 to $1,400 on an open carrier in three to six days.
This is a relocation lane rather than a seasonal one. The customers are families with a job in Austin or Plano, tech workers moving from the Bay Area, retirees heading for the Hill Country and Texas buyers who found a car on a Los Angeles lot. Summer is the busy season, when school calendars and corporate moves stack up. The quote form above is set to the lane; add your vehicle and a specialist calls with a firm carrier price within business hours.
On the ground
Carriers pick up and deliver anywhere in these regions; addresses outside them are quoted on request.
A truck loads across the Los Angeles basin, often the Valley and the Westside in a morning and Orange County and the Inland Empire in the afternoon, and runs I-10 east through Palm Springs, Phoenix, Tucson and Las Cruces to El Paso. From there the road splits: I-10 continues to San Antonio and Houston; I-20 leaves at the Permian Basin for Midland, Abilene and Dallas–Fort Worth. San Diego cars join on I-8 through Yuma. Drivers cover 450 to 550 miles a day and are in Texas on the second day.
From the north the truck either runs I-5 down through the Central Valley to join I-10 in Los Angeles, or crosses on I-40 through Barstow, Flagstaff and Albuquerque to Amarillo and drops down to Dallas. Both add roughly a day and $100 to $150 to the Los Angeles price.
Door-to-door is the standard. Suburban streets across the Los Angeles basin and the Texas metros are fine for a 75-foot truck; dense neighborhoods and hillsides are not, and the driver names a lot near a freeway. Have a key, a quarter tank, the FasTrak out of the windshield and belongings under about 100 pounds.
Timeline
Most shipments on this lane are complete 4–9 days after booking. Expedited pickup shortens the front end.
Day 0
Confirm your route, vehicle and first available pickup date.
1–3 days
A licensed carrier accepts the load; you get the name, DOT number and insurance certificate.
Agreed window
Driver inspects the car with you and both of you sign the bill of lading.
3–6 days
About 1,500 miles at 400–500 miles per driving day, with stops for other customers.
Driver calls ahead
Inspect against the pickup report, sign, and pay the carrier the balance.
Open vs enclosed
There is no salt on this lane and the weather is mostly sun, so the case for enclosed transport is about the car rather than the road: a classic, an exotic, fresh paint or a low car that needs a liftgate. Summer heat and the occasional dust storm on I-10 are the only weather. Open is what most relocating families choose, at 40 to 60 percent less.
Most popularSedan on this route · Baseline price
PremiumSedan on this route · 40–60% more than open
Seasonality
Peak demand runs May–August. Booking ahead of the peak keeps your price at the lower end of the range.
Outlined bar is the current month. Amber months are when carrier space sells out first.
May through August is peak, driven by school calendars and corporate relocations, with June and July the most expensive weeks. A car booked with a week's notice in July pays the top of the range and a fixed pickup date adds to it. Two to three weeks of lead time with a three-day window keeps most customers in the lower half.
November through February is the cheapest stretch, when relocations pause for the holidays and trucks run with space. Spring and early fall are steady. Weather is rarely an issue: a rare snow in Flagstaff on the northern route or a summer dust storm on I-10 can cost a few hours, and Gulf Coast hurricanes can hold a Houston delivery in August and September.
City pairs
The same lane priced to and from the individual metros. Each row links to the city guide with pickup notes for that area.
| City pair | Road miles | Open carrier | Enclosed | On the truck |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles to Dallas | 1,440 mi | $975 – $1,350 | $1,400 – $1,975 | 3–5 days |
| Los Angeles to Houston | 1,672 mi | $975 – $1,375 | $1,425 – $2,000 | 4–7 days |
| Los Angeles to Austin | 1,494 mi | $1,000 – $1,400 | $1,450 – $2,025 | 4–6 days |
| Los Angeles to San Antonio | 1,466 mi | $975 – $1,375 | $1,425 – $2,000 | 4–6 days |
| Los Angeles to Fort Worth | 1,473 mi | $975 – $1,375 | $1,425 – $2,000 | 4–6 days |
| Los Angeles to El Paso | 853 mi | $675 – $950 | $975 – $1,350 | 2–4 days |
| San Diego to Dallas | 1,441 mi | $950 – $1,350 | $1,400 – $1,950 | 4–6 days |
| San Francisco to Dallas | 1,806 mi | $1,050 – $1,475 | $1,550 – $2,175 | 5–8 days |
| San Jose to Dallas | 1,768 mi | $1,050 – $1,475 | $1,500 – $2,125 | 4–7 days |
| Sacramento to Dallas | 1,754 mi | $1,050 – $1,450 | $1,500 – $2,100 | 4–7 days |
Running sedan on a flexible pickup window. City rows are priced from road miles on the same curve as the lane range above; SUVs add about 12%, pickups 20%.
Los Angeles pickups depend on the street. The Valley, the South Bay, Orange County, the Inland Empire and most of San Diego's suburbs are direct to the door. The Westside, Hollywood, the hillsides and downtown mean a meeting point, usually a big-box lot near a freeway; drivers know the ones off the 405 and the 10. LAX and San Diego airport hotel lots are common handovers for anyone flying out the same day. In the Bay Area, San Jose and the Peninsula suburbs are simple; San Francisco itself is always a meeting point, often near the ballpark or in Daly City, and Oakland, Walnut Creek and Fremont are direct. Sacramento is direct to the door across the suburbs.
Texas is easy. The Dallas–Fort Worth suburbs, Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Arlington, Irving and Southlake, take a truck at the door, as do Houston's Katy, Sugar Land, The Woodlands and Cypress, Austin's Round Rock, Cedar Park and Pflugerville, and San Antonio's north side. Inside the loops, Uptown Dallas, Montrose and the Heights in Houston, downtown and Hyde Park in Austin, the driver names a lot on a main road. Gated communities are common in the Texas suburbs and most admit a delivery truck with a call to the gate.
At pickup the driver needs a key and a photo ID. The California title and registration stay with you, and a financed or leased car needs no lender approval to ship domestically. Texas registration and inspection are your errand after delivery, and the carrier's bill of lading is not involved in either.
After delivery
Shipping to Texas: the paperwork Texas asks of a new resident, so you can book the DMV visit for the week the car lands rather than discover it at the counter.
Register within 30 days of moving to Texas.
No stand-alone VIN verification form for a vehicle with a clean out-of-state title; the county tax office handles title and registration together. Ask the office whether an inspection report must accompany the title application in your county.
The annual safety inspection for non-commercial vehicles ended on 1 January 2025. An emissions inspection is still required before registration in 17 counties, including Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Travis, Williamson and El Paso. Out-of-state inspections are not recognised.
Proof of Texas insurance is required.
Source: Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) . Checked September 15, 2026. Deadlines and inspection rules change; confirm on the official page before you go.
Related
Pickup state
The largest outbound state, with daily carrier departures east on I-10 and I-40.
State guideDelivery state
Year-round relocation demand from California and the Northeast, with fast pickup in the Triangle metros.
State guideQuestions
Not covered here? A specialist can answer route-specific questions in a couple of minutes.
888-706-8784$1,000–$1,400 for a running sedan on an open carrier and $1,450–$2,050 enclosed. Los Angeles and San Diego to Dallas or Houston sit at the low end; the Bay Area and Sacramento run $100–$150 higher for the extra distance. SUVs and pickups add 12–20%.
Three to six days on the truck. A Los Angeles pickup is usually in El Paso on day two and in Dallas, Austin or San Antonio on day three; Houston is day three or four. Bay Area cars take a day longer.
I-10 from Los Angeles through Phoenix, Tucson and El Paso to San Antonio and Houston, with I-20 splitting off at the Permian Basin for Dallas–Fort Worth. Bay Area trucks come down I-5 or across I-40 to join it.
It is the busiest west-to-east relocation lane in the country. Trucks run it daily, and a Los Angeles or San Diego pickup is usually assigned within one to three days year-round.
November through February. Summer, May through August, is peak for corporate relocations and family moves and the price sits at the top of the range.
Not for the shipment. Texas registration is your errand after arrival, and the carrier needs only a key and a photo ID at pickup.
Yes, and it usually saves a little per car because the driver makes one stop. Both go on the same truck when space allows, each with its own bill of lading.
Guides
9 min read
Get quotes, pick a carrier, hand over the keys with an inspection report, and receive the car on delivery. The whole process takes 60 seconds to start and 1–10 days to finish, depending on distance.
Read the guide
8 min read
Confirm the seller or dealer will release the car to a carrier, get the pickup contact and hours, ship on an open carrier for most purchases, and inspect on delivery before the driver leaves. Expect $550–$2,000 depending on distance.
Read the guide8 min read
Your car is covered by the carrier’s cargo insurance while it is on the truck, typically $100,000–$250,000 per load on open carriers and more on enclosed. The Bill of Lading inspection at pickup and delivery is what makes a claim provable.
Read the guideCarriers on this lane are quoting $1,000–$1,400 for a running sedan. Lock in a pickup window in about a minute.
Average response time under 5 minutes during business hours (Mon–Sun 7am–9pm ET).
Last updated September 12, 2026 · Written by the AutoShippingUS Editorial Team · Reviewed by Christofer Whiteman, Editor · Industry review by Sarah Williams, Independent auto transport consultant, 20 years in the industry
