Car Shipping from New York to San Francisco
Coast-to-coast shipments are some of the most popular routes in the industry today. Be they east to west or visa-versa, finding a carrier that’s going from one side of the country to the other shouldn’t be difficult along most major routes.
The truth of the matter is that finding routes heading west tends to be easier than finding routes heading east. This is mostly because people would rather live in California than New Jersey, and this is reflected in where they ship their vehicles. As such, car shipping from New York to San Francisco really shouldn’t be all that hard to find.
However, there are some things you need to know about car shipping from New York to San Francisco. So keep reading to keep informed and ensure that your auto shipping experience is as good as it can be.
Article Overview
What to expect with car shipping from New York to San Francisco
For starters, shipping a car from New York to San Francisco is going to take time. New York City is a hard place to get to for most carriers, so oftentimes they’ll require you to meet them in nearby New Jersey instead. This really isn’t that big of a deal, though, because it’s still the New York metro area.
The size of the pickup and delivery locations is going to determine their popularity, as well as how easy they are to get to. Another major factor is how popular it is for customers to move to and the reasons why. People like to live in California because of the sunshine, and want to get away from New York’s metropolitan crush.
Most of the time carriers are going to get from New York to San Francisco via I-80. This is the best and fastest route into San Francisco and it’ll be the main route carriers take from one city to the next. Of course, there are lots of other ways to get to San Francisco, but this is the route most of them will be taking. This is great because westbound routes tend to be cheaper and faster than eastbound routes. This tends to result in faster transit times and lower prices for your shipment.
Understanding New York auto transport
As mentioned, New York is a major metropolitan area. In fact, it’s the largest city and anchor of the largest metro area in the entire United States. So there’s plenty of freight coming into and going out of the New York area, which means that there will be plenty of carriers willing to travel routes to and from the city.
That being said, though, New York is still a difficult area for carriers to get to and maneuver around. Despite its size, it’s also very cramped – if you’ve ever seen pictures of Manhattan, you can understand it. Auto shipping carriers drive 80-foot long transportation trucks with up to ten cars on them at a time. This size and weight make it impossible to get to many areas of the five boroughs. In fact, the boroughs have both size and weight restrictions, so most carriers can’t get into them legally anyway.
This is why you have to meet your carrier for pickup or delivery somewhere outside the Big Apple proper. Yonkers is often a good alternative, due to its lower density, as is New Jersey, due to being more easily accessible. You also have to keep in mind that many routes into and out of New York are tolled, adding to costs. Moving your pickup location out of New York proper will likely help carriers avoid those tolls and can help keep your prices lower as well.
Understanding San Francisco auto shipping
San Francisco, like New York, is a major city anchoring a major metropolitan area. But, unlike New York, much of San Francisco emerged during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Therefore, the city is built more for vehicles than New York City, which adds to its ease of access.
That said, San Francisco is still quite difficult for auto shipping carriers to get into and out of. While the Bay Area is sprawling, it’s also quite dense due to how little land is actually available. That density makes it harder for carriers to get to specific locations within San Francisco proper. What this means is that, like with New York, you’ll have to meet your driver somewhere outside the city itself for pickup or delivery.
Most carriers are happy to meet at strip malls or other locations with big, sprawling parking lots. Strip malls, big-box stores, and even actual malls are great alternatives to your given pickup location while still providing door-to-door services.
San Francisco’s roads don’t have many tolls on them, unlike New York, which can help with keeping prices lower as well.
Can I get quotes for car shipping from New York to San Francisco?
Interested in car shipping from New York to San Francisco? If so, make sure to fill out our free quote form. It shouldn’t take more than a minute and will get you a free quote immediately. We work with only the best carriers because we make sure they’re among the best. It’s part of our job and our service to you. We make sure they’re licensed and insured – we won’t work with any that aren’t. This way, you know you’ll be in good hands from pickup to delivery.
You can read more about both New York City and San Francisco via our Auto Shipping Cities section, and we suggest you do. If you have questions, or need help in any way, contact us any time at 800-930-7417 to speak to one of our agents. They can answer questions, help you get a free quote, and even help you place a reservation if you’re ready.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.
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