Ship a car from Vancouver to California

Vancouver to California is roughly 950 to 1,400 miles (about 1,530 to 2,250 km). The Bay Area is the short end, and San Diego and Palm Springs are the long end. British Columbians make the trip for a winter in the Coachella Valley, a temporary film or tech contract in Los Angeles or San Francisco, or a semester away. Most of them would rather not drive the I-5 in December.

It's a simple lane to describe: one interstate, two mountain passes and one commercial crossing. Customs is covered in detail under Canada to US car shipping.

After clearing at Blaine, carriers run I-5 through Seattle, Portland and the Willamette Valley. Two passes decide whether the trip runs on time:

• Siskiyou Summit, in southern Oregon just north of the California line, is the highest point on I-5 at a little over 4,300 feet. Winter brings snow, chain controls and the occasional closure, and it's the most common reason a California delivery slips by a day.
• The Grapevine (Tejon Pass) is the climb into Los Angeles from the Central Valley. It sees less weather, but a snow or ice closure stops all traffic into LA from the north.

Bay Area cars come off around Sacramento, and Southern California cars continue to LA, Orange County and San Diego. Palm Springs deliveries leave I-5 for I-10 east through the San Gorgonio Pass, the same stretch the California to Texas lane uses on its way out of the state.

BC's winter residents head for the desert mostly between October and December and come home from March to May. Work and study moves to the Bay Area and LA spread more evenly through the year, with clusters in late summer and around the new year.

• Book four to six weeks ahead in the fall, and earlier for enclosed transport.
• Build slack into winter dates. Siskiyou weather is the one variable nobody can plan around.
• Coming back in spring? See US to Canada car shipping.

Open carriers suit most cars here. Rain and road spray through Washington and Oregon are the main exposure, and a wash on arrival is usually enough. Choose enclosed transport for a collector car, fresh paint, or anything that has to arrive at a show or a dealer exactly as it left.

EVs ship well on either kind of trailer. Arrive with a moderate charge, not full and not near empty, so the driver can move the car on and off the deck. Send us the model and trim so the carrier can plan for its weight and tie-down points; our EV shipping page explains why that matters.

Downtown Vancouver is mostly towers with underground parkades, and a carrier can't go down a ramp. In Yaletown, Coal Harbour or the West End, drive the car out to Pacific Boulevard or Georgia Street, where the truck can pull in. From the North Shore, carriers use the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing rather than the Lions Gate.

• South of the Fraser (Surrey, White Rock, Delta) is minutes from the Pacific Highway crossing.
• Burnaby, Richmond and New Westminster are simple; carriers tend to suggest a lot near Highway 1 or 99.
• The Fraser Valley (Langley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack) works too, and Abbotsford pickups may cross at Sumas.

In Southern California, delivery is more about street access than distance. LA's hillside neighborhoods, beach towns with permit parking and condo complexes with low entry gates usually mean meeting the driver on a nearby boulevard, and the Bay Area hills are much the same. The Coachella Valley's gated country clubs in Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, La Quinta and Indian Wells each set their own truck rules. Our Palm Springs page explains how they work.

Trucks use the Pacific Highway crossing; the Peace Arch next door takes passenger traffic only. At the booth, your car is classified under HTSUS 9804.00.35 as a nonresident's personal vehicle, which means no duty as long as it heads back north within a year and isn't sold in the US. Because you're not in it, the carrier hands over CBP Form 3299 for an unaccompanied vehicle along with the HS-7 and EPA 3520-1 declarations and your signed authorization letter.

• Your ICBC registration and a passport copy, plus a lender or lessor letter if the car is financed or leased.
• A note from your insurer confirming the policy follows the car into the US for the length of your stay.
• An empty car, with standard equipment only.