Denver Auto Transport: Car Shipping Rates and Quotes

Looking for auto transport in Denver? What car shipping in Denver costs depends on the route, the vehicle and whether it runs. We ran real quotes from our platform for thirty-six Denver lanes, both leaving and arriving, from a 449-mile run between Denver and Albuquerque to a 2,069-mile haul between Miami and Denver, and an open-trailer sedan ranged from $441 to $1,388. Here is what Denver car transport costs by vehicle type and route, including car shipping from Denver to Salt Lake City, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, how the price changes by direction, how the Front Range winter, hail and military moves around Buckley Space Force Base change the picture, and the registration, VIN check and emissions rules if you are moving to Colorado. 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 Denver

Whether you need an auto transport service in Denver 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 Aurora, Lakewood, Arvada, Centennial, Littleton, Westminster, Thornton and the rest of the Denver metro 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 Denver or leaving it. Denver is the trucking hub of the Rocky Mountain region, where I-25, I-70 and I-76 meet, with the Rockies to the west and the Plains to the east, 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 $1.05 a mile on Albuquerque → Denver (449 mi) to $0.50 on Denver → Chicago (1,004 mi). Pickups cost a median of 55% more than a sedan on these lanes and vans a median of 71% more, while an SUV was priced below the sedan on 4 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 $0.98–$1.05 per mile under 450 miles and $0.50–$1.18 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 449 miles or 1,000. Denver to Albuquerque is 449 miles and cost $441, or $0.98 a mile, while Miami to Denver is about 5 times as far but only 3 times the price.

Pickups and vans cost more than sedans

A pickup cost a median of 55% more than a sedan on the same lane, ranging from 15% to 159% more, and a van a median of 71% more. An SUV was priced within a median of 9% of the sedan and was cheaper on 4 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 Denver car shipping routes

Denver to Omaha, Kansas City and Oklahoma City

Out across the Plains on I-76 and I-80 to Omaha, on I-70 to Kansas City and south to Oklahoma City, the shortest and busiest runs in and out of Denver. Omaha: a sedan was $495 leaving Denver (539 mi) and $485 into Denver; Kansas City: a sedan was $537 leaving Denver (605 mi) and $511 into Denver; Oklahoma City: a sedan was $661 leaving Denver (678 mi) and $599 into Denver.

Denver to Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Albuquerque

West over the Rockies, and south on I-25 into New Mexico, the regional runs of the Mountain West. Salt Lake City: a sedan was $494 leaving Denver (535 mi) and $473 into Denver; Las Vegas: a sedan was $719 leaving Denver (750 mi) and $1,158 into Denver; Albuquerque: a sedan was $441 leaving Denver (449 mi) and $473 into Denver.

Denver to Phoenix, Los Angeles and Seattle

To the Southwest and the Pacific coast, among the longest regular runs out of Denver. Phoenix: a sedan was $707 leaving Denver (823 mi) and $983 into Denver; Los Angeles: a sedan was $580 leaving Denver (1,020 mi) and $1,198 into Denver; Seattle: a sedan was $851 leaving Denver (1,325 mi) and $1,388 into Denver.

Denver to Dallas and Houston

South across the high plains to Texas, a corridor with plenty of dealer and military traffic. Dallas: a sedan was $630 leaving Denver (783 mi) and $548 into Denver; Houston: a sedan was $550 leaving Denver (1,021 mi) and $650 into Denver.

Denver to Minneapolis and Chicago

Northeast to the Upper Midwest and east to Chicago, runs that follow the plains and the interstates across Nebraska and Iowa. Minneapolis: a sedan was $700 leaving Denver (871 mi) and $967 into Denver; Chicago: a sedan was $499 leaving Denver (1,004 mi) and $902 into Denver.

Denver to Nashville and Atlanta

East and southeast into Tennessee and Georgia, mid-range hauls where the price per mile starts to fall. Nashville: a sedan was $890 leaving Denver (1,159 mi) and $1,109 into Denver; Atlanta: a sedan was $800 leaving Denver (1,405 mi) and $1,021 into Denver.

Denver to Orlando, Miami and New York

The longest hauls from Denver, to Florida and the Northeast corridor, where the direction you ship matters. Orlando: a sedan was $979 leaving Denver (1,844 mi) and $1,008 into Denver; Miami: a sedan was $1,085 leaving Denver (2,067 mi) and $1,218 into Denver; New York: a sedan was $998 leaving Denver (1,779 mi) and $1,281 into Denver.

Each lane shows what we were quoted in November 2026 for a sedan on an open trailer. Prices are the same for Aurora, Lakewood, Arvada, Centennial, Littleton, Westminster, Thornton and the rest of the Denver metro area, because carriers treat Denver as one pickup area, and Boulder, Golden and Castle Rock are close enough that the price is usually similar. A pickup farther out, in the mountains or on the Eastern Plains, can cost more, so give the exact pickup address when you request a quote. For the whole state, including Denver to Colorado Springs, see our Colorado auto transport guide, and for freight, our Colorado LTL freight guide.

Does direction change the price?

We quoted eighteen corridors both ways from Denver:

A sedan arriving in Denver cost more than the same trip leaving on 12 of the 18 corridors: Los Angeles to Denver 107% higher ($1,198 vs. $580), Chicago to Denver 81% higher ($902 vs. $499), Seattle to Denver 63% higher ($1,388 vs. $851), Las Vegas to Denver 61% higher ($1,158 vs. $719). Leaving Denver cost more on 4: Denver to Dallas 15% higher ($630 vs. $548), Denver to Oklahoma City 10% higher ($661 vs. $599), Denver to Kansas City 5% higher ($537 vs. $511). About the same both ways: Denver and Omaha, Denver and Orlando. 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 Denver lanes and 6 recent jobs

1. +107% more into Denver

   Los Angeles to Denver cost 107% more than Denver to Los Angeles

   A sedan was $1,198 into Denver against $580 going the other way on about 1,020 miles.

2. +15% more out of Denver

   Denver to Dallas cost 15% more than Dallas to Denver

   A sedan was $630 leaving Denver against $548 coming in on about 783 miles.

3. $1.55 a mile, on a short lane

   A short lane cost the most per mile: $1.55 vs. $0.50

   A sedan from Las Vegas to Denver (749 miles) was $1,158. Denver to Chicago (1,004 miles) was $499.

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

   On 4 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 55% above the sedan.

5. 36 real lanes, 4 vehicle types

   36 real Denver lanes, priced for four vehicle types

   From a 449-mile run to a 2,069-mile haul.

Get a Denver auto quote →

Recent jobs from Denver

These are recent shipments that started in the Denver 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.

Six recent orders from Denver, carrying seven vehicles in all, show how long the hauls run: 591 to 1,642 miles, taking 1 to 3 days, including a 1967 Ford Mustang to South Carolina, a Jeep Wrangler to Pennsylvania and two Subarus on one order to North Carolina. The longest, the two-Subaru order to Raleigh, NC (about 1,642 miles), took 3 days. Every one of them left Denver, and trailer type is not on the bills of lading, so it is not listed. All six 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 $630 open from Denver to Dallas works out to about $1,102 enclosed, or about $1,378 if it also does not run. Collector cars, classics and high-value vehicles are usually shipped enclosed, and many Colorado owners also choose it to keep a newer car out of hail, winter road salt and mag chloride. A 1967 Ford Mustang is among the jobs above, the kind of classic that many owners ship enclosed (trailer type is not on the bills of lading), and a car that does not run, such as a salvage or auction vehicle, is the usual inoperable case. See our inoperable vehicle guide and our classic car transport guide for details.

Military moves: shipping a car to or from Denver

Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora is on the east side of the Denver area, and the larger Colorado Springs installations, Fort Carson, Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever and the Air Force Academy, are about an hour south, so a steady share of car shipments here follow military orders. 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.

Mountain weather, hail season and when to ship

A few patterns recur in Denver 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 and the I-70 mountains. CDOT’s Traction Law runs from September 1 to May 31 on I-70 between Dotsero and Morrison, and in severe storms the Passenger Vehicle Chain Law can apply before the highway closes. Closures can hold carriers for hours, so keep your window flexible if the trip crosses the mountains between October and April.
• Hail season. Front Range hailstorms are most common in late spring and summer. A car waiting outside for pickup is exposed, so use a garage or a covered spot, and consider enclosed transport for a high-value car.
• Relocations. Denver’s aerospace, technology and energy employers bring a steady flow of job moves in and out, and many owners ship a second car instead of driving two.
• Students. August move-in and May move-out matter around the University of Denver, CU Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, the Colorado School of Mines in Golden and CU Boulder, and many of those families ship a car instead of driving it.
• Military moves. Orders to and from Buckley and the Colorado Springs bases follow the military’s own summer peak, so summer pickups are busier.
• Mountain living. Many Colorado owners keep a second vehicle for the mountains, so pickups, SUVs and AWD vehicles are common to ship, and the SUV and pickup prices in our table are worth checking for your own lane.
• Game days and events. Broncos, Nuggets, Rockies and Avalanche games and downtown events close streets around Empower Field at Mile High, Ball Arena and Coors Field, so plan to meet the driver on a side street or a lot if your address is near an event.
• Dealers and auctions. Denver-area dealers and auction yards move cars around the region every day, so a pickup at a dealer or a yard is routine for a carrier.

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

Classic, exotic and collector cars in Denver

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 1967 Ford Mustang that went from Denver to South Carolina is among the recent jobs above, so check the enclosed price for your own car. 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 Denver

A domestic shipper like ours moves the car by truck inside the United States, for example to a seaport such as Houston, Long Beach or Newark, 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 Denver

• Downtown, LoDo and RiNo. 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.
• Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park and Congress Park. Dense blocks with permit parking and older buildings, so a wide street or a nearby lot works better than a residential block.
• Cherry Creek, Washington Park and the Highlands. Tree-lined streets, many with alleys behind the houses and parked cars on both sides, so the driver may ask you to meet at a larger nearby lot.
• Central Park, Green Valley Ranch and Montbello. Newer neighborhoods near I-70 and Peña Boulevard with wider streets that are usually easy for a car carrier.
• Aurora, Centennial and Highlands Ranch. Suburban streets along I-225, E-470 and C-470, usually easy for a car carrier, though many communities are gated or run by an HOA.
• Lakewood, Arvada and Westminster. West and north of the city, with a mix of apartment complexes and neighborhoods; large complexes often have a lot or a wide drive where the truck can stop.
• Commerce City, Brighton and the industrial belt. Dealer rows, auction yards and warehouses along I-70, I-76 and I-25 with wide commercial roads that suit a full-size trailer, which is why many dealer and auction pickups happen here.
• Boulder, Golden and the foothills. Steep and narrow roads and some low trees, so the driver may ask you to meet at a larger lot at the bottom of the hill.

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 Denver 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

Denver traffic runs on a few roads:

• I-25 is the north-south spine of the Front Range, from Fort Collins through Denver and Colorado Springs to Pueblo and New Mexico.
• I-70 is the main east-west route, from Kansas City and the Midwest through Denver and over the Rockies to Grand Junction and Utah, and I-76 runs northeast from Denver to Nebraska, where it joins I-80 toward Omaha and Chicago.
• I-225, I-270 and C-470 circle the metro area, and E-470 is a toll road around the east side, so a toll tag, such as an ExpressToll tag, should come off the car before pickup.

Typical open-trailer transit is about 1 to 2 days for trips under 700 miles, 2 to 4 days for 700 to 1,200 miles, 3 to 6 days for 1,200 to 1,800 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 on I-70 and the Plains can add a day or more.

Moving to Denver: registration, VIN check, emissions and insurance

These are the rules Colorado’s Department of Revenue Division of Motor Vehicles and Division of Insurance publish for vehicles brought in from another state, so confirm each item with your county before you go. The full list is on our Colorado page:

• Register within 90 days. New residents have 90 days after establishing residency to title and register a vehicle in person at their county motor vehicle office. Convert the out-of-state title to a Colorado title first.
• VIN verification. Colorado requires a physical VIN check (form DR 2698) for a vehicle with an out-of-state title, completed by Colorado law enforcement, a licensed Colorado dealer or a Colorado emissions station, so plan the visit for the week the car arrives.
• Emissions test. Emissions testing applies in the Front Range area, including Denver, Boulder, Broomfield, Douglas and Jefferson counties and parts of Adams, Arapahoe, Larimer and Weld counties. New gasoline vehicles are exempt for their first seven model years, and the rules for hybrids and older cars vary, so confirm with your county.
• Insurance. Colorado requires liability insurance of at least $25,000 for injury or death to one person, $50,000 for injury or death to more than one person and $15,000 for property damage, and a new resident needs a policy that meets Colorado law before registering.

Our moving-to-Denver tip: ship the car to arrive when you can get a county appointment and a Colorado insurance policy lined up, so the 90-day clock does not run out while the car is on a truck. Military personnel stationed in Colorado may have different rules for registration, so check with the base legal or transportation office.

Dealerships and auctions in the Denver area

Dealers and auction yards are some of the most common pickup and delivery points for car carriers in the Denver area, and they are commercial addresses where a full-size trailer can usually reach. There is no single official ranking of Denver 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

• Manheim Colorado in Aurora is a wholesale dealer auction, and wholesale auctions mostly sell running dealer inventory.
• Copart and IAA — Copart lists yards in Denver South (Littleton), Denver Central and Brighton, and IAA has a yard in Commerce City. They 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 suburbs along I-25 and C-470 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 Denver

Searches for auto transport companies in Denver 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 ExpressToll tag, should come off before pickup so it does not bill you on the truck.
4. Plan for snow and hail. 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 hail season keep the car in a garage or a covered spot until the driver arrives.
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.

Denver auto transport: frequently asked questions

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