On an open trailer, a running sedan bound from Tennessee for Texas costs $650 to $1,000, and it typically reaches Texas 2 to 5 days after it is loaded. Our routed pairs span 453 to 1,295 road miles. Give about two weeks of notice, and plan on Texas registration inside 30 days.
How Does Car Shipping From Tennessee to Texas Work?
Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Murfreesboro, Jackson and Johnson City in Tennessee are the eight pickup towns behind this page, and we paired each one with eight Texas cities. Tennessee to Texas car shipping on those 64 pairs comes to about 453 to 1,295 road miles, from Memphis to Dallas at the short end to Johnson City to Lubbock at the long end. On 56 of the pairs the trip meets at Memphis: the car crosses into Arkansas there, runs I-40 past Little Rock and takes I-30 into Texas at Texarkana. Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington cars stay on I-30 to the end, Austin and San Antonio cars continue south from Dallas on I-35, and Lubbock cars head west from Fort Worth on I-20 and US 84. Houston cars from Nashville, Memphis, Clarksville, Murfreesboro and Jackson, Tennessee, leave I-30 at Texarkana and go south on US 59. The other eight pairs start in the east. Cars from Knoxville, Chattanooga and Johnson City bound for Houston or Corpus Christi, plus Chattanooga cars for San Antonio and Austin, go southwest on I-59 through Birmingham and cross Mississippi and Louisiana instead.
How Much Does Car Shipping From Tennessee to Texas Cost?
Your quote depends on your vehicle, the exact pickup and delivery addresses, the season and the trailer type, so run the calculator for a figure on your dates.
Start with the Tennessee end, because the state is long from east to west. A Johnson City pickup bound for Dallas covers about 948 road miles, against about 453 from Memphis, so the same Dallas trip runs nearly 500 miles longer.
The Texas end matters too. Dallas is the nearest delivery city from each of our eight Tennessee starts, and Corpus Christi or Lubbock is the farthest: a Nashville car runs about 664 miles to Dallas and about 1,054 to Corpus Christi.
Size and trailer type come next. Pickups, minivans and large SUVs use more deck space than sedans do, and covered trailers hold few cars, so each spot on one costs more.
The season matters least. Searches for this trip ran highest in September and October over the past year, so some give in your fall pickup date lets dispatch choose from more trucks.
An open carrier moving a running sedan from Tennessee to Texas runs $650 to $1,000. A Memphis or Jackson, Tennessee pickup headed for Dallas or Fort Worth tends to sit near the bottom of that spread, and a Knoxville or Johnson City start bound for Lubbock or Corpus Christi near the top. For a figure on your own addresses, use our car shipping calculator.
A full-size pickup, minivan or SUV usually costs about $100 to $200 extra. Covered space on a closed trailer is priced higher again, typically adding a further 40 to 60 percent whichever Tennessee town and Texas city you pair.
- Where in Tennessee. East Tennessee starts add the most road: Knoxville and Johnson City sit 843 and 948 miles from Dallas, against 453 for Memphis.
- Where in Texas. Dallas is the closest drop from every Tennessee town on our list, and Lubbock or Corpus Christi the longest.
- The fall. Search interest in this trip peaked in September and October, the months when an open pickup window helps most.
One very low quote among several is a warning sign. Carriers often pass on loads priced under the going rate, and a car booked that way can wait a long time for a taker.
What Factors Actually
Influence Pricing on This Route?
Five things move the price on any lane: the vehicle's size, whether it runs, how easy each end is to reach, the season and the trailer type. Booking early protects your timeline, keeps pricing steady and reduces the risk of last-minute carrier changes.
Type
Size decides how much deck space your vehicle takes and how many other cars fit alongside it. A standard sedan is the cheapest thing to move because it slots almost anywhere on the trailer. SUVs, pickups and vans take more room and usually cost more on the same lane.
Is It Cheaper to Ship or Drive a Car From Tennessee to Texas?
Shipping Instead of Driving
Shipping earns its keep on the longer pairs. By our routing, Nashville to Houston is about 14 hours of driving and Johnson City to Lubbock about 23, which means at least one night in a motel.
It also suits anyone flying to Texas, moving two cars at once or starting a new job soon after arrival, since the car comes to the door while you travel another way.
Driving the Route Yourself
From the west end of the state, driving can make sense. Memphis to Dallas takes about 8 hours by our routing and Jackson, Tennessee to Dallas about 10, a long day but a single one.
The hard part comes after. Someone still has to get back to Tennessee, and the flight home, the fuel and the night or two on the road can add up to more than a shipping quote.
How Long Does Car Shipping From Tennessee to Texas Take?
Most Tennessee cars reach their Texas address 2 to 5 days after the carrier loads them. Memphis to Dallas, about 8 hours of driving by our routing, tends to finish early in that window, and Johnson City to Lubbock, about 1,295 miles and 23 hours, can use all of it.
The wait before loading is the less certain part. Booking starts its own clock, because it typically takes Rivalane one to three working days to settle on a carrier for this lane, and a pickup window that can move a little often shortens that wait.
With carriers usually logging 400 to 500 miles daily, even the longest of our pairs needs only about three days at the wheel. Heavy traffic around Houston, Dallas and Austin can still shift the delivery hour.
When Should You Book Car Shipping From Tennessee to Texas?
About two weeks of notice covers most moves on this lane. With that much lead time, dispatch can look for a carrier whose trailer already has Texas on its schedule rather than settle for the first truck available. Search interest climbed to its high point in September and October over the past year, so give the fall a few extra days. For other trips on the same roads, see the New York to Texas route, whose Dallas loads also cross Tennessee on I-40 and pick up I-30 at Little Rock, and the Mississippi to Texas route, which shares the I-10 run past Baton Rouge with Knoxville, Chattanooga and Johnson City cars bound for Houston.
In winter, an ice storm in Tennessee or Arkansas can delay a pickup or a drop-off by a day, so a date with some give in it is worth having.
Open or Enclosed Car Shipping From Tennessee to Texas?
Open car transport is the standard way to move a car on this trip. It rides on a two-level trailer with no roof, exposed to the same weather and road grit as the traffic around it on I-40 and I-30.
Enclosed car transport rides the car inside a closed box trailer all the way to Texas. Fewer cars fit, so each spot is priced higher.
Choose enclosed for a classic, a collector or exotic car, a new paint job or a very low car. A daily driver going from Nashville to Houston normally rides open without trouble.
Enclosed Car Transport
Enclosed demand rises for high-value, specialty and seasonal vehicles, and enclosed trailers protect against road debris and weather, which matters most on longer hauls. Enclosed rigs are a small fraction of the trailers working any given lane, and that scarcity is what drives both the higher price and the longer booking lead time.
Open Car Transport
Most vehicles move on open trailers, and for most routes that is the more cost-effective way to ship a car.
Open transport works well for standard vehicles and keeps costs predictable. It also offers the widest carrier availability.
What Does Texas Skip, and What Does It Still Check, on a Car From Tennessee?
Since 2025 Texas asks less of an incoming car than it used to, but the steps it keeps still run on a 30 day limit from your move. Here is what you can leave off the list, what Texas still checks, and the one point to know about Tennessee.
What Texas no longer asks
- A safety inspection. Since January 1, 2025, a car that is not commercial no longer needs a Texas safety inspection before registration, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
- A Texas title. TxDMV says a new resident is not required to title the car in Texas.
- An emissions test outside the listed counties. Nueces County around Corpus Christi and Lubbock County are not on the TxDMV emissions list, so a car registered there skips the test.
What Texas still checks
- Emissions, in 18 counties. A car registered in Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar or Travis County, which take in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington, San Antonio and Austin, has to pass the test before it can be registered.
- Insurance. The policy has to meet the Texas minimums of $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 for everyone injured in one crash and $25,000 for property damage, and you bring the insurance card.
- Registration within 30 days. At your county tax assessor-collector office, show proof of ownership and, for a first Texas registration, Form 130-U. Expect $51.75 in state charges, made up of the $50.75 base and $1 for TexasSure, before any local fee your county sets.
- Inspection fees. Non-commercial cars pay the Inspection Replacement Fee at the counter, and the Emissions Inspection Fee is added in counties with the test.
- The new resident tax. TxDMV puts the new resident sales tax fee at $90, or the difference between Tennessee sales tax and Texas sales tax, and our guide to Texas vehicle sales tax covers how it is figured.
- A Texas driver license. Texas expects a new resident to hold one, issued by DPS, within 90 days.
Back in Tennessee
- Plates and renewals. The Tennessee Department of Revenue says plates belong to the owner, not the vehicle, and the unused part of a registration is generally not refunded. If a Tennessee renewal notice still arrives after the move, the department says it can be disregarded.
Each step appears on the TxDMV New to Texas page, and our walkthrough of registering a car from another state in Texas covers the county visit.
What to Expect at Pickup in Tennessee and Delivery in Texas
Pick both meeting points before dispatch, one in Tennessee and one in Texas. A car carrier with a full load is a long vehicle and wants a broad street or an open lot where it can stop, load or unload and pull away again.
In Tennessee, gravel drives on rural property and the hilly streets of Chattanooga and Knoxville can keep a truck from reaching the house, and a nearby store lot often works better. In Texas, some neighborhoods around Houston and Dallas limit large trucks, and a gated community may move the handoff to its entrance or a lot close by. Each end is covered in more detail on our Tennessee car shipping and Texas car shipping pages.
Make an inspection lap of the car alongside the driver at both handoffs. Any scratch, chip or dent belongs on the bill of lading before you put your name to it. Photograph each side beforehand, and take your personal things out of the car.
Key Things to Know Before Shipping a Car From Tennessee to Texas
Rivalane handles every booking on this lane from its office in Melville, New York. Your carrier, always a licensed one, is typically named inside one to three working days, and from loading to delivery you can see where the car is with real-time tracking. On this lane the pickup town matters most, since an East Tennessee start can add several hundred miles over one in Memphis, so quote the town the car actually leaves from.
Frequently Asked Questions
