Texas to California car shipping
Shipping a car from Texas to California costs roughly $1,330–$1,510 and takes 5–6 days over 1,548 road miles (Houston to Los Angeles). Below is what moves that number, and how to get real quotes for this lane.
| Vehicle & trailer | Price | Transit |
|---|---|---|
| Sedan, open trailer | $1,330–$1,510 | 5–6 days |
| SUV or crossover, open | $1,420–$1,620 | 5–6 days |
| Any vehicle, enclosed | $1,840–$2,100 | 5–6 days |
Estimates from distance and vehicle type. Actual price depends on how busy the lane is the week you ship.
Most long corridors have a deep end and a thin one — one state stacked with licensed companies, the other a short list. Texas to California is the exception on this site. Both states sit near the top of the federal register for companies holding operating authority, so the bench is deep at pickup and deep again at delivery.
The distance shown here is measured Houston to Los Angeles, and the model files it in the long-haul band with a transit window to match. Both directions price under the book, which is not what a lane with demand this one-sided usually looks like. The panel names which one you are reading.
This corridor, measured
| Texas → California | back | |
|---|---|---|
| Measured between | Houston → Los Angeles | Los Angeles → Houston |
| Road miles | 1,548 | 1,548 |
| Transit | 5–6 days | 5–6 days |
| Open carrier, sedan | $1,330–$1,510 | $1,340–$1,530 |
| Direction multiplier | 0.976 | 0.990 |
| Carrier reloads at the far end | 0.95 — easily | 0.86 |
| Licensed companies based there | 272 | 303 |
Distance is measured between Houston and Los Angeles by a routing engine, not as a straight line. Registered companies at the Texas end cluster in Houston, El Paso, Dallas; at the California end, in Los Angeles, San Diego, Fontana. A register counts businesses filed at an address, not trucks on this road today.
The other direction has its own page: California to Texas.
Houston anchors its register; Los Angeles does not
Both ends register deeply, but the weight sits differently. Houston leads Texas by a clear margin, and what follows it is not Dallas — El Paso ranks above it, with McAllen level and Brownsville behind, so the Texas bench leans toward the southern border. California has no such anchor. Los Angeles leads, but only just: San Diego, Fontana, Jurupa Valley and Hesperia sit close enough behind that no town there speaks for the state. The pickup end has a center of gravity. The delivery end is a field.
Neither leg is the dead one, and the season reads latitude
Each direction carries its own factor, and the westbound one takes the deeper cut. The far end explains it: California is among the easier states on this site for a truck to find its next load, and the leg back runs into a register just as deep, so neither end strands a carrier. The seasonal flag is the odd part. The model treats this as the northbound side of a snowbird pair, because Los Angeles sits north of Houston — even though the car travels mainly west. That is the model being literal about latitude, and it is worth knowing before you pick dates.
When to ship it
This lane runs with the retiree migration, and that migration is one-way at a time: southern California fills up from October and empties from March. Whichever way the trucks are scarce is the way that costs more, so a month of flexibility is worth more here than any amount of negotiating.
| Month | Sedan, open trailer | vs year-round |
|---|---|---|
| January | $1,460–$1,660 | +10% |
| March | $1,590–$1,810 | +20% |
| May | $1,330–$1,510 | level |
| July | $1,490–$1,690 | +12% |
| October | $1,170–$1,330 | -12% |
Indicative only. Fuel is indexed to the U.S. weekly retail diesel average, last read 2026-09-07.
What drives the price on this lane
- Distance. 1,548 miles puts this lane at about $0.92 a mile. Past 1,200 miles the per-mile rate keeps dropping but driver hours start to bind — the run needs rest stops, and a carrier will hold for a second or third car before rolling.
- Season. This is a snowbird lane. Southbound fills from October and northbound from April, and in those windows a week of lead time is worth more than any amount of haggling. Running north, it fills up in spring when the same vehicles go home.
- Direction. California is a dense freight market, so a carrier delivering here can reload quickly and does not need the trip to pay for the run back. This direction usually prices a little under California to Texas.
- Trailer. Enclosed protects from weather and road debris and costs about 39% more here ($1,840–$2,100). The premium grows with distance — an enclosed trailer carries fewer cars, so the longer the run the more deck revenue the carrier gives up. Worth it for low-clearance, classic or high-value cars; rarely worth it otherwise.
- Condition. A car that does not run needs a winch at both ends and adds about $200. Tell the broker up front — a driver who finds out at pickup can refuse the load.
Pickup and delivery on this lane
The companies that run Texas to California are registered in these cities. A carrier based near either end is the one most likely to already be heading your way, which is what makes the difference between a quote and a quote you can actually book.
Picking up around Texas
- Houston27
- El Paso17
- Dallas12
- Mcallen12
- Brownsville9
- Katy8
- Edinburg7
- Austin6
- Laredo6
- Pharr6
Delivering around California
- Los Angeles12
- San Diego10
- Fontana9
- Chula Vista8
- Hesperia8
- Jurupa Valley8
- Riverside8
- Stockton7
- Burbank6
- Corona6
Counts are companies with active FMCSA authority registered in each city.
Licensed companies based in Texas
272 companies with active FMCSA authority are registered in Texas.
- 360 AUTO TRANSPORTWOODWAY, TX · broker · bonded
- AG CAR SHIPPINGFORT WORTH, TX · broker · bonded
- ALL STATES CAR MOVERS LLCPLANO, TX · broker · bonded
- TANIS AUTO TRANSPORTSAN JUAN, TX · broker · bonded
- AMERI AUTO TRANSPORTATION LLCSUGAR LAND, TX · broker · bonded
- AUTO SHIPPERS USA INCGARLAND, TX · broker · bonded
All Texas auto transport companies →
Texas to California: common questions
Which cities is the distance on this page actually measured between?+
Houston and Los Angeles. That pair is the road distance behind every figure beside this text, so a car starting in El Paso or Brownsville, or landing in San Diego or Hesperia, is not sitting on it. The California end matters most here: its registered companies do not gather at Los Angeles, so the delivery address you actually have is often a different run. Let the companies quote the real addresses.
Why does the price change depending on which way I am going?+
Because a carrier prices what happens after your car comes off, and that is not the same at both ends. Here it differs less than most: each leg carries its own factor, both land on the low side of neutral, and westbound takes the deeper cut. Demand is the lopsided part, not price — this direction is searched far more than the return, yet the return is not the discounted one. California to Texas has its own page.
Does a crowded carrier register at each end make the quote cheaper?+
No. The estimate is built from the road, the vehicle, the method, the direction and the month — not from how many companies a state has registered. What the depth changes is who there is to approach at each end, which on this lane is unusual in being true at both. Your request goes to licensed companies there; who replies, and what they quote, is theirs. This site holds no authority and no trucks: the contract is yours and the company's.
How much does it cost to ship a car from Texas to California?+
Expect $1,330 to $1,510 for a running sedan on an open trailer. An SUV on the same lane runs about $1,420–$1,620, and an enclosed trailer about $1,840–$2,100.
How long does it take to ship a car from Texas to California?+
About 5 to 6 days in transit over 1,548 miles, plus one to three days to schedule pickup after you book.
Can the carrier pick up and deliver to my door?+
Yes on almost every lane. The truck gets as close as it legally and physically can — on a narrow residential street the driver will ask you to meet at a nearby lot.
How do I ship my car from Texas to California?+
Give the two ZIP codes and what you drive, and the request goes to a panel of licensed companies at once instead of you calling down a list. They quote, you compare side by side, and you deal directly with whoever you pick — we take no commission and nobody gets your number until you hand it over. You do not travel with the car: the driver collects it, you both sign an inspection report, and the same happens at the far end.
More lanes from Texas
More lanes to California
Where is the car going?
Two ZIP codes. No account, no obligation.
Shipping somewhere else in California? California car transport →