The cost to ship a car to or from Chicago, Illinois is typically $775 to $1,675 on an open trailer, and takes between 2 to 7 days in transit time. Chicago to Raleigh starts at $775 to $925 over about 790 miles. Aurora to San Francisco reaches $1,325 to $1,475 over about 2,110. Every row in the table comes from a lane we already publish a price for.

Because a driver leaving Chicago has a full choice of loads. A driver coming in has to compete for the return. Chicago is one of the densest freight origins in the country, so your car fills a space on a trip that was already going to happen. The table shows it twice. Chicago to Tampa is about 1,180 miles from $825. Orlando to Chicago is about 1,167 miles from $1,000. Chicago to Newark is about 790 miles from $800. New York to Chicago is the same 790 miles from $1,050. Same roads, same distances, two different prices.

Because Florida is a two-way market, and the Texas run out of Illinois is thinner. Chicago to Tampa is about 1,180 miles from $825. Chicago to Dallas is about 925 miles from $800. Tampa is 255 miles further for roughly the same money. Cars move both ways between the Midwest and Florida all year, so a driver heading south knows he has a load coming back. That is worth more to him than 255 miles.

It is among the best, and here is the comparison we use. Chicago to Tampa is about 1,180 miles from $825. Raleigh to Dallas is about 1,190 miles from $1,325. Ten miles apart in distance, and about $500 apart in price. Chicago sits where the freight is, so the same trip costs less to start here.

Because Las Vegas sends cars back east all year and Reno sends fewer. Chicago to Las Vegas is about 1,750 miles at $1,250 to $1,450. Chicago to Reno is about 1,905 miles at $1,425 to $1,675. The two cities are close together. So the gap is about the return load rather than the road. A driver dropping in Las Vegas has his next job waiting.

Raleigh, Tampa and Orlando. Chicago to Raleigh is about 790 miles at $775 to $925. Tampa and Orlando are both about 1,180 miles at $825 to $975. All three sit below the national band for their distance. That is unusual, and worth knowing if your dates are flexible.

Four things, in this order. How far the car is going, which is why the table is sorted by distance. Which direction, because leaving Chicago costs less than arriving. What the vehicle is, since a full-size pickup or SUV takes more deck space and weight. And the season. January and February tighten capacity across the Midwest, and the run south fills up from October. Your quote is one price for the whole trip, worked out for its distance and the route it takes.

They are careful estimates, reviewed against the market. Fuel is the single largest cost in hauling a car, and it moves up and down. So we review these rows against it rather than letting them go stale. Once you accept a quote, the Smart Price Promise holds it, as long as the vehicle, the route, the condition and the shipping details stay the same.

Door to door pickup and delivery, loading and unloading, the road miles, and Carrier Cargo Insurance for the whole trip. There is no terminal fee and no fuel surcharge added later. Enclosed transport and a vehicle that will not start are priced up front, not added at the curb.

Enclosed costs about 80 percent more than open on the same route. It is the right call for a classic, a collector car, an exotic, a fresh restoration or anything low to the ground. It also keeps a car off a salted interstate. Chicago winters are exactly when people choose it, so ask about it between December and March.

A vehicle that will not start needs a winch truck. That adds $200 or more, depending on what the driver has to do to get it aboard. There is no flat fee, because a car that rolls and steers is a very different job from one that does neither. Tell us the true condition when you request a quote, and the figure is in your price from the start.

Give us the widest pickup window you can live with. That is the single best lever you have. A driver filling the last space on a trailer will often take a nearby car rather than travel further for a better paying one. A wider window gives us more chances to catch one of those fills. Chicago has more of those chances than almost anywhere, so flexible dates pay off here. Ask about the student, military and senior discounts before your price is confirmed.

Yes. Student, military and senior discounts apply in either direction on Chicago shipments. Ask before your price is confirmed. The discount is then built into the figure you agree to, rather than adjusted afterwards.

Between 2 and 7 days on the road, depending on distance. Newark, New York and Raleigh are 2 to 4 days. Dallas, Houston, Norfolk, Tampa and Orlando are 3 to 4. Las Vegas, Spokane and Reno are 5 to 6. Los Angeles and Seattle are 5 to 7. The Bay Area is 6 to 7.

When your car is loaded, not when you book. The pickup window comes first and the road days follow it. That is why the two numbers are quoted separately on every route in the table. Plan your dates around both.

The standard pickup window is 6 days. Expedited narrows it to 3 days, which is 72 hours. Chicago is a strong origin market, with trucks running in every direction daily. So we are often able to place a car near the early end of that window.

Yes. Expedited scheduling narrows the pickup window from 6 days to 3, which is 72 hours. The road days stay the same. Federal driving-hour limits apply to every driver on the interstate, and no service moves them. What you are buying is a faster start, not a faster truck.

It can add a day between January and March, and it is easy to plan for. Lake-effect snow and salted interstates slow the first few hundred miles of any run out of Chicago. Capacity across the Midwest tightens at the same time. Build one extra day into your plan, and give us the widest pickup window you can. Consider enclosed transport if the car is worth keeping off the salt.

Federal rules cap how long a driver may be behind the wheel each day. There are also eight or nine other cars on the trailer, each with its own pickup and delivery point. The route is built around all of them. That is why a 2,025-mile run to Los Angeles is 5 to 7 days rather than three.

About 5 to 7 days on the road over roughly 2,025 miles, at $1,225 to $1,375 on an open trailer. Both ends have a staffed Smart Auto Move office. The team booking the carrier in Chicago and the team handling delivery in Los Angeles are both ours.

About 3 to 4 days over roughly 1,175 to 1,180 miles, at $825 to $975. That holds whether you are going to Orlando, Kissimmee or Tampa. It is the busiest lane out of Illinois from October onwards, so book six to eight weeks ahead for a snowbird move.

Usually yes, and where it cannot we come to you a different way. A full-size carrier is about 75 feet long. The suburbs across Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane and McHenry counties are almost always straightforward door to door. On the narrow two-flat and three-flat blocks we arrange a meet-point a few minutes away. The handover happens there at no extra cost.

We will meet you at the end of it instead. Chicago is an alley city, and the grid behind the buildings is part of how it works. But a full-size car carrier needs room to turn and a clear roof line, and an alley gives it neither. We plan the meet-point when you book rather than working it out on the day. It is normally a wide street or a retail lot within a few minutes of your address.

Because trucks are not allowed on it. The road was renamed by the City Council in 2021. It is a limited-access boulevard, closed to trucks apart from one short stretch between Interstate 55 and 31st Street. So a carrier reaching the lakefront comes in on surface streets. It does not change your price or your delivery date. But if you are watching for the truck, it may arrive from a direction you would not expect.

It is a nearby spot with room for the truck, and it costs nothing extra. Normally a wide arterial or a retail lot, a few minutes from your address. We use one when a street cannot take a 75-foot carrier safely. You meet the driver there. The paperwork and the inspection are exactly the same, and the car is loaded in the open where you can see it.

The dense pre-war blocks: Lincoln Park, Logan Square, Wicker Park, Bucktown, Pilsen, Bridgeport, Hyde Park, Lakeview and Old Town. Narrow streets, permit parking and cars on both sides leave a long trailer nowhere to turn. We know these blocks well. The meet-point is usually settled at booking, and the pickup goes smoothly.

No. The driver does not park and wait. He arrives, inspects, loads and moves on, which is normally 20 to 30 minutes. If your block is a resident permit zone, tell us at booking and we will plan for it. That usually just means picking the meet-point instead.

Yes, and the suburbs are some of the easiest pickups we handle. Evanston, Oak Park, Cicero, Skokie, Des Plaines, Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, Naperville, Aurora, Elgin, Joliet, Waukegan and Oak Lawn are all easy. And so is the rest of Chicagoland. Wide streets and driveway access are what a carrier wants. Suburban rows price with Chicago unless the table says otherwise.

Yes, anywhere in the state from the Wisconsin line to the Ohio River. Rockford, Peoria, Springfield, Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington-Normal, Decatur, Quincy, Carbondale, Belleville and the Quad Cities all route through the same Chicago team. Downstate origins often price a little below Chicago on westbound runs. Interstate 55 puts them further along the route before the driver arrives.

We can meet you near either airport rather than inside it. Airport property is tightly controlled, and a car carrier has nowhere to work there. So we use a meet-point close by. Plenty of our Chicago customers fly one way and meet the car at the other end. This is how that half of the trip is handled.

We deliver to the building and hand the car over at street level. Parking structures have low clearances and tight ramps that a carrier cannot enter. So the handover happens outside where there is room, and you drive it in from there. Tell us the building at booking and the driver plans for it.

Thirty days from the date your Chicago residency starts. The Office of the City Clerk sets that deadline. A late purchase carries a $60 fee, or $30 for seniors. It is the one Chicago deadline most people moving in do not hear about until it has passed. Put it on the calendar the day your car arrives.

Only if your block is in a residential permit zone, and many are. The City Clerk can confirm your address. If you are shipping a car into a permit block, sort the permit out before the car arrives. It saves you the first ticket.

Most 1996 and newer gasoline cars in the Chicago area are tested, starting once the car is four years old. Testing runs on a two-year cycle. Even model years are tested in even years, odd model years in odd years. Your test month matches the month your license plate expires. Chicago and the Metro-East St. Louis area are the two parts of Illinois where testing applies. A car going downstate to Peoria or Champaign is outside it.

Title and plates for a car brought into Illinois go through the Secretary of State. Check their current requirements and fees before your car arrives, so the paperwork is ready. The Chicago city sticker is separate. It has its own 30-day clock, from the day your residency starts.

Yes, and it is one of the most common jobs we do into Illinois. We pick up from a dealer, an auction, a private seller or a storage lot, and deliver to your Chicago address. Have the seller ready with the keys and the paperwork. Tell us if the car has been sitting long enough that it may not start, so the right truck is assigned.

Yes, and this is a busy part of the year for us. Northwestern, the University of Chicago, UIC, DePaul and Loyola in the city. Illinois State in Normal, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign downstate. Late August and mid-May are the tightest weeks on the calendar. Booking two to three weeks ahead makes a real difference to both the price and the pickup date. The student discount applies.

Yes. Your car travels under the assigned carrier's Carrier Cargo Insurance. Cover starts the moment it is loaded and ends when it is handed back to you. It goes from your address straight onto the trailer. No terminal, no holding lot, no gap in between. You can check any carrier's active authority and insurance on the FMCSA SAFER system before your car is loaded, and we will tell you who the carrier is.

Someone does, at both ends. The driver walks the car with you and records its condition on the Bill of Lading, and you both sign. It takes a few minutes, and it is what protects you. Worth being there rather than leaving the keys.

Yes. Any adult you nominate can hand the car over or take delivery, as long as we have their name and number at booking. Plenty of Chicago customers have a family member, a neighbor or a building manager stand in. It works perfectly well.

Usually yes, within reason. Keep it light and keep it low. Use the trunk or the footwells rather than the seats or the parcel shelf, so the driver can see out and the weight stays sensible. Take anything valuable or irreplaceable with you. Tell us at booking if you are packing more than a suitcase or two, and we will make sure the assigned carrier is expecting it.

About a quarter of a tank is ideal. That is enough to load, unload and drive away at the far end. It also avoids weight the trailer does not need. A full tank on nine cars adds up fast.

It helps. A clean car makes the condition report at pickup much easier to read. That makes the inspection at delivery easier too. Photograph it in daylight from all four corners once it is clean, and you have your own record alongside the Bill of Lading.

It is the condition report for your car, and the most useful piece of paper in the whole trip. The driver records the car's condition at pickup and you both sign. At delivery you compare the car against it before signing again. Keep your copy until the delivery is complete and you are satisfied.

Note it on the Bill of Lading at delivery, before you sign, and photograph it. That is the record that matters. Then call us. We handle the claim with the carrier from there rather than leaving it with you. It is rare, and it is why the two inspections are worth the few minutes they take.

Yes, and it is often the better deal. Both cars go on the same carrier and arrive together. That suits a household move, and it suits a snowbird couple with two vehicles. Tell us both vehicles when you request the quote, and the price covers the pair.

Yes. Mid-size and full-size SUVs, crew-cab pickups, minivans and work vans all ship on open trailers from Chicago every week. They take more deck space and weight than a mid-size car. So the price sits above the table figures, and it is quoted up front rather than adjusted at the curb. Oversized lifted trucks and dual-rear-wheel pickups are quoted individually.

Yes, and tell us about it when you book. Low ground clearance, a front splitter, a wide body or oversized wheels all change which trailer and ramps the job needs. Given the details up front, we assign a carrier equipped for it. For anything very low that is usually enclosed transport with a lift gate.

Yes, and Chicago is a strong classic market with a good auction calendar. Enclosed transport is what we recommend for a classic, a collector car or a fresh restoration. It costs about 80 percent above the open price. It keeps the car away from road salt, debris and weather for the entire trip. That matters more leaving Illinois in February than almost anywhere.

No, and that is deliberate. Chicago is a logistics office, not a terminal. Your car goes from your address straight onto the carrier, and stays covered under Carrier Cargo Insurance for the whole trip. There is no holding lot in the middle. One less place for a car to sit, and one less handover to go wrong.

Yes. Smart Auto Move Inc has a staffed office at 742 E 87th Pl, Chicago, IL 60619, on 312-300-7773. It is one of our four staffed offices. The others are Lakewood in Washington, Los Angeles and Kissimmee in Florida. The dispatchers who book your carrier and call you with updates work in Chicago, on Central time. They book the Illinois corridor every day.

Visits are by appointment. Booking happens online or over the phone rather than at a counter. It is a logistics office, where carriers are scheduled and customers are updated, so a call gets you further than a drive. Reach the Chicago team on 312-300-7773, or the national line on 888-709-9078.

Smart Auto Move is a car shipping company. We arrange and manage your transport end to end. The job goes to a vetted carrier from a network of more than 16,000 transport professionals nationwide, and we stay with it until the car is delivered. You will know which carrier has your car. You can check their authority and insurance yourself before it is loaded.

Look us up on the FMCSA SAFER system under USDOT 2887232 and MC 969368. Both numbers are on every page of this site for exactly that reason. We are also BBB A plus accredited. We will give you the assigned carrier's USDOT number so you can check them too.

No. We do not call or text quote-form leads. Your quote comes back to you, and the next move is yours. If you would rather talk it through, call the Chicago office on 312-300-7773 or the national line on 888-709-9078. We will quote you on the phone.

No. Information you share with Smart Auto Move for the purpose of receiving a quote is used for that purpose only. We do not sell your information. That is why the quote form on this page does not turn into a week of phone calls from companies you have never heard of.

Smart Auto Move provides nationwide car shipping throughout the lower 48 states, backed by four strategically located staffed offices, six additional service areas, and a trusted carrier network of more than 16,000 transport professionals nationwide. Service is not currently available in Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico.

Start with the quote form on this page, or call the Chicago office on 312-300-7773. We need the pickup and delivery ZIP codes, plus the year, make and model. Then whether the car runs, your first available date, and open or enclosed. You will have a price to look at, and nothing is booked until you say so.