At first glance, using your own car to move your things to a new home seems like an excellent idea, and sometimes, it could be just that – an alternative relocation concept that can save you a lot of money and plenty of hassle.
In fact, using your personal vehicle as a mini moving truck will eliminate the necessity to rent a large moving truck or hire a moving company – the two most common house moving scenarios that can easily prove to be over your budget.
Regrettably, moving with your own car is only a viable option under a very specific set of relocation circumstances (see below). Still, if you’re lucky, moving with a personal vehicle could be the right choice for you, enabling you to simplify greatly the entire process of moving house while cutting down on your moving costs at the same time.
Here are the top tips for moving with your own car:
See if moving with your own car is a good option for you
As mentioned above, moving with your own car can be a good way to move house only under specific circumstances:
- You’re moving just across town. When moving to another place within the same town or city, so you can do multiple trips with your car without any problems whatsoever.
- You’re moving locally. When you’re doing a local move to another town or city located within the same state, once again you should be able to do several relocation trips with your personal vehicle to transport your things to the new address.
- You’re not moving any furniture. Most furniture pieces are too large to fit inside a passenger car even if they get disassembled properly. If you’ve made up your mind to donate your furniture to charity, give it away to friends, sell it at a moving sale, or simply leave it behind, then you may be able to move house using only your personal vehicle.
- You’re only moving a small household. If that’s the case, your personal vehicle can be ideal for the job.
Must-read: Should you hire movers or move by yourself?
Do the math before deciding to move with your personal vehicle
When you’re thinking about using your car to transport your items to the new place, one of the first things you should do is to see whether the whole idea will be worth it from a financial point of view. After all, you’re trying to save money in the end, aren’t you?
Do the math before it’s too late. Since you know the distance between the two homes, you should be able to calculate roughly how much you’ll pay for fuel for a round trip with your vehicle. Then, examine closely the things you’re moving and try to assess the approximate number of back-and-forth trips you’ll have to make.
Finally, multiply the fuel cost of one round trip by the number of trips you think you’ll need to get the total gas money. Take into account the wear and tear of the car as well.
Make sure your car is in top technical condition
Make sure your car is in top technical condition so that you won’t get any unpleasant surprises while on the road. The thing is that you just have to trust the car that it will manage the job problem-free.
If you are aware of an existing problem with the vehicle or you want to be sure things will be smooth from start to finish, have the car checked out by a professional car mechanic at an authorized car service center before the first trip.
If you believe your personal vehicle is up to the task, then you should still take the time to do some basic checks yourself before you drive away.
- Inspect the tires, including the spare one;
- Top off all car fluids;
- Check the car battery;
- Check the car lights, both exterior and interior ones;
- Check the brakes.
Finally, double-check if your car insurance and registration are present and valid.
Find out more: How to prepare your car for a cross-country move
Think twice before moving any furniture in the car
It’s important to note that the whole idea of using your car to move to a new home can be a good choice only in the cases when you don’t plan to take any furniture with you. Most furniture items are rather heavy and bulky, and they won’t fit inside a passenger car to begin with.
Thus said, if you happen to own a pickup truck or a van, then you can still pick a few favorite furniture items and load them up for the trip, sometimes even as they are without the need to disassemble them.
However, if you have a sedan or even a station wagon, you’ll find it next to impossible to haul any furniture items in the vehicle together with the rest of your stuff packed up in boxes and bags.
So, be sensible about what you can and what you cannot fit in your car. If you insist on taking some or all of your furniture with you, then it’ll be best to hire a moving truck or hire a moving company to get the job done properly.
Read also: How to move without furniture
Sort out your things before loading them up in the car
When you’ve made up your mind to move with your own car, then it’s vital that you sort out your belongings and leave only the things you will really need in the new home.
This sorting step is really important because the fewer items you’re left with after having purged your home of anything unnecessary, the fewer trips to the new home you will be forced to make with the car. And as you can guess, fewer car trips automatically mean less money spent and less time wasted during the relocation process.
Start the sorting out task by creating a detailed inventory of your entire home.
See also: How to make a moving inventory
Prepare the interior of your car for loading
When moving house with your own car, the next step is to inspect the interior of the vehicle and remove any items that don’t need to be there. That’s especially relevant for the trunk of the car where you’ll pack most of your stuff during the actual relocation trip.
You shouldn’t remove the standard car equipment, including the car emergency kit. However, any other surplus stuff should be gone to make room for your household items.
If needed, vacuum the seats and the spaces between them. Also, if nobody is going to use the back seats and they can be lowered, do it to create even more packing space.
Good to know: What costly DIY moving mistakes to avoid?
Consider purchasing an overhead carrier
In most cases, your car won’t be able to fit as many things as you want. Of course, by that moment you should understand that multiple car trips will be necessary… but what if you can somehow pack even more stuff in the vehicle?
Actually, you can if you decide to invest in an overhead carrier for your car.
Overhead carriers are expensive, especially high-quality ones. However, you should view the extra expense as a long-term investment simply because you’ll be able to use it over and over again long after the house move is over. For example, going on a vacation with your car is the perfect example of when an investment made now will pay off handsomely through the years.
Research good overhead carriers and see if you can find one that falls within your affordable price range. Getting a cheaper second-hand carrier can also be an option for you.
Useful info: How to sell everything and move away
Maximize the packing space in your car
One of the best tips for moving with your car is to maximize the packing space in the vehicle.
Think about it: the fewer round trips you make with your car, the better, right? Right. And to minimize the number of car journeys to the new home and back, you’ll have to maximize the space when packing the car. And that’s never an easy thing to do.
Here are a few tips to help you fit more items in the car without compromising the overall safety during the house move:
- Reduce the number of items you’re taking with your car to their absolute minimum.
- Avoid moving any furniture pieces, if possible.
- Use an overhead car carrier for all fragile and easily breakable items.
- Use plastic bags for all soft and non-breakable items instead of cardboard boxes. The advantage of using plastic bags is that they are flexible and will fit in almost anywhere inside the car, thus maximizing the available space.
- Use only small cardboard boxes, if at all. Copy paper boxes usually work best when packing a car for moving.
- Use well the space around the spare tire in the car trunk.
- Utilize the storage spaces under the front seats.
- Utilize the space of the foot well by the passenger seat. NEVER place any stuff in the foot well by the driver’s seat.
See also: How to pack a car when moving
Moving with your own car can be a great alternative to renting a moving vehicle or using professional movers. Nonetheless, this house moving option is greatly limited by the small number of items that can usually fit inside a passenger car even when the most efficient packing techniques are used.
What’s more, it’ll most likely turn out that hiring a local mover to pack and transport your things to the new home will be roughly the same cost as doing multiple relocation trips with your own automobile. Or maybe even cheaper in some cases.
So, do yourself a favor and get a free quote from top-rated local movers to know which way you should go.
