$1,275 to $1,450 for a running mid-size car on an open trailer. A mid-size SUV runs $1,425 to $1,600 and a full-size pickup $1,525 to $1,750.

Four to five days on the road once your car is loaded. That is measured from the end of your pickup window, not from the day you book.

About 1,480 miles. Over Tehachapi to Barstow and along I-40 is the shorter line; through the Los Angeles basin and along I-10 is about 60 miles longer.

Los Angeles has far more trucks leaving for Texas on any given day, so a carrier is already there and already loading. Bakersfield sits off that main line, so the driver comes to your car first. It works out about $75 more and a day longer.

Give us a pickup window with two or three spare days in it. That lets us put your car on a truck already running the corridor rather than one routed specially, and on this lane that flexibility is worth real money.

Within a six day window that opens on the first date you give us. Expedited narrows that to three days for a fee.

Yes. Most Bakersfield streets take a full-size trailer, so the car loads at your curb. If yours is narrow, gated or a tight cul-de-sac, the driver meets you on a wider road nearby, about five or ten minutes away.

Yes, and DFW is one of the easier metros for a carrier. Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Arlington, Irving and the rest of North Texas are door deliveries. Downtown high-rises and gated entrances with a height bar are handed over at a nearby lot.

Yes, a staffed office in Los Angeles at 5111 Harold Way, Suite 301, on 213-766-0064. It is one of four in the company and it supports California pickups.

There is no need. Every shipment is door to door, so your car is collected at your Bakersfield address. The office is where the people are, not the vehicles.

Yes. Delano, Wasco, Shafter, McFarland, Taft, Tehachapi, Ridgecrest, and further north Visalia, Tulare, Hanford and Fresno all sit on the same corridor.

Yes. Dallas to Bakersfield prices in the same ranges over the same distance, so a round trip or a return move plans on the same figures.

About 80 percent above the open price, so roughly $2,300 to $2,600 for a mid-size car. It is the usual choice for a classic, an exotic or fresh paint, and it keeps desert grit off the finish on the I-40 stretch.

Yes. A winch truck loads it, which adds $200 or more to the running price. The car needs to roll, steer and brake, so mention it at quote time and the right equipment is booked.

It is a dry route nearly all year. Tehachapi Pass and the Grapevine sit above 4,000 feet, so a winter storm can bring a few hours of chain control. Drivers wait it out rather than push through, which is what you want under a loaded trailer.

Someone does, at each end. A friend, relative, neighbor or colleague is fine as long as they are eighteen and can walk the car with the driver and sign the condition report.

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. Nothing gets added on our side after you book.

No. Smart Auto Move does not make outbound sales calls. You hear from us about your own shipment, and from the driver about pickup and delivery.

Carrier Cargo Insurance held by the carrier moving it. We confirm the policy is active before assigning your car, and the certificate is yours on request.

Keep it empty. The carrier's insurance covers the vehicle rather than its contents, and the extra weight matters on a full trailer. If something has to travel with the car, keep it light and below the window line.

Yes. A transponder left on the glass can read as the truck passes gantries in Texas, which leaves you with charges that take time to unwind.

A quarter tank or less. Enough to load, unload and drive off, without the weight a full tank adds to the trailer.

You put down a deposit to book, then settle the rest when the car arrives. The driver takes cash, a certified check or a card, and will say which they prefer.

Write it on the delivery report before the driver leaves, and photograph it. That report against the pickup one is what the carrier's insurance works from, and we handle the claim with you.

Usually yes, with the right trailer. A lift kit, roof rack, oversized tires or a long-bed dually changes the space it needs, so give us those details and the price comes back accurate the first time.

Yes, on trailers fitted for bikes. Pricing is worked out per machine rather than from the car table, so send the make and model.

Yes, and two vehicles from the same Bakersfield address to the same DFW address usually cost less per car than two separate bookings.

Yes. Send the business name, the lot address, a contact number and the hours, and the driver arranges it with them directly.

One to two weeks suits most of the year, and on this lane the extra notice is worth more than it is out of Los Angeles. Summer, month ends and the weeks around the holidays run busier.

In the DFW area, yes. Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker and Rockwall counties are all in the Texas program. Nothing is needed on the California side before the car leaves.

Within 30 days of moving, at your county tax assessor-collector office, with proof of ownership and proof of Texas insurance. Texas also ended the annual safety inspection for most non-commercial vehicles at the start of 2025.

Often. Kern County and West Texas trade workers back and forth, and a car following a job is an ordinary booking for us. Give us both addresses and the dates.

Send the Bakersfield ZIP, the Texas city, the year, make and model, whether it runs, and your earliest date. Call 213-766-0064 in Los Angeles or 888-709-9078 nationally, or use the form on this page.