Chicago Auto Transport: Car Shipping Rates and Quotes

Looking for auto transport in Chicago? What car shipping in Chicago costs depends on the route, the vehicle and whether it runs. We ran real quotes from our platform for thirty-six Chicago lanes, both leaving and arriving, from a 93-mile hop between Chicago and Milwaukee to a 2,020-mile haul between Los Angeles and Chicago, and an open-trailer sedan ranged from $177 to $1,189. Here is what Chicago car transport costs by vehicle type and route, including car shipping from Chicago to Milwaukee, Detroit, Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York, how the price changes by direction, how Navy moves around Naval Station Great Lakes, winter weather and the Chicago Auto Show change the picture, and the registration, emissions 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 Chicago

Whether you need an auto transport service in Chicago 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 Evanston, Oak Park, Naperville, Schaumburg, Orland Park and the rest of the Chicago 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 Chicago or leaving it. Chicago is the Midwest’s trucking and rail hub, where I-90, I-94, I-80, I-55 and I-65 meet, so carriers load here in every direction, 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 $2.33 a mile on Chicago → Milwaukee (93 mi) to $0.50 on Chicago → Los Angeles (2,019 mi). Pickups cost a median of 70% more than a sedan on these lanes and vans a median of 71% more, while an SUV was priced below the sedan on 7 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 $0.73–$2.33 per mile under 450 miles and $0.50–$0.90 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 93 miles or 1,000. Chicago to Milwaukee is 93 miles and cost $217, or $2.33 a mile, while Los Angeles to Chicago is about 22 times as far but only 5 times the price.

Pickups and vans cost more than sedans

A pickup cost a median of 70% more than a sedan on the same lane, ranging from 7% to 199% more, and a van a median of 71% more. An SUV was priced within a median of 8% of the sedan and was cheaper on 7 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 Chicago car shipping routes

Chicago to Milwaukee, Indianapolis and Detroit

The short Midwest runs follow I-94 north to Milwaukee, I-65 south to Indianapolis and I-94 east to Detroit, and they are the shortest lanes in and out of Chicago. Milwaukee: a sedan was $217 leaving Chicago (93 mi) and $177 into Chicago; Indianapolis: a sedan was $295 leaving Chicago (185 mi) and $282 into Chicago; Detroit: a sedan was $422 leaving Chicago (283 mi) and $400 into Chicago.

Chicago to St. Louis, Columbus and Minneapolis

South on I-55, east on I-65 and I-70 and northwest on I-90 and I-94, the regional runs through the middle of the country. St. Louis: a sedan was $603 leaving Chicago (297 mi) and $327 into Chicago; Columbus: a sedan was $361 leaving Chicago (359 mi) and $400 into Chicago; Minneapolis: a sedan was $515 leaving Chicago (409 mi) and $300 into Chicago.

Chicago to Kansas City, Nashville and Atlanta

Southwest across the Plains and south on I-65 and I-24 into the Southeast, mid-range runs that cost more per trip than per mile. Kansas City: a sedan was $545 leaving Chicago (511 mi) and $619 into Chicago; Nashville: a sedan was $497 leaving Chicago (508 mi) and $465 into Chicago; Atlanta: a sedan was $573 leaving Chicago (690 mi) and $651 into Chicago.

Chicago to Dallas, Houston and Denver

South to Texas on I-55 and I-35 and west on I-80, long runs across the Plains. Dallas: a sedan was $785 leaving Chicago (969 mi) and $652 into Chicago; Houston: a sedan was $809 leaving Chicago (1,111 mi) and $635 into Chicago; Denver: a sedan was $902 leaving Chicago (1,003 mi) and $499 into Chicago.

Chicago to Phoenix and Los Angeles

All the way to the Southwest and the West Coast, among the longest regular runs out of Chicago. Phoenix: a sedan was $979 leaving Chicago (1,717 mi) and $972 into Chicago; Los Angeles: a sedan was $1,000 leaving Chicago (2,019 mi) and $1,189 into Chicago.

Chicago to Orlando and Miami

South on I-65 and I-75 to Florida, the snowbird corridors, where the direction you ship matters. Orlando: a sedan was $840 leaving Chicago (1,129 mi) and $716 into Chicago; Miami: a sedan was $1,000 leaving Chicago (1,352 mi) and $752 into Chicago.

Chicago to New York and Boston

East along I-80 and I-90 to the Northeast corridor. New York: a sedan was $585 leaving Chicago (791 mi) and $772 into Chicago; Boston: a sedan was $750 leaving Chicago (985 mi) and $1,000 into Chicago.

Each lane shows what we were quoted in November 2026 for a sedan on an open trailer. Prices are the same for Evanston, Oak Park, Naperville, Schaumburg, Orland Park and the rest of the Chicago area, because carriers treat Chicago as one pickup area, and Joliet, Aurora, Gary and Waukegan 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 Illinois auto transport guide, and for freight, our Chicago LTL freight guide.

Does direction change the price?

We quoted eighteen corridors both ways from Chicago:

A sedan leaving Chicago cost more than the same trip arriving on 11 of the 18 corridors: Chicago to St. Louis 84% higher ($603 vs. $327), Chicago to Denver 81% higher ($902 vs. $499), Chicago to Minneapolis 72% higher ($515 vs. $300), Chicago to Miami 33% higher ($1,000 vs. $752). Arriving in Chicago cost more on 6: Boston to Chicago 33% higher ($1,000 vs. $750), New York to Chicago 32% higher ($772 vs. $585), Los Angeles to Chicago 19% higher ($1,189 vs. $1,000). About the same both ways: Chicago and Phoenix. 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 Chicago lanes and 4 recent jobs

1. +33% more into Chicago

   Boston to Chicago cost 33% more than Chicago to Boston

   A sedan was $1,000 into Chicago against $750 going the other way on about 985 miles.

2. +84% more out of Chicago

   Chicago to St. Louis cost 84% more than St. Louis to Chicago

   A sedan was $603 leaving Chicago against $327 coming in on about 297 miles.

3. $2.33 a mile, on a short lane

   A short lane cost the most per mile: $2.33 vs. $0.50

   A sedan from Chicago to Milwaukee (93 miles) was $217. Chicago to Los Angeles (2,019 miles) was $1,000.

4. 7 of 36 lanes where the SUV beat the sedan

   On 7 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 70% above the sedan.

5. 36 real lanes, 4 vehicle types

   36 real Chicago lanes, priced for four vehicle types

   From a 93-mile hop up the coast to a 2,020-mile haul.

Get a Chicago auto quote →

Recent jobs to and from Chicago

These are recent shipments that started or ended in the Chicago 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.

Four recent jobs in the Chicago area, three arriving and one leaving, show how long the hauls run: 250 to 1,234 miles, taking 1 to 2 days, including a 1952 Ford F2 pickup from Minnesota, a damaged Honda Pilot from Iowa and a Buick Encore to San Antonio. The longest, a 2019 Buick Encore to San Antonio (about 1,234 miles), took 2 days. Two other delivered orders were left out because their dates imply about 1,000 miles a day, which one driver cannot cover, and trailer type is not on the bills of lading, so it is not listed. All four jobs have photos.

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 $785 open from Chicago to Dallas works out to about $1,374 enclosed, or about $1,717 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 winter road salt, slush and hail. One of the jobs above is a damaged Honda Pilot delivered into Chicago, which is the kind of car that is priced as inoperable. See our inoperable vehicle guide and our classic car transport guide for details.

Military moves: shipping a car to or from Chicago

Naval Station Great Lakes, north of the city, is home to the Navy’s recruit training command, so a steady share of car shipments here are Navy moves and recruits’ families, and other service members are stationed around the region. Whether the government pays for a vehicle depends on your orders, so confirm eligibility with your unit’s transportation office 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.

Winter weather, event season and when to ship

A few patterns recur in Chicago 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:

• Winter weather. Snow, ice and lake-effect storms can close expressways and slow a trip for days between December and March, and road salt is hard on a car. Keep a flexible window, tell the carrier if a storm is forecast, and consider enclosed transport for a newer or collector car.
• Snowbirds. Many Midwest owners send a car south to Florida, Arizona or Texas for the winter and back in spring. In our quotes the direction matters on those routes, so compare both ways.
• Students. Move-in in August and move-out in May matter around the University of Chicago, DePaul, Loyola, UIC, Northwestern in Evanston and the city colleges, and many of those families ship a car instead of driving it.
• Relocations. The third-largest metro area in the country has a steady flow of job moves in and out, and many owners ship a second car instead of driving two.
• Events and closures. The Chicago Auto Show in February, summer festivals, parades and Cubs, White Sox and Bears game days close downtown and North Side streets, so plan to meet the driver on a side street or a lot if your address is near an event.
• Construction season. Lane closures on the expressways in summer can add hours, which is one reason carriers quote a window and not an exact time.
• Navy and recruit traffic. Naval Station Great Lakes sends a steady flow of moves through the area all year.
• Dealers and auctions. Chicago-area dealers and auction yards move cars around the Midwest every day, and three of the four jobs above arrived in the city from Minnesota, Iowa and Pennsylvania.

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

Classic, exotic and collector cars in Chicago

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 1952 Ford F2 pickup that came from Minnesota is among the recent jobs above, and Chicago has a big collector and classic-car scene, so many cars shipping in and out are older trucks and muscle 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 Chicago

A domestic shipper like ours moves the car by truck inside the United States, for example to a seaport such as Baltimore, Newark or Houston, or to 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. We do not move cars across the border into Canada or Mexico, which are separate services with their own import and export 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 Chicago

• The Loop, River North and the Gold Coast. High-rise buildings, one-way streets, garages and tight loading zones limit large trucks, so drivers often meet customers at a nearby lot or a wider street.
• Lincoln Park, Lakeview and Wrigleyville. Dense blocks with permit parking and game-day closures, so a wide street or a nearby lot works better than a residential block.
• West Loop, Logan Square and Wicker Park. Mixed industrial and residential streets, easier on weekdays than evenings, with loading docks and lots near the expressways.
• South Loop, Hyde Park and Bronzeville. Campus and lakefront streets near Lake Shore Drive, where a lot or a side street is the usual meeting point.
• Bedford Park, Midway and the Southwest Side. Industrial lots, dealer rows and yards with wide commercial roads that suit a full-size trailer, which is why many dealer and auction pickups happen here.
• Beverly, Mount Greenwood and the far South Side. Residential streets with parked cars on both sides, so the driver may ask you to meet at a larger nearby lot.
• Evanston, Skokie, Glenview and the North Shore. Older tree-lined streets and a mix of apartment buildings and houses, many with permit parking.
• Naperville, Oak Brook, Schaumburg and Orland Park. Suburban streets along I-88, I-290, I-90 and I-80 that are usually easy for a car carrier, though many communities are gated or run by an HOA.

A full-size car hauler is about 75 feet long. If your street is narrow, has parked cars on both sides, low trees, a gate or an alley, the driver will usually ask to meet you at a nearby lot, and that is normal in the city. Many Chicago apartment and condo buildings restrict loading, so ask your building management about delivery hours and where a truck can stop.

Distance, transit time and the main corridors

Chicago traffic runs on a few roads:

• I-90 and I-94 run north to Milwaukee and Minneapolis and east to Detroit and the Northeast, and I-80 and the I-294 Tri-State Tollway carry most of the east-west trucks around the south side of the city.
• I-55 runs southwest to St. Louis and on to Texas, I-57 runs south through central Illinois, I-65 runs southeast to Indianapolis and Nashville and I-290 and I-88 run west to the suburbs and Iowa.
• Lake Shore Drive, the Kennedy, the Dan Ryan and the Eisenhower are the busiest city roads, and several of the tollways use I-PASS or E-ZPass, so a toll tag 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. Winter storms can add a day or more.

Moving to Chicago: registration, emissions and the city sticker

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

• Registration. New residents have 30 days after establishing residency to title and register a vehicle at a Secretary of State facility. Get Illinois insurance first and bring the title and the application.
• Emissions test. Emissions testing applies in the Chicago area and the Metro East area near St. Louis. Most gasoline vehicles are tested once they are four years old, and testing alternates every two years by model year, so check the Illinois EPA page for your car.
• Chicago city sticker. If you live in the city of Chicago, you also need a city vehicle sticker within 30 days of moving or buying the car, and driving without one can bring a ticket. Check the City Clerk’s page for the current fee.
• Insurance. Illinois requires liability insurance, and insurers report coverage to the Secretary of State electronically. Confirm the current minimum limits with the Illinois Department of Insurance or your insurer.

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

Dealerships and auctions in the Chicago area

Dealers and auction yards are some of the most common pickup and delivery points for car carriers in the Chicago area, and they are commercial addresses where a full-size trailer can usually reach. There is no single official ranking of Chicago 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 several yards around Chicago and its suburbs, and they sell salvage and damaged vehicles that often do not run, so price those as inoperable. One of the jobs above, a damaged Honda Pilot, was delivered to a Chicago yard.
• Dealer auctions — wholesale auctions serve the Midwest 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 suburbs along the expressways and the Southwest Side 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 how multi-car dealer loads work.

How to choose a car shipping company in Chicago

Searches for auto transport companies in Chicago 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 an I-PASS or E-ZPass, should come off before pickup so it does not bill you on the truck.
4. Plan for winter weather. In winter, tell the carrier if a storm may delay the pickup, clear snow and ice from around the car so it can be inspected and loaded, 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, an alley, a street with parked cars on both sides, 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.

Chicago auto transport: frequently asked questions

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