The cost to ship a car from Seattle to Los Angeles is typically $900 to $1,200 on an open trailer, and takes between 3 to 4 days in transit time. That is about 1,140 miles. Lakewood, Tacoma, Olympia, Bellevue and Everett all price in the same range, and so does the return direction.

It is, and the reason is the road. Interstate 5 is the busiest freight corridor on the West Coast and it runs the whole way. A car heading south from Seattle fills a space on a trip that was already happening, so the rate sits right at the bottom of our 500 to 1,500 mile national band of $900 to $1,600 rather than in the middle of it.

Because two of our four staffed offices sit on this one road. Lakewood, Washington is at 5607 Boston Ave SW on 253-200-5645, about 40 miles south of Seattle. Los Angeles is at 5111 Harold Way Suite 301 on 213-766-0064. So the team booking your carrier and the team handling your delivery both work for Smart Auto Move. No other lane we publish has that at both ends.

Yes, and that is unusual. Los Angeles back to Seattle is the same $900 to $1,200 over the same 1,140 miles. Most long lanes cost more in one direction than the other, because one end has more freight than the other. Here both ends are dense West Coast markets on the same interstate, so the rate holds level.

The range covers it. A sedan or small crossover sits nearer $900. A mid-size SUV or crossover lands around the middle, about $1,050. A full-size pickup or a three-row SUV sits nearer $1,200. Oversized lifted trucks and dual-rear-wheel pickups get their own quote.

Three things, mostly. What the vehicle is, since deck space and weight move you up the range. How flexible your pickup dates are, because a wider window lets us catch a trailer that is already heading south. And the season, since summer is the busiest stretch on the West Coast. Your quote is one price for the whole trip, worked out for its distance and the route it takes.

They are careful estimates, reviewed against the market. Fuel is the largest single cost in hauling a car, and it moves. So we review these rows against it rather than letting them go stale. Once you accept a quote, the Smart Price Promise holds it. That holds as long as the vehicle, the route, the condition and the shipping details stay the same.

Door to door pickup and delivery, loading and unloading, the road miles, and Carrier Cargo Insurance for the whole trip. There is no terminal fee. There is no fuel surcharge added later. Enclosed transport and a vehicle that will not start are priced up front, not at the curb.

Enclosed costs about 80 percent more than open. It is the right call for a classic, a collector car, an exotic, a fresh restoration or anything low to the ground. On a run down Interstate 5 the weather is mild, so the usual reason people choose enclosed here is the value of the car rather than the conditions.

A vehicle that will not start needs a winch truck. That adds $200 or more, depending on what the driver has to do to get it aboard. There is no flat fee. A car that rolls and steers is a very different job from one that does neither. Tell us the true condition when you request a quote and the figure is in your price from the start.

Give us the widest pickup window you can live with. That is the single best lever you have on this lane. A driver filling the last space on a trailer will often take a nearby car rather than travel further for a better paying one, and Interstate 5 carries plenty of those. Also ask about the military, student and senior discounts before your price is confirmed.

Yes. Military, student and senior discounts all apply, in either direction. Military is the one most used here, because Joint Base Lewis-McChord sits at the Washington end and Southern California has bases at the other. Ask before your price is confirmed and it is built into the figure you agree to.

San Diego is about 115 miles further and costs about $100 more, at $1,000 to $1,300 over about 1,255 miles. It also takes 4 to 5 days rather than 3 to 4. If your delivery address could be either, Los Angeles is the better-priced of the two.

The Bay Area is closer at about 870 miles but costs about the same, at $1,000 to $1,150 in 3 to 4 days. That looks odd until you know why. Los Angeles is a far denser delivery market, so the longer run into it prices as well as the shorter run into Northern California.

Between 3 and 4 days on the road. Those are road days and they start when your car is loaded, not when you book. San Diego adds a day at 4 to 5. Sacramento and the Bay Area are 2 to 3 and 3 to 4.

Federal rules cap how long a driver may be behind the wheel each day. There are also eight or nine other cars on the trailer, each with its own pickup and delivery point, and the route is built around all of them. A car could be driven down Interstate 5 in two long days. A loaded carrier working legally takes three or four.

When your car is loaded, not when you book. The pickup window comes first and the road days follow it. That is why the two numbers are quoted separately. On this lane the pickup window is where most of the uncertainty sits, and it is also where flexibility pays.

The standard pickup window is 6 days. Expedited narrows it to 3 days, which is 72 hours. Interstate 5 is busy in both directions all year, so we are often able to place a car near the early end of that window.

Yes. Expedited scheduling narrows the pickup window from 6 days to 3, which is 72 hours. The road days stay the same. Federal driving-hour limits apply to every driver on the interstate, and no service moves them. What you are buying is a faster start, not a faster truck.

Rarely, and that is one of its strengths. Interstate 5 stays open through almost any winter along this stretch, and there is no mountain pass on the scale of Donner or the Rockies to cross. The Siskiyou Summit at the Oregon and California line is the one place that can pick up snow, and it is usually a delay of hours rather than days.

May through August, driven by family moves, military orders and college dates. Capacity tightens and the best pickup dates go first. Spring and fall give you the widest choice, so if your dates are flexible aim for March to April or late September to November.

Interstate 5, the whole way. South out of Seattle through Tacoma, Olympia and Vancouver, then Portland, Salem, Eugene, over the Siskiyou Summit into California, down through Redding, Sacramento and the Central Valley to the Grapevine and into Los Angeles.

It is, and that matters more than it sounds. Interstate 5 runs 1,381 miles from the Mexican border in San Diego to the Canadian border in Blaine, Washington, and it is the only continuous interstate that touches both borders. Seattle and Los Angeles both sit on it. Fewer road changes means fewer places for a schedule to slip, which is why we publish a tight 3 to 4 day range on a 1,140-mile run.

Very rarely, and drivers on this corridor know it well. The Tejon Pass, which everyone calls the Grapevine, is the climb just north of Los Angeles. It closes occasionally in winter for a few hours. Carriers running Interstate 5 weekly plan around it as a matter of routine.

Yes, all along the corridor, and most of it prices the same. Tacoma, Lakewood, Olympia, Federal Way, Auburn, Kent, Renton, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland and Everett all sit in the $900 to $1,200 range. Vancouver, Washington is a little cheaper because it is 175 miles further south to start with.

Spokane to Los Angeles is about 1,215 miles at $1,075 to $1,300 in 3 to 4 days, which is a little above the Interstate 5 rows. Spokane is off the corridor, so the driver has a leg to make before he is on the main line. The Tri-Cities and Yakima price in the same area.

Anywhere in the basin and beyond it. Long Beach, Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank, Santa Monica, Torrance and the San Fernando Valley all sit in the Los Angeles row. Orange County and the Inland Empire, which means Anaheim, Irvine, Santa Ana, Riverside and San Bernardino, are about 1,175 miles and price the same.

Yes, and it is one of the busiest parts of our work here. Joint Base Lewis-McChord sits right next to our Lakewood office, and Naval Base Kitsap, Naval Station Everett and NAS Whidbey Island are all within reach. At the California end there is Naval Base Ventura County, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Edwards Air Force Base and Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach.

The same as the Lakewood row, $900 to $1,200 over about 1,105 miles in 3 to 4 days. JBLM is a few minutes from our Lakewood office, so it is the shortest starting point on the Washington end of this lane. The military discount applies in either direction.

As soon as you have orders in hand. May through August is the busiest stretch across the whole West Coast, so the best pickup dates go first. Four to six weeks ahead makes a real difference to both your date and your price.

Yes. Any adult you nominate can hand the car over or take delivery, as long as we have their name and number at booking. Spouses, a family member or a neighbor all work. Plenty of our shipments on this lane are arranged by someone who is not standing next to the car.

Yes, and it is usually the better deal. Both cars go on the same carrier and arrive together, which is what most families want on a move. Tell us both vehicles when you request the quote and the price covers the pair.

Yes. Your car travels under the assigned carrier's Carrier Cargo Insurance. Cover starts the moment it is loaded and ends when it is handed back to you. It goes from your address straight onto the trailer. No terminal, no holding lot, no gap in between. You can check any carrier's active authority and insurance on the FMCSA SAFER system before your car is loaded, and we will tell you who the carrier is.

No. It stays on the same carrier from pickup to delivery and is covered the whole way. There is no terminal and no holding lot in the middle. One trailer, one driver, and a handover at each end.

Yes, at both ends, wherever a full-size carrier can work safely and legally. A carrier is about 75 feet long. Where a street is too narrow, a gate too tight or a branch too low, we agree a meet-point a few minutes away. It costs nothing extra, and the paperwork and inspection are exactly the same.

In Seattle it is the hill streets on Queen Anne and Capitol Hill, and the narrow blocks in Ballard and Fremont. In Los Angeles it is the canyon roads, the older hillside streets and some of the tighter parts of Hollywood and Silver Lake. We know both cities well, so the meet-point is usually settled at booking.

Someone does, at both ends. The driver walks the car with you and records its condition on the Bill of Lading, and you both sign. It takes a few minutes, and it is what protects you. Better to be there than to leave the keys.

Yes. Any adult you nominate can hand the car over or take delivery, as long as we have their name and number at booking. On a West Coast move that is very common, because people often fly ahead of the car.

Usually yes, within reason. Keep it light and keep it low. Use the trunk or the footwells rather than the seats or the parcel shelf, so the driver can see out and the weight stays sensible. Take anything valuable or irreplaceable with you. Tell us at booking if you are packing more than a suitcase or two, and the assigned carrier will be expecting it.

Yes. A Washington Good To Go pass will read on the tolled stretches around Seattle, and a California FasTrak will read at the far end. Take the transponder off the windshield, or seal it in its shielded bag, before the driver arrives.

About a quarter of a tank is ideal. That is enough to load, unload and drive away at the far end. It also avoids weight the trailer does not need. A full tank on nine cars adds up fast.

It helps. A clean car makes the condition report at pickup much easier to read, which makes the inspection at delivery easier too. Photograph it in daylight from all four corners once it is clean, and you have your own record alongside the Bill of Lading.

It is the condition report for your car, and the most useful piece of paper in the whole trip. The driver records the car's condition at pickup and you both sign. At delivery you compare the car against it before signing again. Keep your copy until the delivery is complete and you are satisfied.

Note it on the Bill of Lading at delivery, before you sign, and photograph it. That is the record that matters. Then call us. We handle the claim with the carrier from there rather than leaving it with you. It is rare, and it is why the two inspections are worth the few minutes they take.

Yes, every week on this lane. A sedan sits nearer $900, a mid-size SUV around $1,050, and a full-size pickup or three-row SUV nearer $1,200. Minivans and work vans ship on open trailers too. Oversized lifted trucks and dual-rear-wheel pickups get their own quote.

Yes, and tell us about it when you book. Low ground clearance, a front splitter, a wide body or oversized wheels all change which trailer and ramps the job needs. Given the details up front, we assign a carrier equipped for it. For anything very low that is usually enclosed transport with a lift gate.

Yes. An EV ships like any other car and the battery does not need charging on the way. Tell us the model when you book, because some EVs are heavier than a comparable gas car and that affects where the driver places it on the deck. Leave it at a moderate state of charge rather than full.

Yes, and enclosed transport is what we recommend for one. Southern California has one of the best collector markets in the country, so this is a busy direction for us. Enclosed costs about 80 percent above the open price and keeps the car away from weather and road debris for the entire trip.

Yes, and it is one of the most common jobs we do in both directions on this lane. We collect from a dealer, an auction, a private seller or a storage lot and deliver to your address. Have the seller ready with the keys and the paperwork, and tell us if the car has been sitting long enough that it may not start.

Yes, on their own terms and timelines. We move vehicles for dealers at both ends of this corridor and collect from auction lots in Washington, Oregon and California. Tell us the lot, the gate hours and the release paperwork at booking and the pickup goes smoothly.

Twenty days. California gives a new resident 20 days to register a vehicle brought into the state, which is one of the shorter windows in the country. Check the current requirements and fees at the California DMV before your car arrives so the paperwork is ready and you are not against the clock.

Usually, and it is worth checking one thing before you ship. California has its own emissions standards, and a car originally built to federal rather than California specification can need extra steps. Most cars from the last twenty years are fine. Look at the emissions label under the hood, and if it mentions California you have nothing to think about.

In most of the state, yes, and it applies when you register a car brought in from elsewhere. It is a straightforward test at a licensed station. Book it soon after your car arrives so the registration is not held up waiting for it.

Washington gives you 30 days to register, and there is no emissions testing program in the state any more. It ended at the start of 2020. So a car shipped north into Washington has a simpler arrival than one shipped south into California.

Yes, and they are two of our four staffed offices. Lakewood, Washington at 5607 Boston Ave SW on 253-200-5645, and Los Angeles at 5111 Harold Way Suite 301 on 213-766-0064. The other two are Chicago and Kissimmee in Florida. On this lane, both ends of your shipment are handled by people who work for us.

Visits are by appointment, and booking happens online or over the phone rather than at a counter. Both are logistics offices, where dispatchers schedule carriers and update customers, so a call gets you further than a drive.

No, and that is deliberate. Neither is a terminal. Your car goes from your address straight onto the carrier and stays covered under Carrier Cargo Insurance for the whole trip, with no holding lot in the middle. One less place for a car to sit, and one less handover to go wrong.

Smart Auto Move is a car shipping company. We arrange and manage your transport end to end. The job goes to a vetted carrier from a network of more than 16,000 transport professionals nationwide. We stay with it until the car is delivered. You will know which carrier has your car, and you can check their authority and insurance yourself before it is loaded.

Look us up on the FMCSA SAFER system under USDOT 2887232 and MC 969368. Both numbers are on every page of this site for exactly that reason. We are also BBB A plus accredited. We will give you the assigned carrier's USDOT number so you can check them too.

No. We do not call or text quote-form leads. Your quote comes back to you, and the next move is yours. If you would rather talk it through, call the Lakewood office on 253-200-5645, the Los Angeles office on 213-766-0064, or the national line on 888-709-9078.

No. Information you share with Smart Auto Move for the purpose of receiving a quote is used for that purpose only. We do not sell your information. That is why the quote form on this page does not turn into a week of calls from companies you have never heard of.

Smart Auto Move provides nationwide car shipping throughout the lower 48 states, backed by four strategically located staffed offices, six additional service areas, and a trusted carrier network of more than 16,000 transport professionals nationwide. Service is not currently available in Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico.

Start with the quote form on this page, or call either office. We need both ZIP codes, plus the year, make and model. Then whether the car runs, your first available date, and open or enclosed. You will have a price to look at, and nothing is booked until you say so.