Moving With a Hybrid Vehicle: Is It More Efficient to Drive, or Ship Your Car?

When you’ve planned a cross country move and own a hybrid vehicle, one of the many things you must determine is whether to drive your car or to skip the road trip and take advantage of car shipping. There are several things you should consider when making this decision:

Car Shipping

Shipping could be beneficial in that you don’t want to have the wear and tear on your vehicle, especially if you already have significant mileage on it. While hybrid cars do get better fuel mileage, depending on the type of eco-friendly vehicle you have, it may not make a significant difference when compared to the highway mileage of cars with gas engines. Pros and cons of car shipping include:

• Pros of Car Shipping: You can fly to your destination, which saves a lot of time, especially if you’re shipping your belongings with a cross-country moving company. If your vehicle already has significant mileage, you also save prevent the excessive wear and tear that’s incurred on lengthy trips. It’s imperative to choose a reliable transport company, so that you won’t have to worry about your vehicle getting to your new home safely.
• Cons of Car Shipping: Before choosing a car shipping company, you’ll want to make several calls for quotes, which can be time-consuming, though worthwhile in the long run. In addition, you need to ensure that the car shipper has insurance that will cover your vehicle. This is important because in the case that your vehicle is damaged or stolen during transport, the shipper’s insurance company will be responsible for replacing your vehicle.

Driving a Hybrid Car During a Cross Country Move

• Pros of Driving: Driving your hybrid vehicle across the country affords you the ability to take your time and enjoy the scenery. By driving your vehicle, you’ll have extra space for boxes that don’t fit into your moving van or spare room for fragile or personal items that you’d prefer not to send with a mover. Another advantage is you won’t have to wait for the transport company to show up, as sometimes it can take a week to ship your car from point A to point B. Depending on how much time you have to move, driving can be more convenient.
• Cons of Driving: Driving will most likely cost you more. By the time you pay for gas, hotels and food, it often costs more than shipping. It’s also important to add the additional wear and tear on your vehicle. If you don’t have someone to share driving responsibilities with, you may get too tired to drive more than 8 or 10 hours per day, which can significantly lengthen your trip.As for fuel consumption, studies have shownthat some hybrids only get mildly better fuel mileage than a gas-powered engine. If most of your driving is in the city, a hybrid has a one-up on the gas engine, but when driving for a distance and at higher speeds, the gas engine and the hybrid are about the same — and in some cases, less. A hybrid Toyota SUV gets about 30 mpg, but other gas-powered engines, albeit on smaller cars, get better fuel mileage.

All in all, the choice is yours and there isn’t one option that suits every personal moving situation best. You must weigh the options for yourself and make the best decision for you and your family.

Related posts: