Cheap Car Shipping
Cheap car shipping is real, but it is not the lowest number on the screen. Affordable auto transport comes from picking the right trailer, the right month and the right pickup window. Here is exactly what each of those is worth, with our own prices attached.
The cheapest way to ship a car is open transport, booked in February through April, with a wide pickup window. Expect $450 to $2,000 depending on distance. Short in-state runs start near $450. Coast to coast usually lands between $1,800 and $2,400. The single biggest saving is choosing open over enclosed, which is worth about 80 percent of your price. Figures here are for a mid-size vehicle, based on our most recent shipments and the current fuel rates.
What is the cheapest way to ship a car?
Open transport, a wide pickup window, and a month outside the summer rush. Those three together do more for your price than anything else. Ranked by how much they actually save, biggest first.
- Choose open instead of enclosed. Enclosed adds about 80 percent. On a $1,000 open move that is roughly $800 more. Unless your car is a classic, an exotic, freshly painted or too low to clear a ramp, open is the right call and by far the biggest saving on this list.
- Ship in February through April. Those are the quietest months, so there is more trailer space than freight to fill it. May through August is the busiest stretch of the year, when the military move season, the summer moving peak and college move-in all land together.
- Give a range of dates, not one day. A wider window lets a driver fit your car into a trip already going that way rather than making a special detour. It is the cheapest concession you can make, and it costs you nothing but patience.
- Ship two cars on the same truck. Two vehicles moving together on one trailer bring the cost per vehicle down, because the driver makes one stop instead of two.
- Book it as inoperable up front if it does not run. A car listed as running that will not roll, steer or brake has to be re-rated at the curb. Declaring it saves you that surprise, and there is no penalty for booking it correctly.
- Give the actual city and ZIP. A metro address on a busy corridor prices better than the same distance into somewhere quiet. Naming the real pickup point gets you the real number the first time.
How much does cheap car shipping cost?
Most cars ship for $450 to $2,000 on an open trailer. Below are the least expensive routes we run often enough to publish a real range, for a mid-size vehicle.
| Route | Distance | Price | Days on the truck |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tacoma to Portland | 144 miles | $450 to $600 | 1 |
| Atlanta to Orlando | 439 miles | $600 to $700 | 1 to 2 |
| Raleigh to Kissimmee | 617 miles | $650 to $800 | 2 to 3 |
| Tacoma to Sacramento | 750 miles | $650 to $900 | 2 |
| Durham to Miami | 831 miles | $750 to $900 | 2 to 3 |
| Albuquerque to Houston | 884 miles | $750 to $900 | 2 to 3 |
| Chicago to Tampa | 1,180 miles | $850 to $950 | 3 to 4 |
| Houston to Tampa | 981 miles | $900 to $1,000 | 3 |
Prices are estimates. Fuel moves and so do they, so the live number comes from the quote form or a phone call. Longer routes and more cities are priced on the car shipping cost guide.
Why a longer route can cost less than a shorter one
Chicago to Tampa is 1,180 miles for around $900. A 700 mile run into a quiet town can cost the same or more. Distance sets the floor. What decides the rest is whether a driver has a load waiting at the other end. Florida sends plenty of cars back north, so the driver drops yours and picks up another the same day. Somewhere quiet, the driver leaves empty and covers those miles for nothing, and that shows up in your price. This is why the cheapest shipment is usually a busy route with flexible dates, not simply a short one.
When is the cheapest time to ship a car?
February through April. Those are the quietest months on most routes. The most expensive stretch is May through August. Here is the whole year.
| Month | Demand | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| January | Light | Quiet after the holidays. Winter weather can add a day on northern routes. |
| February | Lightest | Usually the cheapest month of the year. |
| March | Light | Still cheap. Snowbirds begin heading north late in the month. |
| April | Building | Good value most places. Florida northbound gets busy. |
| May | Busy | Military move season opens. Prices start climbing. |
| June | Busiest | Peak moving season. Book two to three weeks out. |
| July | Busiest | Peak continues. Flexible dates matter most now. |
| August | Busy | College move-in tightens campus routes. |
| September | Easing | One of the better months once move-in is done. |
| October | Building south | Florida and Arizona southbound start to climb. |
| November | Busy south | Snowbird peak heading into Florida, Arizona and Texas. |
| December | Mixed | Holidays quiet most lanes. Southbound to Florida stays high. |
Florida runs on its own calendar
Southbound into Florida is most expensive from October to December. Northbound out of Florida peaks in April and May. Those two directions price very differently in the same week, so if you are shipping to or from Florida, the direction matters as much as the month. Late summer is usually the calmest window in either direction.
Is enclosed transport worth the money?
For most cars, no. Enclosed adds about 80 percent. A $1,000 open move is roughly $1,800 enclosed. That is the single largest number on your quote, so it is the first decision to get right.
Open is the better value if
- It is a daily driver, a sedan, an SUV or a pickup
- You would not be upset by road dust on arrival
- Budget is the point of this exercise
- You want the widest choice of pickup dates
Roughly eight in ten cars ship this way, on the same kind of trailer that delivers new cars to dealerships.
Enclosed earns its 80 percent if
- The car is a classic, an exotic or a collector piece
- The paint is fresh or the restoration is finished
- It sits too low to clear a standard ramp
- Replacing a damaged panel would cost more than the premium
Side by side detail is on the open and enclosed comparison page.
Cheap is good. Lowball is not.
There is a floor below which a route cannot be run. Loading, securing, the condition report and the slot on the trailer cost a driver about the same at any distance. A number well under everyone else is not a better deal, it is a price that has not met a real driver yet.
The number one red flag
If four companies say $1,000 to $1,200 and the fifth says $500, ask that company straight out whether the rate is confirmed. If they say yes, go read their reviews looking for the words bait and switch. What usually happens is the load sits on a board for a week, no driver takes it, and you get a call saying the price has gone up. By then your dates have moved and you are stuck.
The one people get backwards
Plenty of advice says a good company never asks for money up front. The opposite is closer to the truth. A company taking nothing up front is often not confident it can find a carrier at the price it quoted. A deposit means we are booking committed customers and holding the price we gave you. That is what the Smart Price Promise is: the number you agreed to is the number you pay.
Check any company's USDOT and MC numbers on the FMCSA SAFER system. It takes about thirty seconds and it is free. Ours are USDOT 2887232 and MC 969368. Every review we publish sits on a public Google profile you can open and read yourself. We do not write testimonials. Our BBB profile is accredited with an A+ rating, and the complaint history is there to read too.
Discounts worth asking about
Tell us at booking if any of these apply. They cannot always be combined, and the amount depends on the route and the season, but it costs nothing to mention.
Military
Active duty, veterans and military families. Read your orders first, because depending on the move they may already cover shipping or pay you to drive. Military page.
College students
Campus moves, semester starts and summer returns. Shipping ten days before move-in beats shipping in the rush. Student page.
Two or more vehicles
Often the biggest saving of the three. One stop instead of two brings the cost per vehicle down, and two-car households moving together are the most common case.
Non-running cars, EVs and door to door
The cheapest way to ship a car that does not run
Declare it up front. A winch-equipped carrier can take it as long as it rolls, steers and brakes. There is no flat fee, and it usually runs about $200 or more above the same car running. What costs real money is booking it as running and having it re-rated at the curb with the driver waiting. There is no penalty for booking it correctly.
Do electric vehicles cost more?
Sometimes. An EV is often several hundred pounds heavier than a gas car the same size, and weight affects how a driver loads the trailer. Give us the exact year, make and model and the quote accounts for it from the start.
We do not use terminals, and that saves you money
Some companies offer a cheaper terminal rate where you drop the car at a lot and collect it from another. We do not, for a simple reason: a car sitting in a lot is a car nobody's insurance is covering.
Your car never sits anywhere. It goes from your address straight onto the carrier and stays covered under Carrier Cargo Insurance for the entire trip.
Door to door is standard on every shipment. If a 75 foot truck cannot legally and safely reach your street, we pick a wide lot a few minutes away and you meet the driver there. It takes ten minutes and there is no extra charge, which is the terminal saving without the terminal risk.
What our customers say
Every review below sits on a public Google profile. Open any of them and read the whole thing.
Crystal Evans was very helpful.
Cheap car shipping FAQs
What is the cheapest way to ship a car?
Open transport, booked in February through April, with a wide pickup window. Open instead of enclosed is the biggest single saving, worth about 80 percent of your price. After that, shipping outside the May to August rush and giving a range of dates rather than one fixed day do the most. Expect $450 to $2,000 depending on distance.
How much does cheap car shipping cost?
Most cars ship for $450 to $2,000 on an open trailer. Our shortest published routes start at $450, a run like Raleigh to Kissimmee is $650 to $800, and coast to coast usually sits between $1,800 and $2,400. The routes table on this page shows real ranges for a mid-size vehicle.
When is the cheapest month to ship a car?
February, followed by March and April. Those are the quietest months, so there is more trailer space than freight to fill it. June and July are the most expensive, because the military move season, the summer moving peak and college move-in all land in the same stretch. September is the best of the second half of the year.
When is the cheapest time to ship a car to Florida?
Late summer, roughly August into September. Southbound into Florida is most expensive from October to December, when snowbirds head south. Northbound out of Florida peaks in April and May when they come back. Direction matters as much as the month on Florida routes, so a week that is expensive one way can be reasonable the other.
Is open transport cheaper than enclosed?
Yes, by a wide margin. Enclosed adds about 80 percent, so a $1,000 open move is roughly $1,800 enclosed. A hard-sided trailer holds two to six cars where an open one holds ten, so each car carries more of the cost. For a daily driver, open is the better value. Enclosed earns its premium on a classic, an exotic, fresh paint or a car too low to clear a ramp.
How can I lower my quote on a cross-country move?
Give a range of dates instead of one day, choose open, and name the exact city and ZIP at both ends. If you are shipping two cars, put them on the same truck. If the car does not run, say so when you book rather than at the curb. Booking two to three weeks ahead also helps, because last-minute loads compete for whatever trailer space is left.
Why is one quote much cheaper than the others?
Ask that company whether the rate is confirmed. Loading, securing, the condition report and the slot on the trailer cost a driver about the same at any distance. So there is a floor below which a route cannot be run. A number well under everyone else usually means something has been left out, or that the price will move once a carrier actually has to be found.
Does a longer route ever cost less than a shorter one?
Yes, and it happens often. What decides your price is whether a driver has a load waiting at the far end. A long run between two busy markets can price below a shorter run into somewhere quiet, because the driver leaves that quiet town empty and covers those miles for nothing. Busy corridors with flexible dates are where the value is.
What is the cheapest way to ship a car that does not run?
Declare it as inoperable when you book. A winch-equipped carrier can take it as long as it rolls, steers and brakes. There is no flat fee, and it usually runs about $200 or more above the same car running. Booking it as running and having it re-rated at the curb costs more and can lose you your pickup slot.
Do electric vehicles cost more to ship?
Sometimes. An EV is often several hundred pounds heavier than a gas car of the same size, and weight affects how a driver balances the trailer. Give the exact year, make and model when you ask for a quote and the number accounts for it up front rather than changing later.
Is terminal shipping cheaper than door to door?
We do not offer terminal shipping. A car sitting in a lot is not covered by anyone's insurance, so we take it from your address straight onto the carrier. If a 75 foot truck cannot reach your street, the driver meets you at a wide lot a few minutes away. There is no extra charge for that, so you get the practical saving without the coverage gap.
How far ahead should I book to get the best price?
Two to three weeks gives you the best choice of dates and the best number. Less than that is workable and we do it every day, but a load booked for tomorrow competes for whatever trailer space is left rather than the space a driver is still filling. In June and July, book earlier still.
Can I leave personal items in the car to save on moving costs?
Usually yes, within reason. Most drivers will take a few things as a courtesy. Keep it under about 100 pounds, pack it neatly, and keep it out of sight from outside the car. Think a few boxes in the trunk rather than a carload. The one thing to know is that you are paying to move the vehicle, so the carrier's insurance covers the car itself. Keep anything you would hate to lose with you.
Will the price change after I book?
Not with us. The Smart Price Promise means the price you agreed to is the price you pay, as long as the vehicle, route, condition and shipping details stay the same. The things that would change it are the things you control: a different car, a different address, or a car that turns out not to run.
How do I pay?
A deposit is due at booking and the balance at delivery, usually by cashier's check, money order or cash. You can also put the full amount on a credit card, but only at the time of booking, so the funds clear and are available for the carrier. Cancel before we assign a carrier and the deposit comes back to you.
Ready for an affordable quote?
Fill in the route, the vehicle and the week you are ready. You get a price, not a phone call. Ask early and in a quiet month and you will get the best number we have.
Prefer email? Contact Smart Auto Move.