Snowbird Car Shipping: Cost, Timing and Routes to Florida and Arizona

Snowbird car shipping means having a carrier move your car south for the winter and back north in the spring, so you can fly instead of driving two long days each way. Also called snowbird car transport or snowbird auto transport, it follows a seasonal pattern: cars go to Florida and Arizona in the fall and come back in the spring, and the price depends on which way you are going. From the Northeast to Florida, a sedan on an open trailer cost a median of $1,068 southbound against $839 northbound in our quotes, and 30% more going south.

Every price on this page is a real quote from our platform for one running vehicle on an open trailer, pulled in October and November 2026, so it reflects the middle of the southbound season. Last updated November 15, 2026. We will re-quote the same lanes in the spring and add the northbound comparison.

Snowbird car shipping cost calculator

Enter your pickup and delivery ZIP codes and your vehicle. The estimate is fitted to the real lanes behind our guides and shows the closest real routes, so you can see what it is based on. It is an estimate, not a quote.

Snowbird car shipping calculator

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How much does snowbird car shipping cost?

A snowbird trip is a long-distance shipment of roughly 900 to 1,800 miles, so the price depends on distance, the direction and what is moving the other way. Here is what an open-trailer sedan cost on the three corridors snowbirds use most, from 43 Northeast lanes and 11 Great Lakes and Midwest lanes to Florida and 11 lanes to Arizona. Every lane was priced both ways, so you can see what the return trip costs.

Snowbird car shipping from the Northeast to Florida

We priced 43 lanes from 21 Northeast cities to Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and Miami in both directions. The sedan was dearer going south on 42 of 43 lanes, by a median of 30%, and the gap runs from 6% cheaper to 55% dearer. By origin state:

From New England (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine) the median sedan was $1,092 going south and $888 coming back, a 23% difference. If your car is in Boston, Hartford or Portland, expect the return trip to be the cheaper leg. For the full lane list, see our study Northeast to Florida car shipping cost.

Snowbird car shipping from Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and the Great Lakes to Florida

From the Great Lakes and the upper Midwest the trip is a similar distance, and the price is a little lower. A median sedan from these cities was $972 going south and $819 coming back, so the southbound premium is smaller (a median of 15% and dearer southbound on 11 of 11 lanes) but still there. These routes cover the long-tail searches we see most often, such as snowbird car shipping from Wisconsin to Florida.

Detroit to Fort Myers and Columbus to Fort Myers showed the biggest gaps, which fits the Southwest Florida coast being a snowbird favorite. Indianapolis to Orlando was within 2% both ways, and Chicago, Cincinnati and Milwaukee to Florida had smaller gaps of 11% to 21%.

Snowbird car shipping to Arizona: Phoenix and Tucson

Arizona behaved differently. On 11 lanes from the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest to Phoenix and Tucson, a sedan cost a median of $990 going to Arizona and $996 coming back. The return trip was the dearer leg on 9 of 11 lanes, and the Minneapolis lane was 24% dearer coming back from Phoenix than going there. We think Arizona sees heavy moves in both directions all year (relocations, students and snowbirds), so cars do not pile up one way the way they do on the Florida corridor. For Arizona, compare both directions and your actual dates instead of assuming that the winter trip is the expensive one.

Prices are one running sedan or SUV on an open trailer, quoted on November 15, 2026. Price confidence on the platform was 67 to 87 percent, with most lanes at 75 to 85 percent.

Why southbound costs more

A carrier’s truck earns money on both legs. In the fall, many more cars are looking for a ride south than north, so carriers can pick and choose on the Florida corridor and the price goes up, while the cars heading back north fill less of the truck. We see the build-up in our weekly Car Shipping Price Index, which prices the same lanes every week. The southbound premium on the two snowbird lanes in the basket, New York to Orlando and Boston to Miami, in the first three weeks:

Three weeks is a short series, so treat it as a snapshot, not a trend line. We will keep adding weeks through the winter and into the spring, when the premium should reverse on the way back north. If you can pick the direction or the timing, the cheaper leg is the one with fewer cars looking for a truck.

When to book snowbird car shipping

Of the 28 southbound jobs we have on file to Florida and Arizona, 11 were picked up in October and 15 in September or October, and the rest were spread between February and August. Carriers fill their southbound trucks early in the fall, so book ahead.

• Heading south in the fall: request quotes in September and book 2 to 4 weeks before the date you want the car to leave. A pickup window of a few days gives the carrier room to match your car with a truck.
• Heading north in the spring: request quotes in March and book 2 to 4 weeks before your departure. Late March through April is when most snowbirds head home, so the later you wait, the fewer trucks you have to choose from.
• Book both legs at once. Ask for the northbound shipment when you book the southbound one, so your return pickup window is already on the calendar. Each shipment is priced on its own.
• Keep dates flexible if you can. A pickup window of several days usually costs less than one fixed day, and the weeks around Thanksgiving, the holidays and Easter are the busiest.

These are our suggestions based on how our jobs are distributed, not a guarantee, and a carrier may need more time on a lane with few drivers. Tell us your dates when you request the quote and we will show the options.

How long does snowbird car shipping take?

In the 28 southbound jobs we have on file, delivery took a median of 3 days (from 2 to 10 days), and 25 of 28 were delivered within 5 days. For a Northeast-to-Florida trip of about 1,000 to 1,400 miles, expect roughly 3 to 5 days on the truck, plus the pickup window. A few jobs took longer; the bill of lading does not say why, and a late pickup or a driver filling a truck along the route can add days.

Dates are as signed on the bills of lading, and miles are our estimates between the cities. Customer names, addresses, VINs and carrier details are left out, and we excluded 1 job whose signed dates were too close together for the distance. For more on timing, see how long it takes to ship a car.

Open or enclosed for a snowbird trip?

Most snowbirds ship a daily driver on an open trailer, which is the standard and cheapest option. Enclosed is worth considering for a classic, a collector car or a new vehicle you do not want exposed for a thousand miles. In our latest Price Index week, enclosed cost a median of 65% more than open across the 20 basket lanes, and 57% more on the two snowbird lanes. See our open vs. enclosed comparison and our guide to classic car transport.

Is it cheaper to ship your car south or drive it?

Driving costs less in cash, but shipping saves time and wear. Here is a worked example for a 1,100-mile drive from the Northeast to Florida. The inputs are assumptions, not our data, so replace them with your own:

If you are bringing a spouse and a dog, driving is often simpler. Shipping makes more sense if you are flying anyway, if you do not want to drive in winter weather, if you have a second car you want in Florida without a long drive or if you want the miles off the car. Remember that you pay each way, so the round-trip difference is roughly double. See also our guide to car shipping cost.

How to prepare your car for snowbird shipping

1. Wash the car and photograph it from every side, inside and out, with the date on. The bill of lading is the condition report, so the before-photos matter.
2. Leave about a quarter tank of fuel and check for leaks. Carriers may refuse a car that leaks.
3. Remove personal items and toll tags. Carriers generally do not insure belongings left in the car, so do not use the car as a moving box.
4. Plan the handoff in a gated or 55+ community. A large truck often cannot enter a retirement community or a narrow street, so plan to meet the driver at a nearby large parking lot, and check whether your HOA allows truck access. Someone has to inspect the car and sign the bill of lading at both ends.
5. Tell us about anything unusual: a lowered car, a lift kit, a wide body, an oversized pickup or a car that does not run.

Our guide to shipping a car has the full checklist.

Snowbird car shipping from Canada

The prices and lanes on this page are for routes between U.S. states. If your trip starts in Canada, a cross-border shipment adds customs paperwork and different carriers, so ask us before you book rather than relying on these numbers.

Did you know?From 65 real lanes and 28 delivered jobs

1. +30% southbound premium, Northeast to Florida

   A sedan cost a median 30% more going south from the Northeast

   On 43 lanes priced both ways, the southbound sedan was dearer on 42 of them, a median of $1,068 against $839.

2. +60% New York to Orlando vs. back

   New York to Orlando cost $1,059, Orlando to New York $661

   In the Price Index week of Nov 2, a 1,083-mile sedan cost 60% more going south than coming back.

3. 11 of 28 southbound jobs picked up in October

   Most of our Florida and Arizona jobs ship in the fall

   11 of 28 southbound jobs on file were picked up in October and 15 in September or October.

4. 3 days median delivery, southbound jobs

   Half of our snowbird-direction jobs were delivered in 3 days or less

   From 2 to 10 days across 28 real jobs.

5. 9 of 11 Arizona lanes dearer coming back

   Arizona has no southbound premium

   On 11 lanes to Phoenix and Tucson the median sedan cost $990 going and $996 coming back, and the return was dearer on 9 of 11 lanes.

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How to choose a snowbird car shipping company

• Check the registration. Every interstate auto transporter or broker needs a USDOT number and operating authority. Look it up on the FMCSA company snapshot and read our guide to choosing a car shipping company.
• Know whether you are dealing with a broker or a carrier. A carrier owns the trucks. A marketplace like Transportli matches your car with a vetted carrier on your lane and shows the price up front.
• Compare quotes on the same terms: the same trailer type, running or not, and the same pickup window. A price far below the others may not find a driver, which shows up later as delays or a price increase.
• Ask how both legs work. A snowbird needs two shipments, so ask whether the return trip can be booked now, and how the price is set for each.
• Ask about insurance and check whether your own auto policy covers the car in transit.

Snowbird car shipping: frequently asked questions

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