Moving a car across the country can add considerable expense to a residential move.
If you need to move your car across the country during a residential move, you need to understand that there is no cheap and easy way to do it. Every method has its advantages and disadvantages. The following tips will help you make a more informed decision on moving your car:
#1 Always Have Enough Insurance
There are a variety of ways to get a car across the country, such as driving it yourself, hiring a driver or shipping it. Whatever method you choose, double check to make sure you have insurance that will reimburse you if something bad happens during the trip.
Make sure the policy limits are high enough and if necessary, talk to your agent to make sure your car insurance policy will provide coverage while it’s moved. And if you hire a company to ship your vehicle, make sure their insurance is enough to cover you if your vehicle gets damaged while they transport it.
#2 Think about Selling the Vehicle
It sounds odd, right? The best way to move your vehicle is to get rid of it? Depending on how old the vehicle is and how reliable it is, it may not make financial sense to move it with you.
For example, how much life does it have left? Could it handle putting another 2,500 miles on it? If not, driving it is out of the question. So that leaves shipping it. But shipping a car across the United States can easily top $1,000. If your car is only worth $2,500, is it worth shipping it at the cost of almost half its value?
If it can handle such a long drive, is it worth the cost of the professional driver? If you’re driving it, is it worth the several days of lost work, gas, lodging and food you’ll need to pay to drive it across the country? Then don’t forget the situation where you need to get back to your original destination – you’ll have to factor in the cost of a one-way plane ticket.
Moving a vehicle across the United States isn’t usually a major issue for most people moving since they need the car anyway to get to their new destination. For the other situations, contact our team at Nilson Van to discuss your options and how they can arrange to move your vehicle during your next residential move.
