Shipping Cost from San Francisco, California to Mexico City

Driving costs include food, lodging, and fuel for one person. Like we said earlier, the cost to ship a car is almost always higher than the cost of driving that car the same distance. Even when you factor in additional costs like hotels, gas, and food, driving is still cheaper.

If you are visiting Mexico on a tourist/visitor permit, you can import your foreign-plated vehicle to Mexico using a Temporary Import Permit (TIP). Your vehicle permit when you enter as a visitor will last for a maximum of 180 days and cannot be renewed or extended beyond this time period.

The cheapest way to ship a car internationally is generally Roll-on/Roll-off (RORO), where cars drive onto and off the ship, costing around $900-$2,500+ depending on destination, as it avoids packaging and crane costs. For more protection, Shared Container shipping (grouping cars) is the next cheapest, while booking through platforms like Shiply or using companies with price matching, like SGT Auto Transport or Sherpa, can also find competitive rates.