The cost to ship a car from Orlando to Los Angeles is typically $1,450 to $1,600 on an open trailer, and takes between 7 to 8 days in transit time. That is for an operable mid-size vehicle. Kissimmee, Winter Park and Celebration all price the same, and the return leg runs $1,425 to $1,575.

Seven to eight days on the road once the car is loaded. That works out to about 315 to 360 miles a day. It is what a driver legally covers under federal hours-of-service rules, with stops and other deliveries along the way. Add your pickup window to that for the full door-to-door timeline.

About 2,520 miles. Kissimmee adds roughly 20 and Tampa about 80. The return leg measures 2,552 miles, because the routing out of the basin differs slightly from the routing in. San Diego is shorter at 2,430 miles.

We do, and this is the only lane we run where both named cities are ours. Kissimmee is at 2095 E Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34744, on 407-377-6073. Los Angeles is at 5111 Harold Way, Suite 301, Los Angeles, CA 90027, on 213-766-0064. Both are staffed offices.

Kissimmee, about 18 miles south of downtown Orlando. We would rather name the real town than claim an Orlando street address we do not hold. For a delivery the two are the same market, and carriers price all of Central Florida as one zone.

Because the band is an average and this corridor is much busier than average. Our published band for a trip over 2,500 miles is $1,600 to $2,500, and Orlando to Los Angeles comes in under the floor of it. Interstate 10 is the one transcontinental route that stays clear of snow all year, so it carries heavy traffic both ways every month.

No, it means it is a national average. On a quiet corridor the same distance costs more than the band, and on a busy one it costs less. That is exactly why we publish measured figures per route where we have done the work rather than asking you to take a band on trust.

I-4 west out of Orlando, then briefly I-75, then I-10 almost the whole way. Tallahassee, Mobile, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Tucson and Phoenix, then straight into the Los Angeles basin. It is the southern transcontinental route.

Very little, and that is the best feature of this route. Nothing on I-10 climbs a mountain pass, so January looks much like June. A driver plans around two things. Hurricane season at the Florida end, which we watch and keep you posted on. And night running across Arizona in July and August, which is a scheduling detail rather than a delay.

Effectively yes. Kissimmee is 18 miles south and carriers treat the whole of Central Florida as one delivery zone. Winter Park, Celebration, Davenport, Lake Nona, Altamonte Springs and St Cloud all sit in the same range. Pick the address that suits you rather than the one you think prices better.

Across the basin and beyond. Downtown, Hollywood, Silver Lake, the Valley, Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Long Beach, Torrance, Santa Monica, plus Orange County including Anaheim, Irvine and Huntington Beach, and out to the Inland Empire.

In most of the basin, yes. The Valley, South Bay, Orange County and the Inland Empire all load easily. The exceptions are the hillside streets above Hollywood, Silver Lake and Laurel Canyon, laid out for much smaller vehicles, and buildings with underground-only parking. There the driver picks a wider street nearby and meets you.

Most of Central Florida takes a full-size carrier at the curb. The exceptions are the gated communities and vacation-home loops around Kissimmee, Celebration and Davenport, built with narrow turns a 75-foot trailer cannot make. The driver picks a wide lot nearby, often off US-192. Tell your gate to expect a carrier and it is a five-minute job.

Our standard pickup window is 6 days from booking. Expedited narrows it to 3 days, which is 72 hours. Central Florida is a heavy inbound and outbound vehicle market, so collection here often happens toward the front of the window rather than at the end of it.

It is a thinner benefit here than on a short lane and we will say so rather than sell it to you. Expedited cuts the pickup window from six days to three. It does not speed up the drive, because drivers work to federal hours-of-service limits. When the drive is already a week, three days off the front is useful but not transformative.

The familiar two-level trailer carrying nine or ten cars, and every price on this page is an open price. It moves the large majority of cars on this lane and it is the same equipment dealers receive new inventory on. Your car picks up road dust across 2,520 miles and arrives wanting a wash, which is the whole of the downside.

Enclosed runs about 80% more than open. Against $1,450 to $1,600, expect somewhere around $2,600 to $2,875. The car travels inside a closed trailer with no weather and no grit the entire way. It is the right call for a collector car, an exotic, anything low to the ground, or fresh paint.

It depends on the car rather than the distance, and here is the honest version. I-10 has no salt and no mountain weather, so an open shipment on this lane arrives in better shape than one crossing the northern routes in winter. Enclosed earns its money on a valuable finish or a low car, not on the length of the trip.

Yes. It needs a trailer with a winch and a driver equipped to use it, and we have plenty of both. Budget $200 upward on top of the running price. Three answers decide which rig we send, so have them ready: does it roll, does it steer, does it brake.

A mid-size SUV usually adds $75 to $150 over the ranges here. A full-size pickup or a three-row SUV such as a Suburban or an F-250 typically adds $150 to $300. Trailers are limited by height and weight, so a bigger vehicle takes room the driver could otherwise sell.

Yes, and this is a busy lane for them in both directions. Bring it to about half charge, give us the exact model so the weight is right, and switch off anything that wakes the car while it sits. The heavier EVs price a little above a comparable gas car, because weight is what a trailer is limited by.

Your vehicle moves under the assigned carrier's Carrier Cargo Insurance, live from loading in Florida to unloading in California with nothing uncovered between. We confirm each carrier's coverage is active before dispatch and we will email you the certificate for your specific carrier whenever you ask.

Smart Auto Move operates under USDOT 2887232 and MC 969368. Both are public on the FMCSA SAFER system, and we would rather you checked them than took our word for it. Looking those numbers up is the quickest way to tell a real transport company from a website.

Twenty days. The California DMV states that you must register a vehicle within 20 days of becoming a resident or bringing it into the state. That is tighter than most states allow, which is a good reason to have the car land with you rather than weeks later.

Most likely yes. A smog check is required for gasoline 1976 and newer year models, diesels from 1998 and newer under 14,001 pounds GVWR, and natural gas or propane vehicles under 14,001 pounds. A 1975 or older gasoline car and any electric vehicle are exempt.

Yes, and it is quick. California asks for a Verification of Vehicle, DMV form REG 31. An authorized DMV employee, a law enforcement officer or a California-licensed vehicle verifier can complete it. Both the smog check and that verification need the physical car, so the order is: car into California, then smog, then REG 31, then the DMV.

Yes, and on this lane it helps. Two of the three California paperwork steps need the vehicle physically in the state, so having it there early turns the registration into one errand. Send it to a relative, a friend, a workplace or a short-term rental and give us the delivery contact at booking.

Someone does, and it need not be you. Any responsible adult will do: a partner, a relative, a neighbor, a building manager, a coworker. They hand over or receive the keys, walk the car with the driver and sign the condition report. Give us their name and a cell number at booking.

Usually yes, within reason. Keep it to around a hundred pounds, in the trunk and below the window line so the driver can see out. Carrier Cargo Insurance covers the vehicle rather than its contents, so anything valuable or hard to replace travels better with you.

Wash it, because dirt hides the marks the condition report should record. Leave about a quarter tank of fuel. Turn the alarm off. Then photograph all four corners, the roof and the wheels in daylight. Five minutes of that makes the handover in California simple.

It is the inspection you and the driver both sign at pickup, recording every existing mark on the car, and sign again at delivery. Keep your copy. Compare the car against it in good light before you sign it off, and take your own photographs again while you are there.

Note it on the condition report before the driver leaves, photograph it, and call us that day. That written note at the curb is what makes a Carrier Cargo Insurance claim straightforward, and we file it with the carrier for you. It is uncommon and it resolves much faster when the paperwork happens on the spot.

Not with us. Whoever loads it in Florida unloads it in California. No second company partway, no night in a storage yard in Texas. Damage in this business clusters at exactly that transfer, so a route without one removes the opportunity rather than insuring against it.

You get the driver's name and direct number once the carrier is assigned, which across 2,520 miles is more useful than a dot on a map. Drivers will tell you roughly where they are and give you a real delivery window about a day out. With offices at both ends, there is always someone local to call.

Yes, and it usually beats two separate bookings. Two vehicles from one Central Florida address to one Los Angeles address save the driver two stops, and that efficiency shows up on the second car. Ask for both at quote time and we will price them as a pair.

A deposit goes on a card once the carrier is assigned, and the balance is settled with the driver at delivery. That balance is usually cash, a cashier's check or a money order, and your driver confirms which they take when the delivery window is set.

Yes. The price we quote is the price you pay, as long as the vehicle, the route, the condition and the shipping details stay the same. That is the Smart Price Promise. What changes a quote is a change in the facts, so tell us early and we re-price it before dispatch rather than after.

Registered business address: 4208 Six Forks Rd Ste 1000, Raleigh, NC 27609. Our four staffed offices are in Lakewood, Washington; Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; and Kissimmee, Florida. Two of those four sit on this lane.

Use the form at the top of this page with both ZIP codes, the year, make and model, and whether the car runs. You will have a real figure in minutes rather than a teaser rate that moves later. You can also call Kissimmee on 407-377-6073 or Los Angeles on 213-766-0064 and speak to someone at either end.