Los Angeles Auto Transport: Car Shipping Rates and Quotes

Looking for auto transport in Los Angeles? What car shipping in Los Angeles costs depends on the route, the vehicle and whether it runs. We ran real quotes from our platform for thirty-six Los Angeles lanes, both leaving and arriving, from a 123-mile hop between Los Angeles and San Diego to a 3,000-mile haul between Los Angeles and Boston, and an open-trailer sedan ranged from $224 to $1,694. Here is what Los Angeles car transport costs by vehicle type and route, including car shipping from Los Angeles to San Diego, Las Vegas, Dallas and New York, how the price changes by direction, how wildfire season and mountain passes change the picture, and the registration, smog 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 Los Angeles

Whether you need an auto transport service in Los Angeles for a move, a purchase or a trip, 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 Hollywood, Santa Monica, Pasadena, Long Beach, Burbank, Torrance and the rest of the Los Angeles metro, 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 Los Angeles or leaving it. Los Angeles sits where I-5, I-10 and I-15 meet, so it is one of the busiest pickup points in the country, and the price still 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 $1.85 a mile on San Diego → Los Angeles (123 mi) to $0.46 on Atlanta → Los Angeles (2,186 mi). Pickups cost a median of 71% more than a sedan on these lanes and vans a median of 89% more, while an SUV was priced below the sedan on 6 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 $0.74–$1.85 per mile under 450 miles and $0.46–$1.20 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 123 miles or 1,000. Los Angeles to San Diego is 123 miles and cost $224, or $1.82 a mile, while Los Angeles to Boston is about 24 times as far but only 6 times the price.

Pickups and vans cost more than sedans

A pickup cost a median of 71% more than a sedan on the same lane, ranging from 14% to 173% more, and a van a median of 89% more. An SUV was priced within a median of 8% of the sedan and was cheaper on 6 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 Los Angeles car shipping routes

Los Angeles to San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento

The in-state runs follow I-5, US-101 and I-15, and they are the shortest lanes in and out of the metro. San Diego: a sedan was $224 leaving Los Angeles (123 mi) and $227 into Los Angeles; San Francisco: a sedan was $464 leaving Los Angeles (383 mi) and $410 into Los Angeles; Sacramento: a sedan was $396 leaving Los Angeles (385 mi) and $355 into Los Angeles.

Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Phoenix and Salt Lake City

East across the desert on I-15 and I-10, the short and mid-range Southwest runs. Las Vegas: a sedan was $400 leaving Los Angeles (272 mi) and $304 into Los Angeles; Phoenix: a sedan was $465 leaving Los Angeles (376 mi) and $275 into Los Angeles; Salt Lake City: a sedan was $979 leaving Los Angeles (691 mi) and $410 into Los Angeles.

Los Angeles to Seattle, Portland and Denver

North on I-5 to the Pacific Northwest and east through the Rockies, the mid-to-long runs. Seattle: a sedan was $1,032 leaving Los Angeles (1,143 mi) and $819 into Los Angeles; Portland: a sedan was $846 leaving Los Angeles (963 mi) and $700 into Los Angeles; Denver: a sedan was $1,220 leaving Los Angeles (1,019 mi) and $615 into Los Angeles.

Los Angeles to Dallas, Houston and Chicago

East along I-10 and I-40 to Texas and the Midwest, long runs that cost more per trip than per mile. Dallas: a sedan was $1,000 leaving Los Angeles (1,433 mi) and $810 into Los Angeles; Houston: a sedan was $1,000 leaving Los Angeles (1,551 mi) and $739 into Los Angeles; Chicago: a sedan was $1,240 leaving Los Angeles (2,020 mi) and $955 into Los Angeles.

Los Angeles to Atlanta, Orlando and Miami

Across the South to Georgia and Florida, among the longest hauls we priced. Atlanta: a sedan was $1,061 leaving Los Angeles (2,185 mi) and $1,000 into Los Angeles; Orlando: a sedan was $1,303 leaving Los Angeles (2,514 mi) and $1,270 into Los Angeles; Miami: a sedan was $1,500 leaving Los Angeles (2,737 mi) and $1,300 into Los Angeles.

Los Angeles to Washington, New York and Boston

Coast to coast to the Northeast corridor, the longest regular run out of Southern California. Washington, DC: a sedan was $1,399 leaving Los Angeles (2,673 mi) and $1,413 into Los Angeles; New York: a sedan was $1,410 leaving Los Angeles (2,794 mi) and $1,474 into Los Angeles; Boston: a sedan was $1,383 leaving Los Angeles (3,000 mi) and $1,694 into Los Angeles.

Each lane shows what we were quoted in November 2026 for a sedan on an open trailer. Prices are the same for Hollywood, Santa Monica, Pasadena, Long Beach, Burbank, Torrance and the rest of the Los Angeles metro, because carriers treat Los Angeles as one pickup area. Orange County and the Inland Empire are close enough that the price is usually similar, but a pickup in the Antelope Valley or the high desert can cost more, so give the exact pickup address when you request a quote. For the whole state, see our California auto transport guide.

Does direction change the price?

We quoted eighteen corridors both ways from Los Angeles:

A sedan leaving Los Angeles cost more than the same trip arriving on 13 of the 18 corridors: Los Angeles to Salt Lake City 139% higher ($979 vs. $410), Los Angeles to Denver 98% higher ($1,220 vs. $615), Los Angeles to Phoenix 69% higher ($465 vs. $275), Los Angeles to Houston 35% higher ($1,000 vs. $739). Arriving in Los Angeles cost more on 2: Boston to Los Angeles 22% higher ($1,694 vs. $1,383), New York to Los Angeles 5% higher ($1,474 vs. $1,410). About the same both ways: Los Angeles and San Diego, Los Angeles and Orlando, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. 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 Los Angeles lanes and 7 recent jobs

1. +22% more into Los Angeles

   Boston to Los Angeles cost 22% more than Los Angeles to Boston

   A sedan was $1,694 into Los Angeles against $1,383 going the other way on about 3,000 miles.

2. +139% more out of Los Angeles

   Los Angeles to Salt Lake City cost 139% more than Salt Lake City to Los Angeles

   A sedan was $979 leaving Los Angeles against $410 coming in on about 691 miles.

3. $1.85 a mile, on a short lane

   A short lane cost the most per mile: $1.85 vs. $0.46

   A sedan from San Diego to Los Angeles (123 miles) was $227. Atlanta to Los Angeles (2,186 miles) was $1,000.

4. 6 of 36 lanes where the SUV beat the sedan

   On 6 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 71% above the sedan.

5. 36 real lanes, 4 vehicle types

   36 real Los Angeles lanes, priced for four vehicle types

   From a 123-mile hop inside the state to a 3,000-mile haul.

Get a Los Angeles auto quote →

Recent jobs from Los Angeles

These are recent shipments that started in the Los Angeles 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 jobs that started in the Los Angeles area, all leaving, show how long the hauls out of Southern California run: 1,369 to 2,533 miles, taking 3 to 10 days, to Arkansas, Texas, North Carolina, Mississippi and Florida, including a vintage Volvo, a motorcycle and an everyday sedan or SUV. The longest, a 2013 Honda CR-V to Durham, NC (about 2,533 miles), took 10 days. Other delivered orders in the metro were left out because the dates on the order were too close together for the distance or the photos were unclear, and 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 no photos on file, dark photos or photos with people in them.

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 $1,000 open from Los Angeles to Dallas works out to about $1,750 enclosed, or about $2,188 if it also does not run. Collector cars, classics and high-value vehicles are usually shipped enclosed, and Southern California’s strong sun, desert heat and dust on the long runs east are one more reason owners of newer or collector cars choose it. See our inoperable vehicle guide and our classic car transport guide for details.

Wildfire season, mountain passes and when to ship

A few patterns recur in Los Angeles 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:

• Wildfire season. Fires and Santa Ana winds are most common in the fall, and fires can close freeways and canyon roads for days. If one is burning near your pickup or on your route, expect a shifted window, and ask the carrier how it handles delays.
• Mountain passes. Interstate 5 over the Grapevine and Interstate 15 over Cajon Pass are the two main routes out of the basin, and both can slow or close for snow, wind or crashes. Winter trips north or east may take a day longer.
• Summer heat. Interstate 10 and Interstate 40 cross the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, where heat is hard on batteries and tires, so many owners ask for a morning handoff and check tire pressure first.
• Moves out of California. Many car shipments leave the metro for Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and the Pacific Northwest as owners relocate, and many owners ship a second car instead of driving two. Our quotes above are a November snapshot, and we have not measured the seasonal swing; we plan to re-run the lanes in spring.
• Students. Move-in in August and move-out in May matter around UCLA, USC, Cal State Los Angeles and the other campuses in the metro.
• Collector and film cars. Los Angeles has a lot of classic, exotic and production vehicles, and owners often choose enclosed transport for them. One of the recent jobs above is a 1965 Volvo 1800 shipped to Arkansas.

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

Exotic, luxury and collector cars in Los Angeles

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. Our exotic car shipping guide and classic car transport guide cover insurance, enclosed options and how to prepare the car.

Shipping a car out of the country from Los Angeles

The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach handle vehicles going overseas, so searches for Los Angeles auto export are common. A domestic shipper like ours moves the car by truck inside the United States, for example to a port or an exporter’s yard in the South Bay. 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. If you are shipping a car abroad, ask the exporter which documents and which delivery point they need, then order the truck leg to that address.

Pickup and delivery around the Los Angeles metro

• Downtown, Koreatown and Mid-Wilshire. High-rise buildings, garages and tight loading docks that limit large trucks, so drivers often meet customers at a nearby lot.
• Hollywood, the Hollywood Hills and the canyons. Steep, narrow and winding streets where a full-size trailer cannot turn, so plan a meeting point on a wide street at the bottom of the hill.
• Santa Monica, Venice and the Westside. Dense blocks, permit parking and little curb space, so a nearby lot or a wide boulevard works better than a residential street.
• Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Brentwood. Many gated driveways and hillside streets, so ask the owner about gate codes and where a truck can stop.
• The San Fernando Valley: Van Nuys, Burbank and Sherman Oaks. Wider suburban streets and many commercial and dealer addresses that suit a trailer.
• The South Bay, Torrance, Carson and Long Beach. Near the ports and industrial areas, with many wide commercial lots, which are easy for car haulers.
• Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley. A mix of tree-lined older neighborhoods and wide commercial corridors, priced the same as the rest of the metro.
• The Inland Empire and Orange County. Just outside the metro and often grouped with it by carriers, with mostly wide suburban streets, though a quote may be a little different, so give the exact address.

A full-size car hauler is about 75 feet long. If your street is narrow, steep, 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 metro. Many Los Angeles-area buildings and communities are gated, so ask your HOA or building management about gate access and delivery hours.

Distance, transit time and the main corridors

Los Angeles traffic runs on a few roads:

• I-5 runs north over the Grapevine to Bakersfield, Sacramento and on to Portland and Seattle, and south to San Diego, so it is the road most trucks use for the north and south lanes.
• I-10 runs east through the Inland Empire to Phoenix, Houston and on to Florida, I-15 runs northeast over Cajon Pass to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, and I-40 splits off near Barstow toward Albuquerque and the Midwest. The 405, 101 and 110 freeways connect the neighborhoods.
• Some lanes on the I-10 and I-110 are express lanes that use a FasTrak transponder, 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.

Moving to Los Angeles: registration, smog and insurance

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

• Registration. New residents generally have about 20 days after establishing residency to register a vehicle in California, according to several guides, and late fees apply. A vehicle titled out of state needs an application, the out-of-state title and proof of insurance, so confirm the current deadline and fees with the DMV.
• VIN verification. The DMV’s out-of-state title checklist says the VIN on an out-of-state car is verified, and that if you visit a DMV office only for the VIN verification you do not need an appointment. Salvage or branded titles need a CHP appointment, so ask which applies to your car.
• Smog. The DMV checklist says smog tests from other states are not accepted, so a California test is required for many vehicles, and the exemptions depend on the model year and fuel type. Check the DMV or a smog station for the current rule for your car.
• Insurance. Since January 1, 2025, California’s minimum liability limits are $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident and $15,000 for property damage. Confirm the current limits with the California Department of Insurance or your insurer.

Our moving-to-Los Angeles tip: ship the car to arrive when you can get a DMV appointment, a smog check and a California insurance policy lined up, so the registration clock does not run out while the car is on a truck.

Dealerships and auctions in the Los Angeles area

Dealers and auction yards are some of the most common pickup and delivery points for car carriers in the Los Angeles area, and they are commercial addresses where a full-size trailer can usually reach. There is no single official ranking of Los Angeles 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 — press releases and auction directories list several yards in the Los Angeles area, including Wilmington, Sun Valley and Van Nuys, with more in the Inland Empire and Orange County.
• Salvage cars — Copart and IAA sell salvage and damaged vehicles that often do not run, so price those as inoperable.
• 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 metro has many large dealer groups as well as independent, 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.

How to choose a car shipping company in Los Angeles

Searches for auto transport companies in Los Angeles 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 FasTrak, should come off before pickup so it does not bill you on the truck.
4. Plan for fire, wind and heat. In fire season, tell the carrier if smoke or a closure 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 hillside street, a narrow block or a gated community, 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.

Los Angeles auto transport: frequently asked questions

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