Cross country car shipping, also called long distance car shipping, long distance auto transport or ship car across country (and shipping a car cross country or cross country car transport), costs a median of $1,380 for a sedan on an open trailer, based on 58 real coast-to-coast lanes of 2,000 miles or more, and most of those lanes ran between $1,180 and $1,668. That works out to about $0.55 a mile, the lowest per-mile price of any trip, and delivered cars in our real jobs of 1,500 miles or more took a median of 5 days. This guide to cross country and long distance auto transport uses real car shipping quotes and 23 delivered jobs, not a generic price list, to show what shipping a car across the country costs by route and vehicle, how long it takes, whether open or enclosed is worth it, and when driving makes more sense. There is a free calculator for your own route below.
Every price is a real quote from our platform for one vehicle on an open trailer, checked in October 2026, and this page is updated as we add lanes. Last updated October 19, 2026.
Cross country car shipping cost calculator
Enter your pickup and delivery ZIP codes and your vehicle. The estimate is fitted to the 494 real lanes behind this page and shows the closest real routes, so you can see what it is based on. It is an estimate, not a quote.
Cross country car shipping calculator
Enter two ZIP codes for a price range built from real car shipping quotes, including coast-to-coast lanes.
How much does it cost to ship a car across the country? Cross country car shipping rates
On the 58 lanes of 2,000 miles or more we priced, an open-trailer sedan cost a median of $1,380 (the middle 80% ran from $1,180 to $1,668), an SUV $1,510, a pickup $2,384 and a van $2,496. A cross-country move costs more in total than a regional one, but far less per mile, because the driver’s fixed costs are spread over thousands of miles. Our sedan median was $0.55 a mile on these lanes, compared with about $1.90 a mile on trips under 250 miles.
Pickups and vans cost much more than sedans on these long trips (a median 73% and 81% more), and the SUV was priced below the sedan on 5 of 58 lanes, so two cars on the same route can swap places. For the full national picture by trip length, see our guide to how much it costs to ship a car.
Cross country car shipping cost by corridor
| Corridor | Lanes | Typical miles | Sedan (median) | Sedan range | Sedan per mile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast and the Northeast Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Las Vegas to New York, Boston, Newark and Hartford | 17 | 2,800 | $1,541 | $1,252–$1,801 | $0.54 |
| West Coast and the Southeast Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland to Miami, Atlanta, Birmingham and Nashville | 15 | 2,608 | $1,352 | $1,172–$1,835 | $0.57 |
| West Coast and the Midwest Los Angeles to Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis; Denver and Colorado Springs to California and Arizona | 9 | 2,020 | $1,244 | $985–$1,392 | $0.57 |
| Midwest and the Northeast Denver, Detroit and Chicago to Hartford, Wilmington and Newark | 6 | 1,781 | $1,225 | $951–$1,340 | $0.65 |
| Texas and the Northeast Houston and Dallas to New York, Wilmington and Hartford | 4 | 1,660 | $1,110 | $983–$1,311 | $0.67 |
| Texas and the West Coast Houston to Los Angeles | 2 | 1,551 | $870 | $719–$1,020 | $0.56 |
The corridors that cross the whole country, West Coast to the Northeast and the Southeast, are the longest and the most expensive in total, while the shorter Texas and Midwest corridors cost less overall but not per mile. Lanes are grouped by the cities at each end, with the Midwest including Denver and Colorado Springs, and cities with only one or two lanes are left out of the table.
Cross country car shipping rates for popular routes
| Route | Distance | Sedan | SUV | Pickup | Van | Enclosed sedan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles → New York | 2,794 mi | $1,512 | $1,654 | $3,379 | $3,244 | $2,507 |
| New York → Los Angeles | 2,800 mi | $1,419 | $1,511 | $2,510 | $2,493 | $2,469 |
| Los Angeles → Miami | 2,737 mi | $1,481 | $1,520 | $2,378 | $3,177 | – |
| Miami → Los Angeles | 2,738 mi | $1,300 | $1,363 | $1,952 | $2,400 | – |
| San Francisco → New York | 2,907 mi | $1,562 | $1,580 | $2,140 | $2,593 | $2,698 |
| New York → San Francisco | 2,914 mi | $1,600 | $1,624 | $1,841 | $2,526 | $2,564 |
| Seattle → New York | 2,860 mi | $1,607 | $1,831 | $2,746 | $2,973 | $2,690 |
| New York → Seattle | 2,867 mi | $1,668 | $1,579 | $2,863 | $1,823 | $2,707 |
| Seattle → Miami | 3,304 mi | $1,680 | $1,818 | $2,922 | $1,699 | $2,313 |
| Miami → Seattle | 3,307 mi | $1,480 | $2,016 | $2,340 | $2,068 | $2,490 |
| Boston → Los Angeles | 2,987 mi | $1,801 | $1,829 | $2,428 | $3,986 | $2,565 |
| Los Angeles → Boston | 3,000 mi | $1,629 | $1,588 | $2,520 | $3,499 | $2,434 |
| Los Angeles → Atlanta | 2,185 mi | $1,310 | $1,479 | $3,083 | $3,066 | – |
| Atlanta → Los Angeles | 2,186 mi | $1,252 | $1,293 | $2,687 | $1,528 | – |
| San Francisco → Miami | 3,042 mi | $1,644 | $1,659 | $2,294 | $3,980 | $2,363 |
| Miami → San Francisco | 3,042 mi | $1,352 | $1,415 | $1,729 | $1,856 | $2,287 |
| Las Vegas → New York | 2,525 mi | $1,416 | $1,622 | $2,964 | $3,398 | $2,500 |
| Portland → Atlanta | 2,605 mi | $1,835 | $1,776 | $2,216 | $3,231 | $2,716 |
| Houston → New York | 1,631 mi | $983 | $1,097 | $1,965 | $2,073 | $1,775 |
| New York → Houston | 1,631 mi | $1,187 | $1,319 | $2,438 | $2,583 | $2,218 |
| Houston → Los Angeles | 1,551 mi | $719 | $895 | $1,127 | $956 | $1,477 |
| Los Angeles → Houston | 1,551 mi | $1,020 | $1,153 | $2,140 | $1,757 | $1,708 |
| Detroit → Los Angeles | 2,285 mi | $1,269 | $1,380 | $1,767 | $2,074 | – |
| Los Angeles → Detroit | 2,285 mi | $1,244 | $1,396 | $1,955 | $2,102 | – |
| Los Angeles → Chicago | 2,020 mi | $1,253 | $1,395 | $2,427 | $2,539 | – |
| Chicago → Los Angeles | 2,019 mi | $1,000 | $1,101 | $2,177 | $2,891 | – |
All prices are one running vehicle on an open trailer, except the last column, which is a sedan on an enclosed trailer where we priced it. A few of the van quotes are far above the sedan and pickup quotes on the same route (for example Boston to Los Angeles at $3,986 against $1,801 for a sedan), because van and pickup prices swing more from lane to lane than sedan prices do. Treat the van and pickup columns as a guide and get a live quote.
Long distance car shipping and auto transport: cost by distance
Long distance car shipping, which is also called long distance auto transport, long distance car transport or long distance vehicle transport, usually means a trip of about 500 miles or more, where a driver needs more than a day on the road. Cross country shipping is the longest version of it. Across the 307 lanes of 500 miles or more in our real quotes (open trailer, running vehicle), the price of a sedan rose with distance, while the price per mile fell:
| Distance | Lanes | Sedan (median) | Middle 80% of sedans | Sedan per mile | SUV (median) | Pickup (median) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 to 1,000 miles | 127 | $701 | $514–$965 | $0.99 | $756 | $1,048 |
| 1,000 to 1,500 miles | 89 | $941 | $716–$1,228 | $0.76 | $1,031 | $1,535 |
| 1,500 to 2,000 miles | 33 | $1,119 | $903–$1,360 | $0.65 | $1,235 | $1,988 |
| 2,000 to 2,500 miles | 26 | $1,235 | $1,103–$1,313 | $0.58 | $1,360 | $2,476 |
| 2,500 miles and up | 32 | $1,527 | $1,379–$1,706 | $0.54 | $1,623 | $2,359 |
So long distance car transport costs a median of about $0.99 a mile at 500 to 1,000 miles but only $0.54 a mile at 2,500 miles and up, and a sedan that costs a median of $701 at 500 to 1,000 miles costs a median of $1,527 at 2,500 miles and up, not several times as much. These are medians across many different lanes, so the price for your own route can be well above or below them, and pickups and vans cost more than the sedan column shows. Our car shipping cost guide and calculator turn the same data into an estimate for your ZIP codes, and our Car Shipping Price Index tracks how prices on 20 fixed lanes move week by week.
How long distance auto transport works
- One driver, several days. Federal hours-of-service rules limit how long a truck driver can drive each day, and a loaded hauler also makes several stops, so a long trip is measured in days rather than hours. Typical open-trailer transit is about 2 to 4 days for 500 to 800 miles, 3 to 6 days for 1,000 to 1,300 miles and 6 to 9 days coast to coast, which are industry-typical ranges rather than guarantees.
- A pickup window, not a pickup time. Carriers give a window of a few days, because the driver is filling a truck along a route, and a flexible window usually gets a faster and cheaper match on a long trip.
- More than one truck is possible. On some long routes a broker may hand the car from one carrier to another, so ask whether yours will ride with a single driver the whole way.
- Open is the standard, enclosed is optional. An open trailer is the lowest price for a long haul, and enclosed adds a median of about 67% on the long lanes we measured. See open vs. enclosed transport.
- Document the car before and after. On a long trip the bill of lading and your own dated photos at pickup and delivery are what settle any later question about damage.
In our real jobs of 1,500 miles or more, delivery took a median of 5 days, so a long distance trip is a planning exercise: book a few weeks ahead for a fixed date, keep your pickup window flexible and have someone available at both ends to inspect and sign the bill of lading.
Does the direction of a cross-country trip change the price?
Yes. We priced 43 routes of 1,500 miles or more in both directions, and on 53% of them the two directions differed by more than 10%, and on 12% by more than 25%. The price follows how many cars are moving each way, so the same trip can cost far more in one direction. These were the biggest gaps for a sedan:
| Trip (dearer direction first) | Distance | Sedan price | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles → Houston Houston → Los Angeles | 1,551 mi | $1,020 vs. $719 | +42% |
| Los Angeles → Des Moines Des Moines → Los Angeles | 1,686 mi | $1,392 vs. $985 | +41% |
| New York → Denver Denver → New York | 1,784 mi | $1,340 vs. $951 | +41% |
| Portland, ME → Dallas Dallas → Portland, ME | 1,892 mi | $1,433 vs. $1,036 | +38% |
| Wilmington → Denver Denver → Wilmington | 1,711 mi | $1,312 vs. $963 | +36% |
| Bangor → Orlando Orlando → Bangor | 1,526 mi | $1,092 vs. $888 | +23% |
| Chicago → Boise Boise → Chicago | 1,695 mi | $1,760 vs. $1,362 | +29% |
If you can ship in either direction, or can choose when and where the car is picked up, it can pay to compare both. Snowbird routes, such as the Northeast and Midwest to Florida and Arizona, are the best-known example of one direction filling up in fall and the other in spring, but we have no seasonal price data of our own, so check your own dates with a live quote.
How long does cross country car shipping take?
In our real jobs of 1,500 miles or more, delivery took a median of 5 days, from 2 to 15 days, and 18 of 23 were delivered within 5 days. Typical open-trailer transit for a coast-to-coast trip is about 7 to 10 days, which is an industry-typical range, not a guarantee, and the clock starts when the driver picks up the car, not when you book. Some of our jobs ran faster than that and some slower, so use these as examples:
| Vehicle | Route | Approx. miles | Picked up | Delivered | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 RAM ProMaster (van) | Fort Lauderdale, FL → San Jose, CA | 3,050 | Sep 24, 2026 | Sep 29, 2026 | 5 days |
| 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLA | Naugatuck, CT → Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA | 2,950 | Mar 26, 2026 | Mar 31, 2026 | 5 days |
| 1965 Vespa with sidecar | Sylmar, CA → New Preston, CT | 2,880 | Sep 29, 2026 | Oct 7, 2026 | 8 days |
| 2025 Mullen Three EV cab and chassis | Brea, CA → Lake Placid, FL | 2,560 | Sep 25, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | 5 days |
| 1976 BMW R90 motorcycle | Longwood, FL → Long Beach, CA | 2,540 | Sep 11, 2026 | Sep 14, 2026 | 3 days |
| 1976 BMW motorcycle | Longwood, FL → Long Beach, CA | 2,500 | Sep 11, 2026 | Sep 14, 2026 | 3 days |
| 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle | Ocoee, FL → Garden City, ID | 2,500 | Oct 8, 2026 | Oct 13, 2026 | 5 days |
| 1984 Porsche 944 | Chandler, AZ → Newark, NJ | 2,460 | Oct 8, 2026 | Oct 15, 2026 | 7 days |
| 1958 Volkswagen Beetle (rolling chassis) | West Jordan, UT → Ridgefield, NJ | 2,290 | Oct 7, 2026 | Oct 12, 2026 | 5 days |
| 1995 Mercedes-Benz E-Class | Joliet, IL → San Jose, CA | 2,110 | Oct 13, 2026 | Oct 16, 2026 | 3 days |
| 2021 Ford Explorer | Granger, IN → Riverside, CA | 2,100 | Jun 30, 2026 | Jul 7, 2026 | 7 days |
| 1970 International Scout | Greeley, CO → Dover, NH | 2,030 | Oct 8, 2026 | Oct 13, 2026 | 5 days |
| 1965 Lincoln Continental convertible | Los Angeles, CA → Flossmoor, IL | 2,010 | Oct 14, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 | 3 days |
| 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee | Greeley, CO → Acton, MA | 1,990 | Oct 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 | 4 days |
| 2019 Toyota Prius | White River Junction, VT → Boulder, CO | 1,980 | Oct 12, 2026 | Oct 16, 2026 | 4 days |
| 1970 Plymouth GTX | Phelan, CA → Worden, IL | 1,810 | Nov 13, 2024 | Nov 18, 2024 | 5 days |
| 2021 Tesla Model S | Ocoee, FL → Loveland, CO | 1,780 | Jul 18, 2026 | Jul 21, 2026 | 3 days |
| 1973 Caterham Seven | Greeley, CO → Gainesville, FL | 1,750 | Oct 2, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 | 3 days |
| 2021 Cadillac XT6 | North Miami, FL → Essex Junction, VT | 1,750 | Sep 23, 2026 | Oct 1, 2026 | 8 days |
| 1979 Chevrolet Corvette | Rocklin, CA → Austin, TX | 1,690 | Aug 29, 2026 | Aug 31, 2026 | 2 days |
| 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air | Spirit Lake, IA → Buena Park, CA | 1,650 | Jun 27, 2026 | Jun 30, 2026 | 3 days |
| 2008 AM General M1097R1 (Humvee) | Abilene, KS → Colebrook, NH | 1,650 | Jul 28, 2026 | Jul 30, 2026 | 2 days |
| 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe | Boise, ID → Hutto, TX | 1,580 | Oct 1, 2026 | Oct 16, 2026 | 15 days |
Not every trip is quick. The slowest job in the table, a 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe from Boise, ID to Hutto, TX, took 15 days for about 1,580 miles. The bill of lading does not say why, and long gaps like this can come from a carrier waiting to fill a truck or a pickup that was scheduled for later, which is why it pays to ask a carrier for a realistic window up front and to keep your own dates flexible.
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. A flexible pickup window of a few days usually gets a faster carrier match, and delivery windows are not exact appointments.
Cross country deliveries in the drivers’ own photos
Photos are from the drivers’ inspections at pickup and delivery. License plates, signs and bystanders are blurred or out of frame.
Open or enclosed for a cross country move?
Open trailers are the standard for a daily driver on a long trip. Enclosed costs more, and on cross-country lanes we measured the enclosed sedan price at a median 67% above open across 18 lanes of 1,500 miles or more (range +38% to +105%), which on a $1,500 open trip is roughly $1,011 more. Enclosed protects paint and glass from weather and road debris over thousands of miles, and it is the usual choice for classic, collector and high-value cars, so it can be worth it on a long trip even if you would not pay for it on a short one. For classics see our guide to classic car transport in enclosed trailers.
A car that does not run adds about $100 on our platform for the winch and extra loading time, so tell us at the quote stage.
Is it cheaper to ship a car across the country or drive it?
It depends on the trip and on what your time is worth. Here is a worked example for a 2,800-mile drive. The inputs are assumptions, not our data, so replace them with your own:
| Cost of driving 2,800 miles | Assumption | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | 25 miles per gallon, $3.50 a gallon | $392 |
| Lodging | 4 nights at $130 | $520 |
| Food | 5 days at $60 | $300 |
| Driving total | Before wear on the car, tolls and your time | $1,212 |
| Shipping a sedan, open trailer | Median of our lanes of 2,500 miles or more | $1,527 |
On these assumptions driving yourself costs a little less than shipping, but it takes four or five days of driving, adds about 2,800 miles to the odometer and leaves you to handle a breakdown or an accident. Shipping makes more sense when you are flying out anyway, moving with a family, driving a classic or a car you do not want to put miles on, or short of days off. Driving makes more sense when you want to see the country or when the car comes with a lot of belongings.
Can you ship a car across the country by train?
Not as a regular consumer service. Amtrak’s Auto Train, the best-known car-carrying passenger train in the United States, runs only between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, DC) and Sanford, Florida, so it does not cross the country. Check Amtrak for its current schedule and fares. For a coast-to-coast move the options are an open or enclosed car hauler, driving the car yourself or having it driven for you, and the truck-trailer route is what this guide prices.
When to ship a car across the country
- Moves and relocations. Most cross-country shipments follow a move, a job change or a school year, so people book as early as their dates are known. A pickup window of a few days gives the carrier room to match your car with a route.
- Snowbirds. Cars travel to Florida, Arizona and Texas in the fall and back north in the spring, which can tighten capacity in those directions. We have no seasonal price data, so ask for a quote for your actual dates.
- Students and military moves. August and May are busy around campuses, and military moves peak in summer. Allow extra time for pickup and delivery near bases and gated communities.
- Winter. Snow and ice can slow trucks on the northern routes from December through March, and carriers may hold cars until roads are clear. Keep your pickup window flexible.
Did you know?From 91 real lanes and 23 delivered jobs
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$0.55 a mile on coast-to-coast lanes
A cross-country sedan cost a median of $0.55 a mile
On 58 lanes of 2,000 miles or more, against about $1.90 a mile on trips under 250 miles.
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5 days median delivery, 1,500+ miles
Half of our long-distance jobs took 5 days or less
From 2 to 15 days across 23 real jobs, with the longest at about 3,050 miles.
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+67% enclosed premium on long lanes
Enclosed cost a median 67% more than open across the country
Measured on 18 lanes of 1,500 miles or more, from +38% to +105%.
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+42% Los Angeles to Houston vs. back
Los Angeles to Houston cost $1,020, Houston to Los Angeles $719
A 1,551-mile sedan trip, and one of the clearest examples of the direction effect.
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53% of two-way routes differ by 10%+
On 53% of cross-country routes the two directions differed by more than 10%
We priced 43 routes both ways. 12% differed by more than 25%.
How to prepare your car for cross country shipping
- Wash the car and photograph it from every side, inside and out, with the date on. Long trips leave more time for dust and rain, so the before-photos matter.
- Leave about a quarter tank of fuel and check for leaks. Carriers may refuse a car that leaks fluid.
- Remove personal items and toll tags. Carriers generally do not insure belongings left in the car.
- Fold or secure mirrors, antennas and racks and tell the carrier about anything unusual: a lowered car, a lift kit, a wide body or a car that does not run.
- Plan the handoff. A large truck cannot always reach a narrow street, so be ready to meet the driver at a nearby big lot, and make sure someone can inspect and sign the bill of lading at both ends.
Our auto transport guide has the full checklist.
How to choose a cross country car shipping company
- Check the registration. Every interstate auto transporter or broker needs a USDOT number and operating authority. Look them up 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 matches your car with a vetted carrier on your lane and shows you 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 about insurance and how a carrier values your car, and check whether your own auto policy covers it in transit.
- Document the car at both ends. The bill of lading is the condition report, so take dated photos and note any damage before you sign.
Cross country car shipping: frequently asked questions
How much does cross country car shipping cost?
On 58 real lanes of 2,000 miles or more, an open-trailer sedan cost a median of $1,380, with the middle 80% of lanes between $1,180 and $1,668. An SUV was a median of $1,510, a pickup $2,384 and a van $2,496. Use the calculator on this page for your own route.
How much does long distance car shipping cost?
In our real quotes for the 307 lanes of 500 miles or more, an open-trailer sedan cost a median of $701 at 500 to 1,000 miles, $941 at 1,000 to 1,500 miles, $1,119 at 1,500 to 2,000 miles, $1,235 at 2,000 to 2,500 miles and $1,527 at 2,500 miles and up. The price per mile falls with distance, from about $0.99 to $0.54. Your own route can be well above or below these medians, so use the calculator or request a quote.
What counts as long distance car shipping?
There is no official line, but carriers and customers generally mean a trip of about 500 miles or more, where the driver needs more than a day. Cross country car shipping is the longest version, from 2,000 miles up to coast to coast.
How does long distance auto transport work?
You get a quote for your pickup and delivery points, book a pickup window, and a driver loads your car onto a multi-car hauler or an enclosed trailer, records its condition on the bill of lading and drives the route over several days. At delivery you inspect the car against the bill of lading before you sign. Some long routes use more than one truck, so ask the carrier.
How long does long distance car transport take?
Typical open-trailer transit is about 2 to 4 days for 500 to 800 miles, 3 to 6 days for 1,000 to 1,300 miles and 6 to 9 days coast to coast. In our real jobs of 1,500 miles or more the median was 5 days. These are typical ranges rather than guarantees, and the clock starts when the driver picks the car up.
How much does it cost to ship a car from California to New York?
A sedan from Los Angeles to New York (2,794 miles) was $1,512 in our quotes and from New York to Los Angeles $1,419. From San Francisco to New York it was $1,562 and from New York to San Francisco $1,600.
How much does it cost to ship a car from Florida to California?
A sedan from Miami to Los Angeles (2,738 miles) was $1,300 in our quotes and from Los Angeles to Miami $1,481. From Miami to San Francisco it was $1,352 and from San Francisco to Miami $1,644.
How much does it cost to ship a car from Seattle across the country?
A sedan from Seattle to New York (2,860 miles) was $1,607 in our quotes and from New York to Seattle $1,668. Seattle to Miami (3,304 miles) was $1,680 and Miami to Seattle $1,480.
How long does it take to ship a car across the country?
In 23 real jobs of 1,500 miles or more, delivery took a median of 5 days (2 to 15). Typical open-trailer transit for a coast-to-coast trip is about 7 to 10 days. These are examples and typical ranges, not guarantees, and the clock starts when the driver picks up the car.
Is it cheaper to ship a car or drive it across the country?
On our worked example of a 2,800-mile drive with $3.50 gas, 25 mpg, four hotel nights and food, driving cost about $1,212 against a shipped-sedan median of $1,527. Driving costs less in that example but takes four or five days and adds miles to the car. Replace our assumptions with your own.
What is the cheapest way to ship a car across the country?
To ship a car across country for less, use an open trailer, which is the standard and cheapest option, keep a flexible pickup window of a few days, and check both directions and nearby cities, since the price can differ a lot by direction. Be wary of a price far below the others, because it may not find a driver.
Is open or enclosed better for cross country car shipping?
Open is the standard for a daily driver. Enclosed protects the car from weather and road debris over thousands of miles and costs a median 67% more on cross-country lanes, so it is the usual choice for classic, collector and high-value cars.
Can you ship a car across the country by train?
Not as a regular service. Amtrak’s Auto Train runs only between Lorton, Virginia and Sanford, Florida. Coast-to-coast car shipping is done by truck.
Does the direction of a cross-country trip change the price?
Yes. On 43 routes of 1,500 miles or more that we priced both ways, 53% differed by more than 10% between directions, for example Los Angeles to Houston at $1,020 against $719 for Houston to Los Angeles.
Can I ship a car that does not run across the country?
Yes. The carrier needs a winch to load it. Tell us when you request the quote. On our platform a car that does not run adds about $100 to the price.
Do I have to be there for pickup and delivery?
Someone should be, because the bill of lading is signed at both ends. If you cannot be there, name someone you trust to inspect the car and sign, or arrange a meeting point such as a large parking lot.
Can I ship a car and move my belongings in it?
Usually no. Most carriers do not insure personal items left in a car, and loose items can shift. Ask the carrier before you leave anything in the vehicle.
How do I choose a cross country car shipping company?
Check the company’s USDOT number and operating authority on the FMCSA site, find out whether you are dealing with a broker or a carrier, compare quotes on the same trailer type and pickup window, and ask about insurance. Document the car with dated photos at pickup and delivery.
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