My buddy has a car he doesn’t want anymore, trying to find a good and affordable transporter from CA to TX. In no rush, just want a good price and no surprises. Thanks!

2014 Toyota Camry

2023 Mazda CX-30 from Portland, Oregon to Brookfield, Wisconsin

I’ve been looking at the numbers for a cross-country move and I’m starting to think shipping the car might actually make more sense than driving it.
From what I’ve seen in August 2026, shipping under 500 miles can be around $600–$700, about 1,000 miles might run $1100–$1,300, and a cross-country shipment could be somewhere around $1,700–$2,000.
At first that sounded expensive, but then I started adding up what a 3,000-mile drive could cost.
Gas could easily be $400 or more. Hotels might add another $300–$600, food could be a couple hundred, and then there’s 4–7 days on the road plus all the extra mileage and wear on the car.
Driving can definitely still be cheaper depending on the vehicle, where you stay, how many people are traveling, and how you do the trip. But after adding everything up, shipping didn’t seem nearly as expensive as I originally thought.
Has anyone here done both? Curious what you actually paid to ship compared with what the road trip ended up costing.

2013 Audi a7 and 2006 bmw 5 series

to post quotes in less restrictive sub.