California to Washington Car Shipping

The cost to ship a car from California to Washington is typically $875 to $1,300 on an open trailer, and takes between 2 to 5 days in transit time. Los Angeles to Seattle is about 1,140 miles at $900 to $1,200. Sacramento to Tacoma is about 780 miles at $900 to $1,150.

No, and that is unusual. California to Washington prices the same as Washington to California. Our Tacoma to Sacramento page already publishes both directions at $900 to $1,150, and this page publishes the return leg too.

Both ends are big two-way markets on one corridor. Plenty of cars leave California for Washington and plenty come back. So a truck fills in both directions and no driver has to price in an empty return.

Most long ones. Our Charlotte pages show about $300 between the two directions, and California to New Jersey about $150. Direction usually matters. On the I-5 corridor it does not.

Interstate 5. It starts at the Mexican border in San Diego and ends at the Canadian border in Blaine, Washington. It is 1,381 miles long and the only continuous interstate that touches both borders.

Usually yes, or close to it. From Los Angeles a carrier takes I-5 north through the Central Valley, over the Siskiyous, through Oregon and into Washington. One road, one corridor, few surprises.

It is. Los Angeles to Seattle is about 1,140 miles, which is the same band as Charlotte to Chicago. Three to four days, not the seven to ten of a coast to coast run.

From 2 to 5 days. Sacramento and the Bay Area are 2 to 4 days. Los Angeles is 3 to 4. San Diego and Bellingham are 3 to 5.

When the car goes on the trailer. Your pickup window comes first. That is 6 days as standard, or 3 days with expedited.

We do, and it is the only lane where that is true. Los Angeles at 5111 Harold Way Suite 301, on 213-766-0064. Lakewood at 5607 Boston Ave SW, on 253-200-5645.

Just south of Tacoma, next to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, about 40 miles from Seattle. It is one of our four staffed offices and it covers the whole Puget Sound end of this lane.

Yes, door to door. The driver comes to your address wherever the truck can legally and safely get in. If your street is tight, we agree a wide spot nearby at booking.

Same, door to door. Seattle hills and narrow older streets are the common issue, so tell us the address type when you book and we plan a nearby spot if the street will not take a 75-foot trailer.

All of them. Los Angeles, Long Beach, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, Riverside, San Bernardino, Gardena and San Diego in the south. San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Sacramento in the north.

Seattle, Tacoma, Lakewood, Olympia, Bellevue, Everett, Kent, Renton, Vancouver WA and Bellingham on the I-5 corridor. Spokane and the Tri-Cities east of the mountains.

Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, Modesto, Visalia and Merced we quote live rather than publish. The Valley is a thinner outbound market, so what you pay depends on how your dates fit a run a driver is already making.

Yes, and we publish it. Los Angeles to Spokane is about 1,215 miles at $1,075 to $1,300. The Bay Area to Spokane is about 940 miles at $975 to $1,200.

Spokane sits east of the Cascades, off the I-5 corridor. The run is longer and the market is thinner, so a truck takes a little more to fill. It is about $175 on the low end.

From Southern California, yes. It is about 965 miles at $875 to $1,175, because it sits on the Portland side of the state line and the corridor there is busy. It is the only row on this page under $900.

About $100 more on any Washington delivery. San Diego is roughly 110 miles further south, and our Seattle page already publishes the same gap in reverse.

Yes. Your car travels under the assigned carrier's Carrier Cargo Insurance. Cover starts when the car is loaded in California. It ends when the car is handed back in Washington.

Yes. We give you the carrier's name and USDOT number. Look them up on the FMCSA SAFER system to see their active authority and insurance. Look us up under USDOT 2887232.

A vetted carrier from our network of more than 16,000 transport professionals nationwide. Smart Auto Move is a car shipping company. We arrange and manage the move end to end.

Carriers haul the car. We handle the price, the routing, the paperwork and the updates. Who's going to ship your car? Smart Auto Move is, and you get one phone number for the whole trip.

Every carrier we assign holds active federal authority and current cargo insurance. We check both before the job goes out. You can check the same records yourself in a minute.

It is the condition report and the receipt in one. The driver walks the car with you in California and records how it looks. In Washington you compare, note anything, and sign.

Wash it so the condition report is accurate. Leave about a quarter tank of fuel. Fold the mirrors and remove a toll tag. Take photos with a date on them.

Usually yes, within reason. Keep it light. Keep it in the trunk or below the window line. Cargo insurance covers the vehicle rather than the contents, so valuables travel better with you.

Yes, as long as it rolls, steers and brakes. The carrier brings a winch. The extra starts at $200 and rises with the work involved.

About 80 percent more than open. On 1,100 miles that is a smaller step up than on a coast to coast run, which makes enclosed worth a look if the car warrants it.

A classic, a collector car, an exotic, a fresh restoration or anything low to the ground. Most daily drivers do not need it, and we will say so.

Expedited narrows the pickup window from 6 days to 3, which is 72 hours. The road days stay the same, because federal driving-hour limits apply to every truck on the interstate.

We give you a window and keep you posted as the truck moves. On a three to four day run that window is tight, which is one of the nicer things about this lane.

Usually up to nine on an open trailer. The route is built around all of them. That is why a loaded carrier covers under 400 miles in a driving day.

Call or message us any time. We will tell you where it is and when it is due. You also have the driver's number once the car is loaded.

One to two weeks suits most California to Washington moves. Book earlier for enclosed, and earlier again for a summer week or a fixed start date.

Not any more, and this is the good news. Washington's emission check program ended on January 1, 2020. Emissions testing is no longer required to renew a vehicle registration anywhere in the state.

Once you establish residency. State law says a person who establishes residency must register their vehicles, so sort it early rather than late. The Department of Licensing will confirm your exact window.

The out-of-state title, your identification and Washington insurance. Arranging the Washington policy before the car lands is the thing that makes the counter visit quick.

This one is genuinely close, and we will say so. Los Angeles to Seattle is about 17 hours of driving over two days, plus fuel and a night somewhere. Shipping is $900 to $1,200.

If the car runs, you have two spare days and you want the road trip, drive it. I-5 is a good drive. We would rather tell you that than take a booking you did not need.

Four cases. A car that will not start. Two vehicles moving with one driver. A dealer, auction or body shop transfer. Or a flight you would otherwise have to buy to get back.

Then ship the second and drive the first. That is the most common California to Washington booking we take. One trip instead of two.

Yes. A mid-size SUV or crossover adds about $150. A full-size pickup or a three-row SUV adds about $300. Those steps apply to every row in the table.

Yes. They usually travel on a dedicated bike carrier, or crated inside an enclosed trailer. Tell us the model and we will price it properly.

Yes, and most go enclosed. Tell us the ground clearance, whether it runs, and whether it has a battery cut-off. A low car needs a lift gate or long ramps.

Yes. The I-5 corridor is an active dealer and auction market in both directions. Those jobs run on their own timelines and paperwork.

Often. A car bought from a California seller and shipped north is a steady job here. We can collect from a private seller, a dealer or a storage lot.

It is the one climb on the route, on the Oregon and California line. Snow can slow a day in winter. Carriers run it all season, they just take that stretch carefully.

Not on this lane. I-5 runs west of the Cascades the whole way up, so a Puget Sound delivery never crosses them. Only a Spokane delivery does.

They move with demand and with fuel. Summer is busiest. Winter is quieter, with the Siskiyou Pass the one thing to allow a day for.

Late spring and early fall. Settled weather at both ends, the pass is clear, and the summer rush has not started or has finished.

Yes, and a lot of them. Joint Base Lewis-McChord sits beside our Lakewood office, and California has a heavy military presence. Read your orders first, since some vehicle moves are covered.

Yes. The University of Washington, Washington State, Western and Puget Sound all draw from California. Late August and mid-May are the tight weeks.

A wider window gives us more runs to fit you into, and that usually works in your favor. If your dates are fixed, tell us and we plan around them.

Yes. That is the Smart Price Promise. The price we quote is the price you pay, as long as the vehicle, the route, the condition and the shipping details stay the same.

Only a change on your side. A different vehicle, a different address, a car that will not start, or a pickup outside the agreed window. Tell us early and we reprice it openly.

You pay when the car is delivered in Washington, at the price you were quoted. We will set out the payment methods the carrier accepts before pickup.

Note it on the Bill of Lading before you sign, and photograph it. Then call us. The claim goes to the carrier's cargo insurance and we help you through it.

Yes. Give us their name and number. They can sign the Bill of Lading at either end. Make sure they check the car properly before signing.

No. It goes from your California address onto the carrier and stays covered under Carrier Cargo Insurance until it is handed back in Washington. There is no terminal in between.

Not at present. Service covers the lower 48 states.

Registered business address: 4208 Six Forks Rd Ste 1000, Raleigh, NC 27609. Our four staffed offices are Lakewood WA, Los Angeles CA, Chicago IL and Kissimmee FL.

Yes. USDOT 2887232 and MC 969368. Smart Auto Move is BBB A+ accredited, and our BBB record is under our Raleigh address.

Give us both ZIP codes. Then the year, make and model, whether the car runs, your first date, and open or enclosed. Use the form on this page or call 888-709-9078.