Industry Intelligence, Not Marketing Fluff

Ship Your Car.
Know What You're Actually Paying For.

We've worked inside the auto transport industry. We know how brokers price leads, which companies actually deliver, and how to avoid the tactics that cost customers hundreds of dollars.

By the Auto Transport Insider team · Former industry operators · Updated July 2026

$500–$2,500
Typical Shipping Cost
3–10
Days Transit Time
4M+
Vehicles Shipped/Year
Current Route Pricing Updated July 2026
Route Transit Open Carrier
California → Florida ~2,700 miles
7–9 days
$1,100–$1,900
Florida → New York ~1,280 miles
3–5 days
$850–$1,300
Texas → California ~1,550 miles
4–6 days
$900–$1,400
New York → Florida ~1,280 miles
3–5 days
$750–$1,200
Georgia → Ohio ~568 miles
2–4 days
$699–$1,050
Illinois → Arizona ~1,750 miles
4–7 days
$950–$1,500
Open carrier, standard sedan, operable. Enclosed adds 35–60%. Prices fluctuate with demand.

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The Industry Explained

How Auto Transport Actually Works

Most customers don't realize they're dealing with a broker, not a carrier. Here's what actually happens after you submit a quote request.

1
You Request a Quote
You fill out a form with your origin, destination, vehicle type, and timeline. This goes to a broker, a company that coordinates shipping but doesn't own trucks.
2
Broker Posts to Load Board
The broker lists your shipment on a carrier marketplace (like Central Dispatch). Independent truck operators bid on the job. Prices fluctuate with demand and route availability.
3
Carrier is Assigned
When a carrier accepts your shipment, you're given pickup details. Most carriers provide a 1–3 day pickup window, not an exact time. This is normal, not a red flag.
4
Vehicle is Delivered
The carrier delivers to your destination. Inspect the car before signing the Bill of Lading. Note any new damage in writing immediately, this is your legal protection.

In Progress

Car Shipping Company Reviews

Independent assessments from people who have worked inside the industry, not based on who pays the highest affiliate fee.

Company reviews coming soon

We're finishing our independent assessments of the major auto transport brokers. In the meantime, use the quote form above to compare licensed brokers on your route.

2026 Pricing Data

What Does It Cost to Ship a Car?

Actual price ranges by distance for a standard sedan on open transport. Enclosed adds 35–60%. Larger vehicles (SUVs, trucks) cost 20–40% more.

Distance Transit Time Price Range
Under 500 miles Regional move 1–3 days $400–$750
500–1,000 miles Mid-distance 2–5 days $650–$1,100
1,000–1,500 miles Long-haul 3–7 days $850–$1,400
1,500–2,000 miles Cross-country 5–8 days $1,000–$1,700
2,000+ miles Coast-to-coast 7–10 days $1,100–$2,500
When you ship matters
Peak season (May–August) and snowbird months (Oct–Nov, Feb–Mar) push prices up 15–30%. February is historically the cheapest month to ship.
Open vs. enclosed explained
Open transport carries 7–10 cars on an exposed trailer, same method used to deliver new cars to dealerships. Enclosed protects against weather and debris. Choose enclosed for vehicles worth $50k+, classics, or exotics.
Why quotes change after booking
Auto transport uses a live carrier marketplace. If no carrier bids at the listed rate, brokers sometimes raise the offer to attract drivers. Ask about price-lock guarantees before you book.
Industry Insiders Written by former auto transport operators
Merit-Based Assessments We earn commissions, but our assessments aren't for sale
Updated Regularly Pricing data refreshed monthly from live quotes
Your Consent, Your Control We only share your details with brokers you request quotes from

Insider Guides

Know Before You Ship

The information brokers don't put on their own websites, because it would cost them business.

Industry Intel
How Brokers Price Auto Transport Leads (And Why Your Quote Changes)

You submitted a quote request. Three days later, the price went up. Here's exactly why that happens and how to protect yourself with a price-lock guarantee.

Read guide
Red Flags
7 Auto Transport Scams (and How to Spot Them in 30 Seconds)

Deposit-and-disappear schemes, fake carrier credentials, bait-and-switch quotes, we've seen them all from the inside. Here's your checklist.

Read guide
Cost Savings
The 5 Things That Actually Affect Your Car Shipping Price

Distance is just the start. Route popularity, season, vehicle size, pickup window, and transport type all move the number, sometimes by hundreds of dollars.

Read guide

Straight Answers

About This Site

Who we are, how we make money, and what happens after you fill in the form. For questions about shipping itself, see the full FAQ.

Who is Auto Transport Insider?
We're former auto transport operators. We've worked the broker side of this business and know how loads get priced, dispatched, and sometimes dropped. We publish cost guides, route-by-route pricing, and a weekly rate index, all written from that experience rather than from press releases.
Do you ship cars yourselves?
No. We are not a carrier, a broker, or a freight forwarder. We don't own trucks, set prices, or take payment for transport. We publish information and connect you with licensed brokers who do the actual work. Your transport contract is with them, never with us.
What am I submitting when I request a quote?
Your route, your vehicle, and a way to reach you, which is what anyone needs to price the job. It's free, there's no deposit, and a quote request is not a booking or a commitment to ship anything. What we collect and who we share it with is spelled out in our Privacy Policy.
How do you make money if the guides are free?
Referral and affiliate compensation from the companies we connect you with. That's the whole model, and we'd rather say so plainly than bury it. It pays for the site; it doesn't buy a ranking. Our assessments come from independent research, and a company can't pay to move up.
Where do your rate numbers come from?
We collect them ourselves. Every week we quote the same five high-volume routes under the same conditions, a standard operable sedan on an open carrier with a flexible pickup window, from three brokers on the same day. Same inputs each time, so the movement you see is real market movement and not a change in what we asked for. The current week is on the rates page.
Do I have to use a company you recommend?
No. Take the pricing, use it to judge the quotes you get, and book with whoever you want, including a company we've never mentioned. The point of the numbers is that you can tell a fair quote from a bad one before you commit.

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