San Antonio Auto Transport: Car Shipping Rates and Quotes

Looking for auto transport in San Antonio? What car shipping in San Antonio costs depends on the route, the vehicle and whether it runs. We ran real quotes from our platform for thirty-six San Antonio lanes, both leaving and arriving, from a 79-mile hop between San Antonio and Austin to a 1,826-mile haul between San Antonio and New York, and an open-trailer sedan ranged from $162 to $1,406. Here is what San Antonio car transport costs by vehicle type and route, including car shipping from San Antonio to Houston, Dallas, Austin, Phoenix and Los Angeles, how the price changes by direction, how military moves around Joint Base San Antonio, spring hail, flash floods and summer heat change the picture, and the registration, inspection and insurance rules if you are moving here. Every price is door to door, and you can read how that works in our door-to-door auto transport guide.

What it costs to ship a car to or from San Antonio

Whether you need an auto transport service in San Antonio for a move, a purchase or a deployment, every figure below is a real quote from our platform for one vehicle on an open trailer, running, priced separately for each vehicle type. All lanes were priced on November 10, 2026, and prices move from week to week, so treat them as a snapshot. The same prices apply to Stone Oak, Alamo Heights, Helotes, Schertz, New Braunfels and the rest of the San Antonio area, and each lane is labeled by its actual cities. Most moves are quoted in both directions, so you can see what changes when the car is arriving in San Antonio or leaving it. San Antonio sits where I-35, I-10 and I-37 meet, which makes it a busy crossroads for car haulers, and the price depends on how many carriers are heading your way.

Distances are the road miles in each quote, and prices are in dollars. The price per mile falls fast as the trip gets longer, from $2.16 a mile on Austin → San Antonio (79 mi) to $0.43 on San Antonio → Miami (1,383 mi). Pickups cost a median of 51% more than a sedan on these lanes and vans a median of 49% more, while an SUV was priced below the sedan on 11 of 36 lanes. Treat these as a guide, and get a live quote for your exact pickup and delivery points.

How the price per mile changes with distance

Distance is the biggest driver, but the price per mile falls as the trip gets longer. For a sedan it ran $0.95–$2.16 per mile under 450 miles and $0.43–$1.06 per mile at 1,000 miles or more. A short run costs more per mile because the driver still has to load, unload and reposition the truck whether the trip is 79 miles or 1,000. San Antonio to Austin is 79 miles and cost $162, or $2.05 a mile, while San Antonio to New York is about 23 times as far but only 6 times the price.

Pickups and vans cost more than sedans

A pickup cost a median of 51% more than a sedan on the same lane, ranging from about the same price to 192% more, and a van a median of 49% more. An SUV was priced within a median of 6% of the sedan and was cheaper on 11 of 36. If you are shipping a pickup, check the pickup column for your route, and dually trucks, lifted vehicles and anything oversized need a quote of their own. Our pickup truck shipping guide has the details.

Popular San Antonio car shipping routes

San Antonio to Austin, Houston and Dallas

The Texas triangle runs follow I-35 north to Austin and Dallas and I-10 east to Houston, and they are the shortest lanes in and out of San Antonio. Austin: a sedan was $162 leaving San Antonio (79 mi) and $171 into San Antonio; Houston: a sedan was $225 leaving San Antonio (197 mi) and $249 into San Antonio; Dallas: a sedan was $298 leaving San Antonio (293 mi) and $278 into San Antonio.

San Antonio to El Paso, Phoenix and Las Vegas

West on I-10 across the Trans-Pecos and the desert Southwest, mid-range runs that cost more per trip than per mile. El Paso: a sedan was $646 leaving San Antonio (553 mi) and $506 into San Antonio; Phoenix: a sedan was $569 leaving San Antonio (982 mi) and $1,088 into San Antonio; Las Vegas: a sedan was $1,014 leaving San Antonio (1,323 mi) and $1,357 into San Antonio.

San Antonio to Los Angeles and San Diego

All the way across the Southwest on I-10, the longest regular runs out of San Antonio to the West Coast. Los Angeles: a sedan was $656 leaving San Antonio (1,357 mi) and $1,406 into San Antonio; San Diego: a sedan was $807 leaving San Antonio (1,277 mi) and $1,351 into San Antonio.

San Antonio to Oklahoma City, Kansas City and Denver

North on I-35 and then across the Plains, the central-U.S. runs. Oklahoma City: a sedan was $462 leaving San Antonio (476 mi) and $575 into San Antonio; Kansas City: a sedan was $680 leaving San Antonio (835 mi) and $872 into San Antonio; Denver: a sedan was $675 leaving San Antonio (940 mi) and $1,071 into San Antonio.

San Antonio to New Orleans, Nashville and Atlanta

East along the Gulf Coast and into the Southeast. New Orleans: a sedan was $540 leaving San Antonio (542 mi) and $613 into San Antonio; Nashville: a sedan was $677 leaving San Antonio (956 mi) and $1,085 into San Antonio; Atlanta: a sedan was $821 leaving San Antonio (989 mi) and $1,059 into San Antonio.

San Antonio to Orlando, Miami, Chicago and New York

Down the Florida peninsula, up to the Great Lakes and across to the Northeast, among the longest hauls we priced. Orlando: a sedan was $547 leaving San Antonio (1,160 mi) and $812 into San Antonio; Miami: a sedan was $595 leaving San Antonio (1,383 mi) and $909 into San Antonio; Chicago: a sedan was $817 leaving San Antonio (1,261 mi) and $818 into San Antonio; New York: a sedan was $1,009 leaving San Antonio (1,826 mi) and $1,240 into San Antonio.

Each lane shows what we were quoted in November 2026 for a sedan on an open trailer. Prices are the same for Stone Oak, Alamo Heights, Helotes, Schertz, New Braunfels and the rest of the San Antonio area, because carriers treat San Antonio as one pickup area, and Boerne, Seguin and the Hill Country are close enough that the price is usually similar. A pickup in a small town farther out can cost more, so give the exact pickup address when you request a quote. For the whole state, see our Texas auto transport guide, and for the largest city nearby, our Houston auto transport guide.

Does direction change the price?

We quoted eighteen corridors both ways from San Antonio:

A sedan arriving in San Antonio cost more than the same trip leaving on 15 of the 18 corridors: Los Angeles to San Antonio 114% higher ($1,406 vs. $656), Phoenix to San Antonio 91% higher ($1,088 vs. $569), San Diego to San Antonio 67% higher ($1,351 vs. $807), Nashville to San Antonio 60% higher ($1,085 vs. $677). Leaving San Antonio cost more on 2: San Antonio to El Paso 28% higher ($646 vs. $506), San Antonio to Dallas 7% higher ($298 vs. $278). About the same both ways: San Antonio and Chicago. The price follows how many cars are moving each way on that lane, so if you can ship in either direction, or can drive one way and ship the other, check both. The table above is a snapshot taken in November, so a quote in another season can look different. We measured direction across our whole dataset in our study of 287 lanes priced both ways.

Did you know?From 36 real San Antonio lanes and 7 recent jobs

1. +114% more into San Antonio

   Los Angeles to San Antonio cost 114% more than San Antonio to Los Angeles

   A sedan was $1,406 into San Antonio against $656 going the other way on about 1,357 miles.

2. +28% more out of San Antonio

   San Antonio to El Paso cost 28% more than El Paso to San Antonio

   A sedan was $646 leaving San Antonio against $506 coming in on about 553 miles.

3. $2.16 a mile, on a short lane

   A short lane cost the most per mile: $2.16 vs. $0.43

   A sedan from Austin to San Antonio (79 miles) was $171. San Antonio to Miami (1,383 miles) was $595.

4. 11 of 36 lanes where the SUV beat the sedan

   On 11 of 36 lanes the SUV was priced below the sedan

   Size does not always cost more. Pickups, on the other hand, were a median of 51% above the sedan.

5. 36 real lanes, 4 vehicle types

   36 real San Antonio lanes, priced for four vehicle types

   From a 79-mile hop up the coast to a 1,826-mile haul.

Get a San Antonio auto quote →

Recent jobs to and from San Antonio

These are recent shipments that started or ended in the San Antonio area, taken from our signed bills of lading and the pickup and delivery photos the drivers filed. Customer and dealer names, street addresses, VINs and plates are left out, and the photos are blurred where needed. Dates are the pickup and delivery dates on the order and miles are approximate road distances. Treat these as examples, not promises. Prices are not shown, because every job was priced for its own vehicle, date and route.

Seven recent jobs leaving San Antonio show how long the hauls run: 225 to 1,575 miles, taking same day to 4 days, including a 1985 Chevrolet C-10 to Palmdale, California, a new Silverado to the North Carolina coast and a minivan to Jacksonville, Florida. The longest, a 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 to Currituck, North Carolina (about 1,575 miles), took 3 days. Trailer type is not on the bills of lading, so it is not listed. Four jobs have photos; the others are in the table only, because their orders have dark photos or no photos on file.

Inoperable and enclosed vehicles: what they add

On our platform an inoperable vehicle adds about 25% to the open-trailer price (a median of about $190 for a sedan in our tests), because the driver needs a winch and extra loading time, and enclosed transport adds about 75%, because enclosed trailers carry fewer cars. For example, a sedan quoted at $569 open from San Antonio to Phoenix works out to about $996 enclosed, or about $1,245 if it also does not run. Collector cars, classics and high-value vehicles are usually shipped enclosed, and owners of newer or collector cars here also choose it to keep a car out of Texas hail, strong sun and road debris. See our inoperable vehicle guide and our classic car transport guide for details.

Military moves: shipping a car to or from San Antonio

San Antonio is one of the largest military communities in the country. Joint Base San Antonio combines Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base and Randolph Air Force Base, and Air Force basic training takes place at Lackland, so a steady share of car shipments here are permanent change of station moves and recruits’ families. Moves tend to peak in summer, and some movers advise booking several weeks ahead, so check lead times with your unit’s transportation office. Whether the government pays for a vehicle depends on your orders, so confirm eligibility before you book. Pickups and deliveries on a base usually need the driver to have base access, so arrange a meeting point at the gate or just off base if that is easier. Our military auto transport guide covers orders, timing and what to expect.

Hail, flash floods, summer heat and when to ship

A few patterns recur in San Antonio car shipping. These are general industry experience and the region’s own calendar, not our quote data, so compare a live quote for your date:

• Military moves. Orders bring a steady flow of cars in and out of the area all year, and summer is the busiest time for many families, so book early and keep your dates flexible.
• Spring hail and storms. Texas has frequent spring hailstorms and severe weather. If hail is forecast for your pickup date, park the car in a garage or under cover, and tell the carrier if a storm may delay the window.
• Flash floods. The Hill Country is known as Flash Flood Alley, and heavy rain can close low-water crossings and roads for hours. Keep the car out of low-lying lots and ask the carrier how it handles delays.
• Summer heat. Long, hot summers mean owners of newer, collector or electric cars often choose enclosed transport and an early-morning handoff.
• Students. Move-in in August and move-out in May matter around UTSA, Trinity University, St. Mary’s, Texas A&M University-San Antonio and the Alamo Colleges, and many of those families ship a car instead of driving it.
• Relocations. Texas has no state income tax, and San Antonio’s healthcare, military, tourism and manufacturing jobs bring a steady flow of job-related moves, many shipping a second car instead of driving two.
• Fiesta and big events. Fiesta San Antonio in April and other events fill downtown streets and close roads, so plan to meet the driver on a side street or a lot if your address is near an event.
• Dealers and auctions. San Antonio dealers and auction yards move cars to and from Austin, Houston and Dallas all the time, which is why the short Texas lanes are so common.

A flexible pickup window of a few days usually gets a faster carrier match, and booking a few weeks ahead matters more over the summer, the holidays and when a storm is in the forecast.

Classic, exotic and performance cars from San Antonio

Classic, exotic and high-value cars ship differently from an everyday sedan. Owners usually choose an enclosed trailer, which adds about 75% on our platform, and a carrier that handles low and wide vehicles and carries enough cargo insurance for the car. The open-trailer prices in the table above are for ordinary vehicles, so get a quote for yours. A 1985 Chevrolet C-10 and a 2017 BMW M3 are among the recent jobs above, and Texas has a big classic-truck and muscle-car scene, so a lot of cars leaving the area are older trucks and collector cars. Our classic car transport guide and exotic car shipping guide cover insurance, enclosed options and how to prepare the car.

Shipping a car out of the country or to Hawaii from San Antonio

A domestic shipper like ours moves the car by truck inside the United States, for example to a seaport such as Houston or an exporter’s yard. The overseas leg is a separate service run by an international vehicle shipper, with its own paperwork, and you will usually be asked for the title and an ID. Cars bound for Hawaii also go by sea from a mainland port, so ask the ocean carrier which port and delivery address it needs, then order the truck leg to that address. San Antonio is about 150 miles from the Mexican border at Laredo, but we do not move cars across the border into Mexico, which is a separate service with its own import rules, so ask the importer or customs broker you are using. If you are shipping a car abroad, ask the exporter which documents and which delivery point they need first.

Pickup and delivery around San Antonio

• Downtown, the River Walk and Southtown. Narrow one-way streets, garages and event closures limit large trucks, so drivers often meet customers at a nearby lot.
• Alamo Heights, Olmos Park and Terrell Hills. Older neighborhoods with narrow streets and low tree canopy, so a wider street or a nearby lot works better than a residential block.
• Stone Oak, Shavano Park and the north side. Wide suburban streets along US-281 and Loop 1604, easy for car carriers, though many communities are gated.
• The Medical Center, Leon Valley and the northwest. Office parks, hospitals and apartment complexes along I-10 and Loop 410, where a commercial lot is often the easiest handoff point.
• Helotes, Boerne and Fair Oaks Ranch. Hill Country towns northwest on I-10 and Texas 46 with winding roads and gated ranch communities, so ask about gate access.
• Schertz, Cibolo, Live Oak and Universal City. The northeast corridor along I-35 near Randolph Air Force Base, mostly suburban streets with HOAs.
• New Braunfels, San Marcos and Seguin. Nearby cities along I-35 and I-10, priced like the rest of the area.
• The south and west sides, Lackland and Port San Antonio. Industrial lots, dealer rows and base gates, with wide commercial roads that suit a full-size trailer.

A full-size car hauler is about 75 feet long. If your street is narrow, has low trees, a gate or a cul-de-sac, the driver will usually ask to meet you at a nearby lot, and that is normal in the area. Many San Antonio-area communities are gated, so ask your HOA or building management about gate access and delivery hours.

Distance, transit time and the main corridors

San Antonio traffic runs on a few roads:

• I-35 runs northeast through New Braunfels, San Marcos and Austin to Dallas and southwest to Laredo, so it is the road most trucks use for the north lanes.
• I-10 runs east through Seguin and Columbus to Houston and west through the Hill Country to El Paso, Phoenix and the West Coast, and I-37 runs south to Corpus Christi. US-281 runs north into the Hill Country and US-90 runs west toward Del Rio.
• Loop 410 and Loop 1604 circle the city and connect the neighborhoods, and some roads and express lanes in the area are tolled, so a toll tag such as a TxTag should come off the car before pickup.

Typical open-trailer transit is about 1 to 2 days for trips under 450 miles, 2 to 4 days for 500 to 900 miles, 3 to 6 days for 1,000 to 1,500 miles and 6 to 9 days coast to coast. Those are industry-typical ranges rather than guarantees, and the clock starts when a driver picks the car up, not when you book.

Moving to San Antonio: registration, inspection and insurance

These are the rules we found on Texas state pages, as search excerpts, so confirm each item with the state before you go. The full list is on our Texas page:

• Registration. New residents have about 30 days to get a Texas driver license and register their vehicle, per Texas.gov, and there is a one-time new-resident tax of about $90 or a sales-tax difference, per TxDMV. Confirm the current figures with the Bexar County tax assessor-collector.
• Safety inspection. As we read the law, Texas ended the safety inspection for noncommercial vehicles on January 1, 2025, replaced by a $7.50 fee, but an older TxDMV checklist still mentions inspections, so confirm with the county.
• Emissions test. Emissions testing applies only in certain Texas counties, mostly around Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and El Paso, so ask the county tax office whether your car needs one.
• Insurance. The Texas minimum liability limits are commonly given as 30/60/25, meaning $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for injury and $25,000 for property damage. Confirm with the Texas Department of Insurance or your insurer.

Our moving-to-San Antonio tip: ship the car to arrive when you can get the county tax office appointment and a Texas insurance policy lined up, so the 30-day clock does not run out while the car is on a truck. Military personnel stationed in Texas may have different rules for registration, so check with the base legal or transportation office.

Dealerships and auctions in the San Antonio area

Dealers and auction yards are some of the most common pickup and delivery points for car carriers in the San Antonio area, and they are commercial addresses where a full-size trailer can usually reach. There is no single official ranking of San Antonio dealerships, so these are examples rather than a top-ten list. For the full picture of auction pickups, see our auction and dealer car shipping guide.

Auction yards

• Copart and IAA — both list yards in the San Antonio area, and they sell salvage and damaged vehicles that often do not run, so price those as inoperable.
• Dealer auctions — several wholesale auctions serve the Texas dealers, and carriers pick up and deliver at them every week.
• Verify first — yard names and addresses change and directories disagree, so confirm each on the company’s own location page before the driver arrives.
• Dealers — the I-10 and I-35 corridors, Loop 410 and Loop 1604 have large dealer groups, and the area has plenty of independent, truck, classic and exotic-car dealers.

Each yard has its own release and gate-pass rules, so confirm them before the driver arrives. If you are moving several vehicles, we also have dealer and volume pricing on our Texas page, and our Houston page shows two nine-car dealer loads delivered to San Antonio in a day.

How to choose a car shipping company in San Antonio

Searches for auto transport companies in San Antonio find long lists of names, but there is no official ranking, and the right company is the one that is licensed, insured and clear about price. Check these before you book with anyone:

• Look up the company’s federal registration. Every interstate auto transporter or broker needs a USDOT number and operating authority. You can check them on the FMCSA company snapshot and the FMCSA licensing and insurance search.
• Know whether you are dealing with a broker or a carrier. A carrier owns the trucks. A marketplace like Transportli sends your request to vetted carriers on your lane and shows you the quotes side by side.
• Ask what the quote includes. Our quotes are for one vehicle on an open trailer, and inoperable and enclosed are priced as adjustments, as shown above. Be wary of a price far below the others, because it may not find a driver.
• Understand the pickup window. Carriers give a window, not an exact time, and a flexible window of a few days usually gets a faster match.
• Document the car. The bill of lading is the condition report, so take dated photos at pickup and delivery and note any damage before you sign.

Preparing your car for pickup

1. Wash the car and photograph it from every side, inside and out, with the date on.
2. Leave about a quarter tank of fuel and check for leaks, since carriers may refuse a car that leaks fluid.
3. Remove personal items and toll tags. Carriers generally do not insure belongings left in the car, and any toll transponder, such as a TxTag, should come off before pickup so it does not bill you on the truck.
4. Plan for hail, flooding and heat. If hail or heavy rain is forecast, park the car in a garage and tell the carrier if a storm may delay the pickup, and in summer check the battery and tire pressure and ask for a morning handoff.
5. Fold or secure mirrors, antennas and racks and tell the carrier about anything unusual: a lowered car, a lift kit, a roof rack or a car that does not run.
6. Plan the handoff. A large truck cannot always reach a narrow block, a street with low trees, a gated community or a base, so be ready to meet the driver at a nearby lot, and make sure someone can inspect and sign the bill of lading at both ends.

Our auto transport guide has the full checklist.

San Antonio auto transport: frequently asked questions

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