About $450 to $900 under 500 miles, $900 to $1,600 from 500 to 1,500 miles, $1,250 to $2,100 from 1,500 to 2,500 miles, and $1,600 to $2,500 coast to coast. Those are open transport ranges. Most students ship open, and it is the right call for a normal car.

Under about 500 miles, drive it. It is a day, the gas is cheap and you keep the car with you. Past 1,500 miles the math turns. Four days of driving means gas, three hotel nights, meals, a few thousand miles of wear, and a plane ticket for whoever is not staying. Add those up before you decide.

June and July, by a wide margin. The academic calendar packs everyone into the same four weeks and prices follow. Shipping ten days before move-in instead of during it usually costs noticeably less, and you get a calmer week.

Three to four weeks for August move-in. Four weeks for the January return, which is the tightest stretch of the year because it overlaps the winter run to Florida and Arizona. Two weeks is usually fine in the quiet months.

Plan on 1 to 2 days under 500 miles, 2 to 4 days from 500 to 1,500 miles, 4 to 7 days from 1,500 to 2,500 miles, and 7 to 10 days coast to coast. That clock starts at pickup. Add your pickup window on the front of it when you plan around a class schedule.

The range of days your car gets collected in, starting on the date you choose. Standard service uses a 6-day window. Expedited narrows it to 3 days, which is worth it when move-in day will not move. You get a call or text before the driver arrives.

Distance first, then the route, the vehicle and the timing. A busy interstate lane prices better than a quiet one. An SUV takes more room than a sedan. And the calendar matters more for students than for almost anyone else, because everyone in the country moves in the same two weeks.

Open, almost certainly. It is how most cars travel and it is the best value. Plan on about 80 percent more than open for enclosed. A $1,000 open move is roughly $1,800 enclosed. That is worth it for a classic or a car too low to clear a ramp, and it is not worth it for the car most students drive to campus.

Yes. Your car travels under the carrier's Carrier Cargo Insurance from pickup to delivery. Once your order is assigned to a truck and carrier, ask us for the certificate of insurance and we send it. Parents ask for this one a lot, and it is a fair thing to ask for.

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.

To the dorm itself, often not, and that is worth knowing before move-in day rather than during it. A car hauler runs about 75 feet and campuses close their inner streets to traffic that week. The driver meets you at a wide open spot nearby, usually a big-box lot or a stadium lot a few minutes out. Tell us the school when you book and it gets planned around.

Wash it so the driver can see the paint at inspection. Leave about a quarter tank of gas. Fold the mirrors, pull the toll tag off the windshield, and take off a bike rack or roof box. Hand over one key. Photograph every panel, then walk the car with the driver before you sign.

Yes, and that is how most student shipments go. Whoever books it does not have to be the one standing there. Name the person at each end when you book, make sure they can reach the car, and give the driver their number. They sign the inspection and hand over or take the key.

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. Families often prefer that, because it settles everything up front and the student has nothing to hand over on delivery day.

Cancel any time before we assign a carrier and your deposit comes back to you. Once we assign one and send you the driver's details, that money is spoken for. It is not gone, though. You can push the move back and use it on a later shipment, which suits a semester that shifts.

Get four or five quotes and look at the shape of them. If they cluster and one comes in at half, question the outlier rather than the group. Ask whether that rate is confirmed or a typo. If they stand behind it, search the company name with the words bait and switch. Then check the USDOT and MC numbers and read the cancellation policy.

You get GPS tracking when the carrier and truck support it, the driver's phone number for a call or text along the way, and email updates from us. We put it that plainly because no one booking your shipment controls whether a given truck carries a tracking system.