$800 to $950 for an operable sedan on an open trailer, based on our recent shipments as of September 2026. A mid-size SUV runs $900 to $1,050 and a full-size pickup $1,000 to $1,200. Enclosed transport adds about 80 percent.

Two to three days in transit once the car is collected, over about 790 miles on I-80. A truck covers roughly 400 to 500 miles a day once loading and delivery stops are counted. Add a day between December and March, when lake-effect snow near Cleveland and Erie slows the corridor.

Almost certainly not, and no honest company will tell you otherwise. A car hauler is about 75 feet long and 13 and a half feet tall, and Manhattan has nowhere legal for one to stop. The driver arranges a meeting point in the outer boroughs or just over in New Jersey, and you meet there. There is no extra charge for it.

No. On this lane a meeting point is a normal part of door to door service rather than an exception. It costs you about twenty minutes and a short trip. The only thing that causes trouble is nobody mentioning the address until the truck is already on the block.

Staten Island, outer Queens, the north Bronx, Westchester, most of Long Island and northern New Jersey are usually straightforward for a full-size hauler. Manhattan, brownstone Brooklyn and dense Queens usually need a meeting point. Give the actual street when you book and we will tell you which you are.

Because distance is not the only thing a driver is paid for. New York is 790 miles from Chicago and Dallas is 925, but getting a 75 foot trailer into the New York metro, finding somewhere legal to unload and getting back out takes hours that a Dallas suburb does not. That access cost closes the gap.

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.

Open for anything you drive daily. Plan on about 80 percent more for enclosed, so an $875 open move is roughly $1,575 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 trailers are also shorter, which occasionally helps at the New York end.

Yes. Your vehicle travels under Carrier Cargo Insurance from the moment it loads in Chicago until it comes off in New York. 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.

New York is covered by two service areas rather than a staffed office, one in the Bronx and one at Huntington Station on Long Island. Neither has a street address, and that is how the Google listings are configured. In practice it means a team on Eastern time handling the delivery end. The Chicago end is handled from our staffed South Side office.

Yes, and it is worth naming when you book. Hudson County prices above the New Jersey standard because access there is closer to Brooklyn than to suburban New Jersey. Saying Jersey City rather than just New Jersey gets you the right number the first time instead of a revision later.

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.

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.