“Moving a car” is the most challenging aspect of any relocation, especially if you cannot simply drive it from your current home to the new one. So, when car number two or more is involved, moving becomes a little more complicated. And you have to weigh your options closely to make sure that things are as convenient and affordable as possible.
This article will help by providing an overview of the best methods to move your cars (note the “s” for plural). Let’s begin with the most obvious option, which is driving them by yourself and end with the idea of outsourcing.
Drive them yourself(s)
This option is always available. The only question is whether it is practical. And that depends on the distance and the vehicles to drivers ratio.
For example, let’s assume that you are moving from New York to Las Vegas. According to Google, it will take an average of 38 hours (minus resting/sleeping and eating breaks) to cover that distance with a car. Now, if you have more vehicles than drivers, it means that someone will have to make that trip more than once.
However, our example is an extreme case. The distance you need to cover might only be a fraction of NYC-Las vegas and there may be enough drivers not to warrant a second drive. Even “multiple drives’’ are not as stressful as the example made them out to be. They can be fun, especially when well-planned (like a road trip) and spaced out.
Note: in this scenario, “multiple trips” means that you drive one car to your new home, leave it there, then come back via another means of transportation (plane, bus or even ship) for the next car.
Tow it/them
If you have a mix of big (like an SUV) and smaller vehicles, just attach the latter to the former and you are good to go. For this, all you need is a car dolly.
Another option is to use a rental. Since you are moving other possessions, you may probably also want to rent a moving truck (Like U-haul). This is another example of a big vehicle that you can use to tow smaller ones. However, note that the truck also adds to the number of vehicles you need to transport.
There is still another option with this method- renting a car trailer or hauler. Any of these two (depending on their size) can transport multiple vehicles at once. However, it is illegal and unsafe to drive the big ones without a Commercial driver’s license (CDL).
Another alternative is to hire a professional company to tow your vehicles, but this can get expensive.
Get more drivers (free or Paid)
As stated earlier, the ratio of vehicles to drivers is critical when moving multiple cars via driving. The more drivers you have, the easier and more fun things will be. It is even great to have multiple drivers taking shifts for each vehicle.
If you ask for my opinion on how to get more drivers, I’d say ask your family and friends for help. Our loved ones are usually more than willing to help for free. Most times, it won’t cost you more than the feeding (pizza is always a winner!) and gas money.
Another option is to hire someone, like a professional driver. Some companies offer this kind of “driver for hire for a relocation” service (if we can call it that). But there is nothing wrong with hiring a freelancer. It might even be cheaper. However, hiring from a company will be much safer because there will probably be insurance coverage and a guarantee of professionalism.
Hire a transport company
So, we finally arrived at the last option in which you get to sit back and pay others to handle everything. Some transport companies may even come to collect the cars at your current doorstep and deliver them to your new one. However, that comes with extra fees.
The standard fees depend on the distance, weight/size of each vehicle, and mode of transportation. By the “mode of transportation,” I mean whether your vehicles will be transported in open or enclosed trailers. Open trailers are significantly cheaper but they leave vehicles at the mercy of the weather.
The rates also differ depending on if your cars are being transported alone or with others. This can cut both ways. You pay standard rates to ship your cars without special treatment in the same trailer as others. But you can get discounted rates per unit by renting out an entire trailer.
The key is to know the available options and terms, and use that knowledge to make the best possible decisions. For example, find out the drop-off location, if you can load in the car (to ship with it) or if you can write the cost off as tax deductibles. The last one only applies to military personnel relocating on official orders.
The easiest way to find a company to ship your cars is to search online. You can also ask people who use this kind of service, such as car dealers. Compare rates and do your best to assess the chosen company’s reputation before trusting them with your cars. And upon delivery, make sure nothing is damaged or missing.
Apart from shipping companies, the Amtrak auto train is another option, although only available for Orlando, Florida to Washington DC, Virginia. With it, you can transport as many vehicles as you want and travel along in comfort at affordable rates.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, all the best ways to move all your cars to your new home. Each method has its pros and cons. When choosing, consider distance, the number of vehicles you need to move, their roadworthiness and how urgently you want it done.
If none of these appeals to you, you can consider other moves, like selling some vehicle(s) or leaving them behind until another time.
We hope you found this blog post The Best Ways to Move Multiple Cars When Moving Homes useful. Be sure to check out our post Step by Step Guide to Planning a Stress-free Car Shipping for more great tips!
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