Mesa auto transport and car shipping

Mesa is the third-largest city in Arizona, and it covers a lot of ground: roughly 18 miles from the Tempe line on the west side to the desert foothills past Signal Butte Road on the east. That spread matters when you ship a vehicle. A carrier loading in Dobson Ranch has a very different morning from one loading in Las Sendas or Eastmark, so we plan every Mesa pickup around where the car actually is instead of quoting a vague “Phoenix area” window.

Our Mesa office is on South Stapley Drive near US 60, the Superstition Freeway. Most car carriers working the East Valley use US 60, Loop 101 along the west edge of town, and Loop 202, which wraps around the north and southeast sides. If your street can handle a truck and trailer close to 80 feet long, the driver comes to your door. If it can't, which is common in the older blocks around downtown Mesa and in some gated communities, the driver calls ahead and meets you on the nearest wide street or open lot. Either way, you never haul the car to a terminal.

Once you book, we assign a licensed, insured carrier and send you the driver's pickup window. At pickup you and the driver walk around the vehicle, note its condition on the inspection report, and sign. The same report comes back out at delivery so the two of you can compare.

Few cities in the country take in as many winter residents as Mesa. Leisure World, Sunland Village, Venture Out, and the long row of RV and manufactured-home resorts along East Main Street and University Drive fill up every fall with people from Minnesota, Iowa, the Dakotas, Wisconsin and Washington. Many of them fly into Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport or Sky Harbor and have the car shipped instead of spending three or four days on the interstate each way.

Because so many people travel the same direction in the same few weeks, timing affects the price. Trucks heading into Arizona fill up from late September through November. Trucks heading out fill up from late March into early May. Booking two to three weeks ahead during those stretches usually gets you a lower rate and a firmer pickup date than calling the week you leave. If your dates can move by a few days, tell us. Flexibility is often the single biggest thing that brings a seasonal quote down.

Resorts and homeowner associations sometimes restrict where a large truck can stop. It's worth a quick call to your front office before pickup day. Most Mesa resorts see car carriers every season and will point the driver to a staging area near the entrance.

A lot of Mesa's winter visitors keep a heavy-duty pickup for pulling a fifth wheel, and plenty of year-round residents drive lifted trucks or dually pickups. All of these ship fine, but they take up more room on a trailer than a sedan does. When you request a quote, tell us about anything that changes the size or weight of the vehicle: a lift kit, oversized tires, dual rear wheels, a camper shell, a ladder rack or a hitch-mounted carrier. Accurate details up front mean the right truck shows up and the price doesn't change at the curb.

Motorhomes and travel trailers are quoted individually because they move on different equipment than cars. Call the Mesa office with the year, make, model and overall length and we'll put a price together. Vehicles that don't run can ship too. They need to roll, steer and brake so the driver can winch them on safely.

East of Power Road, Mesa thins out into newer communities such as Eastmark, Cadence and Mountain Bridge, along with county islands where some roads are private or unpaved. Carriers reach this side of town from Loop 202 and State Route 24. If your home is on a dirt road, a steep driveway or a street still under construction, say so when you book. The driver may ask to meet at the nearest paved cross street, because a loaded trailer sits low and can't risk a soft shoulder.

From late February through March, Sloan Park and Hohokam Stadium bring heavy game-day traffic to north and west Mesa. Carriers working those neighborhoods try to load early in the morning or after the crowds clear. If you live near either ballpark, expect the driver to suggest a morning window during spring training. Downtown events that close streets can have the same effect, so mention anything you know about when we set your pickup day.