$900 to $1,050 for an operable sedan on an open trailer, based on our recent shipments as of September 2026. A mid-size SUV runs $1,000 to $1,200 and a full-size pickup $1,100 to $1,300. Enclosed transport adds about 80 percent.

Three to four days in transit once the car is collected, over about 1,085 miles. A truck covers roughly 400 to 500 miles a day once loading and delivery stops are counted. This is one of the quicker long lanes because both ends are big markets and the route runs through more of them.

Pickup happens inside a window that starts on the date you ask for. Standard shipping uses a 6 day window and Expedited narrows it to 3 days. Your driver calls you directly as the truck gets close, so you get the day and a rough time rather than waiting all week.

April, or May if you can take the slightly higher summer rate. This lane has weather at both ends in opposite seasons: Chicago from December to March, Houston hurricane season from August to October. April through July and November are the months with neither problem, and April is also still in the cheaper part of the year.

Dallas, by around $100 on a sedan. Dallas is about 925 miles from Chicago and Houston about 1,085, so Dallas is the closer of the two. Houston is still one of the cheaper long lanes we run, and it is the better choice if Houston is where you actually need the car.

Open for anything you drive daily. Plan on about 80 percent more for enclosed, so a $975 open move is roughly $1,750 enclosed. An open trailer holds seven to ten cars where an enclosed one holds two to six, so each car carries more of the cost. Enclosed is worth a thought in a Chicago winter, because the first hundred miles run through road salt.

Yes. Your vehicle travels under Carrier Cargo Insurance from the moment it loads in Chicago until it comes off in Houston. The coverage belongs to the motor carrier rather than to Smart Auto Move, and we confirm the authority and coverage are active before a car is assigned. Once a carrier is assigned, ask us for the certificate of insurance and we will send it.

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.

Houston is a service area rather than a staffed office, so there is no street address and nowhere to visit. That is how the Google listing is configured too. In practice it means a team covering greater Houston for the delivery end. The Chicago end is handled from our staffed South Side office, and both run on Central time.

The whole metro. The Loop, River North, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Hyde Park, Wicker Park, Logan Square, the South Side and the O'Hare area, plus Evanston, Skokie, Oak Park, Naperville, Schaumburg, Aurora and Joliet. Chicago is one of our four staffed offices, on the South Side, so collection here is handled by people in the city rather than a call centre elsewhere.

Houston, Katy, Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Pearland, Cypress, Spring, Humble, League City, Baytown, Conroe, Galveston, Missouri City and Richmond. Greater Houston covers more than 600 square miles. Give the actual suburb when you book, because it decides which day of a driver's Texas run you fall on.

Usually. The pinch points are permit-parking blocks on the North Side, alleys, and narrow streets in winter when snow routes are active. A car hauler is about 75 feet long. Tell us the address when you book. If it is tight, a retail lot on a main road a few minutes away is used instead, at no extra charge.

Coastal deliveries get rescheduled rather than attempted. Hurricane season runs June to November, peaking from August to October. A named storm closes evacuation routes across the region. Inland Houston usually carries on. If a storm is tracking while your car is in transit, the driver holds short and calls you rather than driving into it.

Yes, as long as it rolls, brakes and steers, and the trailer carries a winch. There is no flat fee. Expect about $200 or more above the price of the same car running, and the exact figure is worth a short conversation. Book it as inoperable up front, because a car re-rated at the curb costs more and can lose the pickup slot.

A deposit is due when you book and the balance is paid to the driver at delivery, usually by cashier's check, money order or cash. You can also put the whole amount on a credit card at booking. Cancel any time before we assign a carrier and your deposit comes back to you. After that it carries over to a later shipment instead.

Check the USDOT and MC numbers on the FMCSA SAFER system, which takes about thirty seconds and is free. Ours are USDOT 2887232 and MC 969368. Then read reviews on public profiles rather than testimonials on a website, check the BBB complaint history, and treat a quote far below everyone else as the warning it usually is.