Illinois Auto Transport Rates and Quotes

Looking for Illinois auto transport rates? What car shipping in Illinois costs depends on the route, the vehicle and whether it runs. We ran real quotes from our platform for twenty-eight Illinois lanes, from a 167-mile run from Chicago to Peoria to a 2,020-mile haul from Los Angeles to Chicago, and an open-trailer sedan ranged from $270 to $1,253. Here’s what it costs by vehicle type, why a car coming into Chicago cost more than one leaving on 8 of the 13 corridors we quoted both ways, what Illinois expects once your car arrives, and what shapes shipping in a state where almost every route starts in Chicago. We also show eight real jobs from signed bills of lading, with photos.

What it costs to ship a car to or from Illinois

Every figure below is a real quote from our platform for one vehicle on an open trailer, running, priced separately for each vehicle type on October 14, 2026. Chicago stands in for most of Illinois, with Peoria and Springfield for the central part of the state, and each lane is labeled by its actual cities. The Atlanta and Little Rock lanes were quoted for our Georgia and Arkansas guides on October 13:

We did not quote coupes separately; in our earlier state guides a coupe was always priced the same as a sedan, so read a coupe off the sedan column. The platform rates its confidence in each price, and a few are less certain than the rest, such as the Minneapolis to Chicago van (64 percent) and pickup (67 percent). Two things in the table are worth a second look. Chicago to Springfield (201 miles) cost $436 for a sedan, more than Chicago to Peoria (167 miles) at $270, so a farther in-state trip is not always cheaper per car and a smaller city is not always cheaper to reach. And an SUV priced below the sedan on 5 of the 28 lanes, for example $617 against $624 from Chicago to New York, so check the SUV price on your own route rather than assuming it is higher. 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–$2.17 per mile under 450 miles and $0.50–$0.80 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 170 miles or 1,700. Chicago to Detroit is 283 miles and cost $302, or $1.07 a mile, while Chicago to Los Angeles is 7 times as far but a sedan cost only 3.3 times as much ($1,000 vs. $302).

Pickups and vans cost more than sedans

Size matters, and the gap grows with distance. On the lanes of 700 miles or more a pickup cost about 1.3 to 2.2 times a sedan, and the widest gap was Chicago to Los Angeles, where a pickup was $2,177 against $1,000 for a sedan. On Chicago to Dallas a van was $1,730 against $800 for a sedan, and Dallas to Chicago was the exception, with a van at only $734. On the shortest lanes the gap was smaller: Chicago to Peoria was $270 for a sedan, $296 for an SUV and $409 for a pickup.

Popular Illinois car shipping routes

Illinois’s biggest corridors run east to Michigan, Ohio and the Northeast, south to Texas, Florida and the Carolinas, and west and northwest to Minneapolis and California, with what we quoted for a running sedan on an open trailer. Typical transit is the usual open-trailer range for the distance, not a guarantee, and the clock starts when the driver picks up the car.

Illinois to Michigan, Ohio and the Midwest

Chicago to Detroit is 283 miles and a sedan was $302 going out against $413 coming into Chicago, so arriving in Illinois cost 37% more. Chicago to Columbus is 359 miles and was $360 out against $431 back. Chicago to Minneapolis is 409 miles and the pattern flips: $497 going out against $300 coming back, so leaving Illinois cost 66% more. Allow about 1 to 2 days.

Illinois to New York, New Jersey and the Northeast

Chicago to Newark is 782 miles and a sedan was $550 going out against $743 coming back, so arriving in Illinois cost 35% more. Chicago to New York is 791 miles and was $624 out against $805 back, 29% more into Chicago. Allow about 3 to 5 days.

Illinois to Virginia and the Carolinas

Chicago to Richmond is 785 miles and a sedan was $837 going out against $962 coming back to Illinois, 15% more. Chicago to Charlotte is 758 miles and was $722 out and $760 back, within about 5 percent either way. Allow about 2 to 4 days.

Illinois to Texas and Arkansas

Chicago to Dallas is 969 miles and a sedan was $800 going out against $704 coming back, so leaving Illinois cost 14% more. Chicago to Houston is 1,111 miles and was $817 out and $735 back, 11% more going out. Chicago to Little Rock is 652 miles and was $678 going out and $677 coming back, almost the same. Allow about 2 to 5 days.

Illinois to Florida and Georgia

Chicago to Orlando is 1,129 miles and a sedan was $800 going to Florida against $900 coming back to Illinois, so arriving in Illinois cost 12% more. Atlanta to Chicago is 690 miles and was $721 going north against $500 coming south, a 44% gap, so coming into Illinois cost more from both. Allow about 3 to 5 days. Many Illinois owners spend winters in Florida, and that traffic runs on these corridors.

Illinois to California and California to Illinois

Chicago to Los Angeles is 2,019 miles and a sedan was $1,000, against $1,253 for Los Angeles to Chicago, a difference of $253. Allow about 6 to 9 days coast to coast.

Within Illinois

Chicago to Peoria is 167 miles and a sedan was $270, and Chicago to Springfield is 201 miles and was $436. In-state trips usually finish in 1 to 2 days, and they are common for dealer transfers, auction pickups and students moving between Chicago, Urbana-Champaign, Normal and Carbondale. For a lane we did not quote, such as Rockford, Champaign, Naperville or Carbondale, use the price explorer above to see the nearest real lanes, or get a live quote.

Real Illinois jobs: how long they took

These are eight recent jobs that started in Illinois, taken from the signed bills of lading and the pickup and delivery photos the drivers filed. They range from a 1972 Mercedes to a 2026 F-150 and a Porsche 911, and three went to dealers in Colorado. Two were damaged Nissan Altimas picked up at Copart’s southern Illinois yard near East St. Louis and delivered to Iowa, one with a crushed roof, which is the kind of car we price as inoperable. The Audi Q7 started at Manheim Chicago in Matteson. Customer names, street addresses, VINs, plates and carrier details are left out, and the photos are blurred where needed. Dates are the pickup and delivery dates on each bill of lading. Miles are approximate road distances between the cities, estimated by us because a bill of lading does not record them. It does not record the price either, so the prices on this page are our quotes above, not what these customers paid.

Delivered

Five of the eight arrived within a day

• Same day: the F-150 to Wisconsin (about 400 miles) and the damaged Altima to Iowa (about 440).
• 1 day: the other Altima to Iowa (about 420), the Mercedes to Pennsylvania (about 900) and the Lexus to Boulder (about 1,030).
• 2 days: the Porsche 911 to Boulder (about 1,030) and the Buick to San Antonio (about 1,170).
• 4 days: the Audi Q7 to Englewood, Colorado (about 1,030).

Examples, not promises: your timing depends on the lane, the carrier and your dates.

See the photos below ↓

Photos are from the drivers’ inspections at pickup and delivery. License plates, signs and bystanders are blurred or out of frame.

Inoperable and enclosed vehicles: what they add

The quotes above are for running vehicles on open trailers, the most common and least expensive way to ship a car. Two options change the price, and on our platform they are priced as adjustments to the open quote:

• Inoperable (a car that does not run): adds about $100, because the driver needs a winch and extra time to load it.
• Enclosed transport: adds about 75% over the open price, because enclosed trailers carry fewer cars and fewer of them run on any given route.

Here is the 969-mile Chicago to Dallas lane with each option applied:

The inoperable and enclosed columns are calculated from the open quote, not separately quoted, so use them as a planning guide. Enclosed makes sense for luxury, classic and high-value cars, and for winter moves when you want the car out of road salt and slush; for most daily drivers, open transport is the standard. A salvage or auction vehicle that does not run is the usual inoperable case.

Does direction change the price?

In Illinois it did, and mostly in one direction. We quoted thirteen corridors in both directions:

A sedan arriving in Illinois cost more than the same trip leaving on 8 of the 13 corridors: Atlanta to Chicago was 44% higher than Chicago to Atlanta ($721 vs. $500), Detroit to Chicago 37% higher ($413 vs. $302), Newark to Chicago 35% higher ($743 vs. $550), New York to Chicago 29% higher ($805 vs. $624), Los Angeles to Chicago 25% higher ($1,253 vs. $1,000), Columbus to Chicago 20% higher ($431 vs. $360), Richmond to Chicago 15% higher ($962 vs. $837) and Orlando to Chicago 12% higher ($900 vs. $800).

Leaving Illinois cost more on three: Chicago to Minneapolis was 66% higher than Minneapolis to Chicago ($497 vs. $300), Chicago to Dallas 14% higher ($800 vs. $704) and Chicago to Houston 11% higher ($817 vs. $735). Little Rock and Charlotte were within about 5 percent either way. 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.

Did you know?From 28 real Illinois lanes and 4 vehicle types

1. 8 of 13 corridors

   Arriving in Illinois cost more than leaving on 8 of 13 corridors

   A sedan from Atlanta to Chicago was $721 against $500 going the other way, and Detroit, Newark, New York and Los Angeles to Chicago were all at least 25 percent higher than the trip out.

2. 44% more into Chicago

   Atlanta to Chicago cost 44% more than Chicago to Atlanta

   The same 690 miles, but $721 for a sedan going north and $500 going south. That works out to $1.04 a mile into Chicago and $0.72 a mile out.

3. 66% more leaving for Minneapolis

   Chicago to Minneapolis cost 66% more than Minneapolis to Chicago

   A sedan from Chicago to Minneapolis was $497 and from Minneapolis to Chicago $300 on 409 miles, the biggest gap among the thirteen corridors and the opposite of most Chicago lanes.

4. $166 more to Springfield

   Springfield cost $166 more than Peoria for 34 more miles

   A sedan from Chicago to Springfield (201 miles) was $436, against $270 to Peoria (167 miles). A farther trip is not always a cheaper one per car.

Get an Illinois auto quote →

Students, sailors, snowbirds, winter and when to ship

A few patterns recur in Illinois car shipping. These are general industry experience and Illinois’s own calendar, not our October quote data, so compare a live quote for your date:

• Students. August move-in and May move-out are busy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern, the University of Chicago, Loyola, DePaul, Illinois State and the other campuses, and many students ship a car to or from out of state.
• Military moves. Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, the Navy’s recruit training center, Scott Air Force Base near St. Louis and Rock Island Arsenal generate permanent change of station moves, which follow the military’s own summer peak. Ask your carrier how gate access will work, and consider meeting the driver outside the gate.
• Snowbirds. Many Illinois owners spend the winter in Florida, Arizona or Texas, and ship a car south in the fall and back in the spring. We do not have Illinois-specific timing data for it, so book early for those windows.
• Winter weather. Snow, ice and lake-effect storms can slow I-90, I-94, I-80 and I-55 from December through March, and carriers may hold cars until roads are plowed. Keep your pickup window flexible for winter moves.

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

Distance, transit time and the main corridors

Illinois is built around Chicago, and a handful of interstates carry nearly everything:

• I-90 and I-94 run through Chicago to Wisconsin and Minnesota to the north and to Indiana, Michigan and the Northeast to the east. I-80 crosses the northern edge of the state, and I-88 and I-290 head west from the city. I-294 and I-355 are the bypasses around the metro area.
• I-55 runs southwest from Chicago through Springfield to St. Louis and on to the Gulf, and I-57 runs south through Champaign to Memphis and Little Rock. I-65 and I-70 link Chicago and the rest of the Midwest to Atlanta and the East.
• Chicago is the hub. Chicago to Peoria was 167 miles and Chicago to Springfield 201 miles on our in-state lanes, and most of our long-distance lanes were quoted from Chicago because that is where the carriers are. Chicago is also one of the country’s biggest rail and trucking crossroads, so many carriers pass through it.
• Inside the city. Local sources say commercial trucks are kept off Lake Shore Drive and the city’s boulevard system, so a car carrier may not be able to reach a downtown or lakefront address directly. If you live there, expect to meet the driver at a nearby street or lot.

Typical open-trailer transit is about 1 to 2 days for trips under 450 miles, 2 to 4 days for 650 to 800 miles, 2 to 5 days to Texas, 3 to 5 days for 1,100 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. Our recent Illinois jobs (see the real jobs section) took the same day for about 400 to 440 miles, 1 to 2 days for about 900 to 1,170 miles and 4 days for about 1,030 miles to Colorado. A flexible pickup window of a few days usually gets a faster carrier match.

Moving to Illinois: registration, emissions, insurance and tax

If you are moving to Illinois, the car arrives before the paperwork starts. These are the rules the Illinois Secretary of State and the Illinois Department of Revenue publish for vehicles brought in from another state:

1. Register within 30 days. New residents have 30 days after establishing residency to title and register a vehicle, at a Secretary of State facility. Get Illinois insurance first.
2. Bring the title and the application. You surrender the out-of-state title for an Illinois title and complete the application for vehicle transaction (form VSD 190). Bring your ID and proof of residency, and your lender’s details if one holds the title. A vehicle with an out-of-state title may need a VIN verification.
3. Carry Illinois liability insurance. Illinois requires at least $25,000 for injury to one person, $50,000 for injury to more than one person and $20,000 for property damage, and it also requires uninsured motorist coverage, which can be rejected in writing at higher limits. Insurers report coverage to the Secretary of State electronically.
4. Check whether you need an emissions test. Emissions testing applies only 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.
5. File the use tax form. If the car was titled in another state for more than three months before you brought it to Illinois, no Illinois tax is due, but you still file form RUT-50 to show that. A car you bought recently can owe Illinois tax with credit for tax paid elsewhere, so ask the Department of Revenue.

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. Rules and fees change, and Illinois’s state sites do not always load for automated checks, so confirm each item before you go:

Illinois Secretary of State →   Illinois EPA: vehicle emissions testing →   Illinois Department of Revenue: vehicle taxes →   Chicago City Clerk: vehicle stickers →

Chicago, the campuses, the Navy and the farm belt

Several things make Illinois a steady car-shipping market:

• Chicago. The third-largest metro area in the country, with a large dealer, auction and relocation market and two major airports drawing a steady flow of job moves.
• Universities. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern, the University of Chicago, Loyola, DePaul, Illinois State, Northern Illinois and the other campuses draw students from across the country.
• The Navy and Air Force. Naval Station Great Lakes, Scott Air Force Base and Rock Island Arsenal bring moves in and out each year.
• Relocations and second cars. Illinois moves people to and from the Sun Belt, the Northeast and the Pacific coast, and many movers ship a second car instead of driving two.

Dealerships and auctions in Illinois

Dealers and auction yards are some of the most common pickup and delivery points for car carriers, and they are commercial addresses where a full-size trailer can usually reach. There is no single official ranking of Illinois’s dealerships, so these are examples drawn from the companies’ own sites and published directories rather than a top-ten list.

Auction yards

• Chicago area — Copart yards at Chicago South (near Chicago Heights) and in Wheeling, IAA yards at Chicago-West in Aurora and Chicago-North in East Dundee, and Manheim Chicago in Matteson.
• Southern Illinois — Copart’s southern Illinois yard near East St. Louis, where two of our recent jobs started.

Wholesale auctions such as Manheim mostly sell running dealer inventory, while Copart and IAA sell salvage and damaged vehicles that often do not run, so price those as inoperable. Each yard has its own release and gate-pass rules, so confirm them before the driver arrives. Auction locations change and some directory entries are years old, so check each company’s location finder. Two of our eight recent Illinois jobs started at Copart’s southern Illinois yard and one at Manheim Chicago. Dealers shipping cars to out-of-state buyers, and buyers having a car delivered to their Illinois home, are both common, and the same open, enclosed and inoperable pricing above applies.

How to choose a car shipping company in Illinois

Searches for car shipping companies in Illinois and the best auto transport companies in Illinois 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 broker or marketplace like Transportli matches your car with a vetted carrier on your lane and shows you the price up front.
• 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.
• Inspect and document at both ends. The bill of lading is your condition report. Take dated photos, note any damage before you sign, and keep your copy.

Winter storms, road salt and transit reliability

Illinois weather is the most common cause of delay. Snow, ice and lake-effect storms between December and March can slow or close I-90, I-94, I-80 and I-55, and carriers may hold cars until roads are plowed. Spring thunderstorms and hail can also pause pickups. If you ship in winter, leave extra time and keep your pickup window flexible.

Weather matters for the car as well. Road salt is hard on paint and underbodies, so keep the car in a garage or covered spot until the driver arrives, and ask about enclosed transport for a high-value car or a classic.

Preparing your car for pickup

Wash the car so existing damage is easy to see, take dated photos from every side, remove personal items and toll tags such as your I-PASS or E-ZPass, leave about a quarter tank of fuel and note anything that does not work. Our auto transport guide has the full checklist, including what to inspect at delivery before you sign.

Illinois auto transport: frequently asked questions

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