Ship a car from Vancouver to Arizona

Arizona is a long-standing winter escape for British Columbians. Mesa, Scottsdale, Tucson and Green Valley see BC plates from November to March, and so do the river towns of Yuma and Lake Havasu City. The drive is roughly 1,550 to 1,800 miles (about 2,490 to 2,900 km). Phoenix is the shorter end and Tucson the longer, and it's three solid days at the wheel through mountain passes in early winter.

Shipping lets you fly from YVR to Phoenix Sky Harbor and have your own car for the season. The border paperwork is spelled out on the Canada to US car shipping service page.

No single interstate runs from Vancouver to Phoenix, so carriers choose between two corridors, usually based on the truck's other cars:

• The coast: I-5, then I-10 east. The truck runs I-5 to the Los Angeles area, then I-10 past Palm Springs and Blythe, over the Colorado River at the Ehrenberg bridge, and on to Phoenix. It's the natural choice when the truck also has California drops, and the gentlest way into Tucson, which is on I-10 too.
• The interior: I-84 and I-15. From Portland, I-84 runs through the Columbia River Gorge and over Oregon's Blue Mountains to Boise, then I-15 through Utah to Las Vegas, and US-93 past Hoover Dam to Kingman and down to Phoenix. It's shorter, but the Blue Mountains and southern Idaho get real winter weather.

Phoenix is usually the first Arizona stop. Tucson is about two hours further southeast on I-10.

Westerners heading for Arizona tend to leave once the Valley cools in late October and keep arriving through early January. The return runs from early March to late April, ahead of the desert heat.

• Book the trip south four to six weeks out.
• Leave slack in winter dates. A storm on Siskiyou Summit or in the Blue Mountains can hold a truck for a day.
• Reserve the trip home early. What the car needs to re-enter BC is covered under US to Canada car shipping.

Arizona doesn't observe daylight saving time. It's one hour ahead of Vancouver in winter and on the same time in summer, which is handy to know when the driver calls to set a delivery time.

Most cars make this trip on an open carrier. The car spends most of it in Pacific Northwest rain and then a day in desert dust, and a wash after delivery is usually all it needs.

Enclosed makes sense for collector cars, soft-top convertibles, low-clearance sports cars, or a car bound for a January event in Scottsdale. Enclosed trucks that run from the Lower Mainland clear to Arizona are scarce, so book them further ahead than anything else on this page.

Newer subdivisions in the Tri-Cities and Maple Ridge have wide streets, so the driver can often meet you at the end of the block. On acreages in Langley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Mission, long gravel driveways usually mean meeting at the road or in a nearby commercial lot. For Metrotown and Brentwood towers in Burnaby, or Richmond's city-centre condos, plan a short drive to a wide street.

Pickups in the Okanagan or on Vancouver Island are possible but take extra planning, so mention them when you request a quote.

BC snowbird cars commonly go to Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Apache Junction and Gold Canyon in the East Valley, to Scottsdale and Fountain Hills, or to Tucson's Oro Valley, SaddleBrooke and Green Valley. Yuma and Lake Havasu City are off the main corridor, so allow a little more time. Local gate and HOA details are on the Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson pages.

Many 55-plus communities and golf resorts are gated, and some limit tractor-trailers. Add the carrier to the visitor list for the day, or pick a meeting spot outside the gate, and choose a morning window when you can.

Your car goes through a commercial port, normally Pacific Highway at Blaine and occasionally Sumas. CBP admits it under HTSUS 9804.00.35, the nonresident personal-vehicle provision: no duty, so long as the car is back in Canada inside a year and never changes hands in the US.

• CBP Form 3299, because the car crosses without you.
• DOT HS-7 and EPA 3520-1, the safety and emissions declarations for a temporary nonresident import.
• A signed authorization letter, so the carrier can present the car on your behalf.
• ICBC registration and a copy of your passport's photo page, plus a lender letter if the car is financed.