Ship a car from California to Arizona

For years, Arizona has been one of the most common destinations for Californians leaving the state, and the Phoenix area gets most of them. The lane is full of households moving for lower housing costs, remote workers taking the job with them, retirees, and families with two or three cars to move. In fall it also carries Californians sending a car to a winter place in Scottsdale or Tucson.

It's a short trip: about 350 miles from San Diego or Los Angeles to Phoenix, around 500 to Tucson, and up to roughly 800 from the Bay Area. Plenty of people could drive it in a day. They ship when they're already driving one car and need the second one moved, or when a weekend in the desert in July isn't how they want to start a move.

• From Los Angeles and the Inland Empire: I-10. Over the San Gorgonio Pass, through the Coachella Valley and the long empty run to Blythe, across the Colorado River at Ehrenberg, then Quartzsite and the desert into the West Valley.
• From San Diego: I-8. Up into the Laguna Mountains, down the steep In-Ko-Pah grade to the Imperial Valley, through El Centro and Yuma, and across to Gila Bend. I-8 meets I-10 near Casa Grande, between Phoenix and Tucson.
• From the Bay Area and the Central Valley: usually I-5 south to pick up I-10, or across the Mojave to I-40 and down US-93 through Kingman and Wickenburg.

The desert is the defining feature. Summer highs along I-10 near Blythe and Quartzsite are among the hottest in the country. From mid-June through September, Arizona's monsoon season brings sudden dust storms, especially on I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson, which can close the interstate for an hour or two. Carriers plan around both, and a car strapped to a trailer isn't running, so the heat is a concern for the driver more than for the car.

Moves bunch up between May and August, when leases turn over and school is out. That's also Phoenix's hottest stretch, which shapes delivery times more than demand does. A second, smaller wave arrives from October to December as winter residents head for Scottsdale, Mesa and Tucson, followed by a return trip in April and May.

• Book a week or two out for a summer move. Short lanes rely on trucks already passing through, so a few days of flexibility helps.
• For a move with two cars, book them together. Carriers on this lane regularly take household pairs.
• If you're driving one car yourself, set the shipped car's delivery for a day or two after you arrive, so you're there to receive it.

Open transport is the obvious choice for most cars. The trip is a day or two on dry interstate, so exposure is minimal; the main things a car picks up are dust and, in monsoon season, a quick downpour. Open carriers also run this lane far more often, which keeps pickup windows short.

Enclosed earns its keep for collector cars bound for Scottsdale, especially around the January auctions, and for exotics or freshly restored cars whose owners won't accept any sand on the paint. See classic and luxury car transport.

• Orange County: Irvine's villages, Mission Viejo and Ladera Ranch are HOA-run, and many limit large trucks. A meeting point at a nearby shopping center is common.
• San Diego County: La Jolla's hillside streets and the beach neighborhoods are tight, while Carlsbad, Escondido, Chula Vista and the I-15 corridor are easy. Cars here leave on I-8 or I-15.
• Los Angeles: Pasadena, Long Beach and the San Fernando Valley are workable; the canyons and hillside streets need a meeting point. See the Los Angeles guide.
• Inland Empire and Temecula: right on the truck's path, and usually the quickest pickups on the lane.
• Coachella Valley: Palm Desert, La Quinta and Indio are on I-10 itself. See Palm Springs.

Much of greater Phoenix is master-planned. In Gilbert, Queen Creek, Buckeye, Goodyear, Peoria and the newer parts of Mesa, the streets are wide, but HOA rules on commercial trucks vary, so check yours. North Scottsdale's gated communities usually want the carrier pre-registered with the gatehouse, or they'll have you meet outside. In Tucson, Oro Valley and Marana are straightforward, and the Catalina Foothills' winding roads may call for a meeting point.

From May to September, schedule deliveries in the morning, before the pavement and the car's interior bake. The Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson guides go deeper on each area.