Ship a car from Chicago to Arizona

Arizona has been a winter home for Chicago-area retirees for generations. Mesa, Sun City, Scottsdale and Green Valley all have long-standing Illinois followings. The lane also carries year-round relocations: people chasing Phoenix's job growth, families moving closer to grandchildren, and students heading to Arizona State in Tempe or the University of Arizona in Tucson.

It's roughly 1,700 to 1,900 miles from Chicago to the Valley or Tucson, depending on the suburb and the destination. That's about three days of driving across the Plains and the high desert, the last stretch of it in the dark if you push. Shipping lets you fly from O'Hare or Midway and have the car arrive within a few days of you.

The usual path follows the interstates that replaced Route 66. Carriers take I-55 south to St. Louis, I-44 across Missouri to Tulsa and Oklahoma City, then I-40 west through the Texas Panhandle at Amarillo, past Albuquerque and Gallup, and across northern Arizona through Holbrook. At Flagstaff the trucks turn south on I-17 and drop more than a mile in elevation to Phoenix. Tucson cars continue roughly another hundred miles on I-10.

The weather risk sits in the middle of the trip, not at either end. The Panhandle is known for strong crosswinds, and the stretch of I-40 around Albuquerque and Flagstaff sits above 5,000 to 7,000 feet, where winter storms can stop truck traffic for a day. Leaving Chicago, carriers deal with winter on I-55 itself, so a December pickup gets a little more slack in the schedule.

Arizona's winter visitor season fills from October through December and stays full into spring. February and March bring Cactus League baseball, when both Chicago teams hold camp in the Valley (the Cubs in Mesa, the White Sox in Glendale), and a lot of Chicago-plated cars that came down in January stay put until after Opening Day. The return north runs from April into May, timed to beat the Phoenix heat.

• Book in September or October for a November or December arrival. Desert-bound trucks fill quickly in the weeks before the holidays.
• Book the April return at the same time. The northbound wave is as concentrated as the southbound one.
• Summer relocations run on a quieter lane, but plan for morning deliveries once Phoenix highs reach triple digits.

Most cars go open, and that works well once you account for one thing: Chicago and the Illinois interstates are salted all winter, and the bottom row of an open carrier collects that spray until the truck reaches drier pavement in Missouri and Oklahoma. A wash with an undercarriage rinse once the car is delivered sorts it out.

If the car is a collector car heading to Scottsdale's January auctions, or a car you want completely out of the salt and the Panhandle dust, enclosed transport is the way to go. Enclosed trucks to Scottsdale are in particular demand in December and January, so reserve one early.

Chicago's grid is friendly to most vehicles but not to a 75-foot car carrier. Here's what to expect:

• City neighborhoods (Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Hyde Park): alleys are too narrow and side streets often too tight, so the handoff happens on an arterial such as Ashland, Western or Clark.
• Permit parking and winter rules: overnight parking bans on some arterial streets run from December through March, and snow routes clear for plowing. Choose a meeting point that's legal for the morning of pickup.
• Gold Coast and Streeterville towers: a carrier can't use the garage ramp or stop on the busiest blocks, so drive the car to a wider street nearby.
• The suburbs: Naperville, Schaumburg, Oak Brook, Orland Park and Palatine are usually easy. North Shore towns like Evanston, Wilmette and Winnetka have mature trees and narrow streets, so a meeting point on Green Bay Road or Sheridan often works better.

There's more on neighborhoods and timing in the Chicago car shipping guide.

Arizona's 55+ and master-planned communities, like Sun City, Sun City West, Sun Lakes, the Mesa resort communities and Green Valley south of Tucson, usually have HOA rules about commercial trucks. Some let a car carrier in with notice; others ask for a meeting spot at the clubhouse or a nearby retail center. North Scottsdale's guard-gated communities often work the same way.

In winter, delivery any time of day is comfortable. From May onward, aim for morning windows, before the asphalt and the cabin have had a chance to heat up. Local details are on our Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson pages.