Vehicle transport · 2026
Cross-country car shipping
What it costs to transport a vehicle across the country, how open and enclosed carriers differ, what door-to-door actually means, how long it takes, and how to vet the company before you hand over a set of keys.
Open carrier · standard sedan · 7–10-day coast-to-coast window
Typical coast-to-coast, open carrier
$1,100–$2,000
Short interstate
$450+
Enclosed adds
30–60%
Coast-to-coast $/mi
$0.52
Shipping a vehicle cross-country on an open carrier runs about $450–$850 on a short interstate route and $1,100–$2,000 for a full coast-to-coast run, with the middle of the market near $1,450. Enclosed transport adds 30–60%, which puts a coast-to-coast enclosed move around $1,425–$3,200. Transit runs 2–5 days on short interstate routes and 7–10 days coast-to-coast. Those are published open-carrier ranges for a standard sedan, not quotes.
Start with your question
How much does it cost to ship a car?
Open-carrier ranges by distance, the per-mile curve, what each factor adds, and whether shipping beats driving on your route.
Open vs. enclosed transport
What the price difference buys you, which vehicles justify enclosed, and the cases where open is the obviously right call.
Door-to-door vs. terminal-to-terminal
What door-to-door really means on a residential street, when a terminal saves money, and the access constraints that decide it.
How to ship a car across the country
The full sequence from first quote to signed delivery report, including prep, paperwork, timing, and what to do if something is damaged.
Car shipping cost by distance (2026)
Published 2026 open-carrier ranges for a standard sedan. Larger vehicles and enclosed transport cost more; per-mile rates fall on longer routes, exactly as they do on household moves.
| Route | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short interstate (~500 mi) | $450 | $600 | $850 |
| Mid-haul (~1,000 mi) | $700 | $900 | $1,250 |
| Long-haul (~1,500 mi) | $850 | $1,150 | $1,600 |
| Coast-to-coast (~2,800 mi) | $1,100 | $1,450 | $2,000 |
Read the per-mile column that is not printed there: at the short-interstate anchor the effective rate is roughly $1.20 per mile, and by coast-to-coast it has fallen to about $0.52. The fixed work, booking, the pickup leg, loading, paperwork, the delivery leg, costs the same on a 500-mile job as on a 2,800-mile one, so it dilutes as the route lengthens. That is why the cheapest way to move a car a short distance is almost always to drive it, and why the calculus flips on a long haul. Full breakdown on the car shipping cost page.
Shipping a car on the busiest interstate corridors
The longest corridors we cover, with each one placed on the published open-carrier curve above. Distances are real driving miles from the route dataset; each corridor page has the household side of the same move.
| Corridor | Miles | Transit | Open carrier |
|---|---|---|---|
| California to Florida | 2,650 | 7–10 d | $1,075–$1,950 |
| Illinois to Arizona | 1,750 | 5–8 d | $900–$1,675 |
| New York to Texas | 1,600 | 4–7 d | $875–$1,625 |
| California to Texas | 1,400 | 4–7 d | $825–$1,525 |
| Illinois to Florida | 1,200 | 4–7 d | $750–$1,400 |
| Michigan to Florida | 1,180 | 3–6 d | $750–$1,375 |
| New York to Florida | 1,160 | 3–6 d | $750–$1,350 |
| Texas to Florida | 1,150 | 3–6 d | $750–$1,350 |
| Florida to Texas | 1,150 | 3–6 d | $750–$1,350 |
| California to Washington | 1,135 | 3–6 d | $750–$1,350 |
| New Jersey to Florida | 1,075 | 3–6 d | $725–$1,300 |
| Pennsylvania to Florida | 1,050 | 3–6 d | $725–$1,275 |
Every corridor distance, and the driving time that goes with it, is on the driving distance reference.
Move your home and your car together
Flag car shipping in the quiz and your matched movers coordinate auto transport with your household goods on one timeline. No email required.
- No email required to see your route's cost range
- Licensed & insured interstate movers only, named before contact
- Your estimate is yours to keep either way
Prefer to talk it through? Call (561) 220-0117, free, no obligation.
What moves the price
Distance
The biggest single factor, though per-mile cost falls sharply on longer hauls, exactly as it does on household moves. A short interstate hop is expensive per mile and cheap in total; a coast-to-coast run is the reverse.
Vehicle size and weight
Trucks and SUVs cost more than sedans because they take more deck space and more of the trailer's weight allowance. We do not publish a size multiplier because there is no defensible single figure for it, expect the carrier to price your specific vehicle.
Open vs. enclosed
The largest optional add. Enclosed runs 30–60% above the open-carrier price for the same route.
Season and direction
Summer peak lifts everything, and snowbird lanes into Florida and Arizona in autumn run higher because demand runs one way. Carriers price the direction the trailer is already going.
Door-to-door vs. terminal
Door service costs slightly more and saves you a round trip to a yard. Terminal-to-terminal can undercut it if you live near a terminal and your dates are flexible.
Operable or not
A vehicle that does not run needs a winch and extra handling at both ends, and not every carrier accepts one. Declare it up front, a non-op discovered at pickup is the classic cause of a re-quote.
Pairing auto transport with your household move
The two shipments are separate contracts on separate trailers with separate windows, and the most common planning mistake is assuming they arrive together. They will not. Household goods on a long corridor typically deliver in a several-day window, and your vehicle runs on its own auto-transport window, which may be shorter or longer depending on the lane. Decide up front which one you need first: if you are flying in and have no other transportation, the car should land before the furniture.
The simplest path is to let your interstate mover coordinate auto transport through a partner carrier so both legs are planned on one timeline and one point of contact chases both. It is still quoted separately from the household line. See how the household side is priced on the long-distance moving cost pillar, and the practical checklist in the guide to bundling a car with a household move.
How to vet an auto-transport company
1. Verify the authority before anything else
Look up the company's USDOT and MC numbers at fmcsa.dot.gov and confirm the operating authority is active and the insurance on file is current. This takes two minutes and eliminates most of the risk in the category.
2. Know whether you are talking to a carrier or a broker
Brokers arrange transport with carriers they do not own. That is legitimate and extremely common in auto transport, but you should know which you are dealing with, who actually touches your car, and whose insurance covers it in transit.
3. Refuse a large up-front deposit
A modest booking deposit is normal. A demand for most of the price before a truck is assigned is not. Pay the balance on delivery wherever you can, and be wary of pressure to wire funds.
4. Get the quote in writing, with the conditions
The written quote should name the route, the transport type, the vehicle, whether it is door-to-door or terminal, and what happens if the vehicle turns out to be inoperable or oversized. Verbal quotes are how re-quotes happen at pickup.
5. Document condition at both ends
The Bill of Lading doubles as the condition report. Photograph the car in daylight from every angle before loading, make sure existing damage is marked, and inspect and note anything new before you sign at delivery. Signing a clean delivery report ends most damage claims.
6. Empty the car
Carriers are not licensed to haul household goods in a vehicle and personal items are generally not covered by cargo insurance. Some will allow a small amount of weight in the trunk; assume they will not until they say otherwise in writing.
The same verification logic applies to household movers, and it is worth reading how to avoid moving broker scams and your rights on an interstate move before you book either one.
Car shipping FAQ
On an open carrier, a standard sedan runs about $450–$850 on a short interstate route and $1,100–$2,000 coast-to-coast, with the middle of the market around $1,450 for a full cross-country run. Enclosed transport adds 30–60%. Larger vehicles cost more, and there is no single reliable multiplier for that, so price your specific vehicle with a carrier.
Keep planning: what a long move costs · driving distances · long-distance movers · all moving guides · or Call (561) 220-0117.
Auto-transport figures are published open-carrier ranges for a standard sedan, last verified 2026-07-10. They are informational estimates, not quotes, and there is no vehicle-size multiplier published here because no single defensible figure exists for one.