Missouri Auto Transport: Rates by Vehicle and Route

Looking for auto transport in Missouri? What car shipping in Missouri costs depends on the route, the vehicle and whether it runs. We ran real quotes from our platform for 44 Missouri lanes around Kansas City and St. Louis, from a 61-mile hop between Kansas City and Topeka to a 1,241-mile haul between Orlando and Kansas City, and an open-trailer sedan ranged from $136 to $1,225. Here is what Missouri auto transport costs by vehicle type and route, including auto transport companies’ typical lanes out of Kansas City and St. Louis, car shipping from Missouri to Florida, Texas and New York, how the price changes by direction, how winter weather and the college calendar change the picture, and the title, inspection 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 Missouri

Whether you need an auto transport service in Missouri for a move, a purchase or a dealer transfer, every figure below is a real quote from our platform for one vehicle on an open trailer, running, priced separately for each vehicle type. Most lanes were priced on October 20, 2026, and a few shared with our other state guides were priced earlier in October. Kansas City stands in for western Missouri and St. Louis for the east, 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 Missouri or leaving it.

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 $2.35 a mile on Kansas City → Springfield, MO to $0.45 on Kansas City → New York. Pickups cost a median of 38% more than a sedan on these lanes and vans a median of 39% more, while an SUV was priced below the sedan on 12 of 44 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 $0.92–$2.35 per mile under 450 miles and $0.45–$1.03 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 61 miles or 1,000. Kansas City to Topeka is 61 miles and cost $136, or $2.23 a mile, while Orlando to Kansas City is about 20 times as far but only 6 times the price.

Pickups and vans cost more than sedans

A pickup cost a median of 38% more than a sedan on the same lane, from 9% less to 386% more, and a van a median of 39% more. An SUV was priced within a median of 5% of the sedan and was cheaper on 12 of 44. Missouri has plenty of trucks and farm-country pickups, so if you are shipping one, 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 Missouri car shipping routes

Kansas City to Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha and the Plains

Kansas City ships north on I-35 and I-29 and east to Chicago, and the Plains cities are short runs. Chicago: a sedan was $575 leaving Kansas City (513 mi) and $526 into Kansas City; Minneapolis: a sedan was $582 leaving Kansas City (437 mi) and $400 into Kansas City; Des Moines: a sedan was $334 leaving Kansas City (194 mi) and $279 into Kansas City; Omaha: a sedan was $335 leaving Kansas City (182 mi) and $305 into Kansas City; Topeka: a sedan was $136 leaving Kansas City (61 mi) and $143 into Kansas City; Wichita: a sedan was $253 leaving Kansas City (199 mi) and $270 into Kansas City.

Kansas City to Dallas, Atlanta, Orlando and the East

These are the long hauls out of western Missouri, south on I-35, east on I-70 and I-64, and west on I-70 to Denver. Dallas: a sedan was $450 leaving Kansas City (496 mi) and $500 into Kansas City; Atlanta: a sedan was $718 leaving Kansas City (805 mi) and $814 into Kansas City; Orlando: a sedan was $831 leaving Kansas City (1,241 mi) and $770 into Kansas City; Louisville: a sedan was $539 leaving Kansas City (511 mi) and $668 into Kansas City; New York: a sedan was $536 leaving Kansas City (1,197 mi) and $1,225 into Kansas City; Denver: a sedan was $522 leaving Kansas City (605 mi) and $508 into Kansas City.

St. Louis to Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando and New York

St. Louis sits on I-55, I-64 and I-70, so the Southeast, Chicago and the East Coast are its main lanes. Chicago: a sedan was $300 leaving St. Louis (298 mi) and $609 into St. Louis; Atlanta: a sedan was $550 leaving St. Louis (554 mi) and $600 into St. Louis; Orlando: a sedan was $869 leaving St. Louis (993 mi) and $745 into St. Louis; New York: a sedan was $510 leaving St. Louis (953 mi) and $976 into St. Louis; Jackson: a sedan was $668 leaving St. Louis (491 mi) and $662 into St. Louis.

St. Louis to Dallas and Denver

West and southwest from St. Louis goes down I-44 toward Texas and across I-70 to Colorado. Dallas: a sedan was $617 leaving St. Louis (630 mi) and $499 into St. Louis; Denver: a sedan was $883 leaving St. Louis (852 mi) and $550 into St. Louis.

Inside Missouri: Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield

Missouri is a state of two big metros, about 250 miles apart on I-70, with Springfield and the Ozarks to the southwest and Columbia and Jefferson City in the middle. Kansas City and St. Louis are the hubs for the quotes above. Moves from the Kansas side of the Kansas City metro price like the Missouri side, so also see our Kansas, Illinois, Iowa and Arkansas guides if you live near those lines. A sedan: Kansas City to St. Louis was $300 (251 mi); St. Louis to Kansas City was $300 (248 mi); Kansas City to Springfield, MO was $390 (166 mi); Springfield, MO to Kansas City was $299 (170 mi); St. Louis to Springfield, MO was $416 (217 mi); Springfield, MO to St. Louis was $383 (216 mi).

Does direction change the price?

We quoted twenty-two corridors both ways from Kansas City and St. Louis:

A sedan leaving Kansas City or St. Louis cost more than the same trip arriving on 10 of the 22 corridors: St. Louis to Denver 61% higher ($883 vs. $550), Kansas City to Minneapolis 46% higher ($582 vs. $400), Kansas City to Springfield, MO 30% higher ($390 vs. $299), St. Louis to Dallas 24% higher ($617 vs. $499). Arriving at the hub cost more on 9: New York to Kansas City 129% higher ($1,225 vs. $536), Chicago to St. Louis 103% higher ($609 vs. $300), New York to St. Louis 91% higher ($976 vs. $510). About the same both ways: Kansas City and St. Louis, Kansas City and Denver, St. Louis and Jackson. 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. We measured this across our whole dataset in our study of 287 lanes priced both ways.

Did you know?From 44 real Missouri lanes and ten delivered jobs

1. +129% more into a Missouri hub

   New York to Kansas City cost 129% more than Kansas City to New York

   A sedan was $1,225 into Kansas City against $536 going the other way on about 1,197 miles.

2. +61% more out of a Missouri hub

   St. Louis to Denver cost 61% more than Denver to St. Louis

   A sedan was $883 leaving St. Louis against $550 coming in on about 852 miles.

3. $2.35 a mile, on a short lane

   A short lane cost the most per mile: $2.35 vs. $0.45

   A sedan from Kansas City to Springfield, MO (166 miles) was $390. Kansas City to New York (1,197 miles) was $536.

4. 12 of 44 lanes where the SUV beat the sedan

   On 12 of 44 lanes the SUV was priced below the sedan

   Size does not always cost more. Pickups, on the other hand, were a median of 38% above the sedan.

5. 44 real lanes, 4 vehicle types

   44 real Missouri lanes, priced for four vehicle types

   From a 61-mile hop inside the state to a 1,241-mile haul.

Get a Missouri auto quote →

Recent jobs from Missouri

These are recent jobs that started or ended in Missouri, taken from the signed bills of lading and the pickup and delivery photos the driver filed. Customer names, street addresses, VINs and plates are left out, and the photos are blurred where needed. Dates are the signature dates on the bills of lading and miles are our approximation. Seven of the ten were delivered within a day of pickup, including a 1,140-mile run to Florida. Treat these as examples, not promises.

The jobs cover the main Missouri lanes: Kansas City and St. Louis to the Plains and Rockies, to Florida and to the East Coast. Two were dealer transfers of new vehicles, a Jeep Grand Cherokee to New Jersey and a GMC Yukon to New York, and the Camry shows what a car that does not run looks like on a hauler, which is priced as an inoperable vehicle. Heavy-duty trucks like the Silverado 2500 are priced as pickups, and dually or modified trucks need a quote of their own.

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 $450 open from Kansas City to Dallas works out to about $788 enclosed, or about $984 if it also does not run. Collector cars, motorcycles and high-value vehicles are usually shipped enclosed, which many owners choose for hail, road salt and winter ice. See our inoperable vehicle guide and our classic car transport guide for details.

Winter storms, students, the military and when to ship

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

• Winter weather. Ice and snow from December through February can close I-70, I-44 and I-35 for a day or two, and spring storms bring hail and tornado warnings, so keep your window flexible.
• Students. Move-in in August and move-out in May matter in Columbia (the University of Missouri), Springfield (Missouri State), St. Louis (Saint Louis University and Washington University) and Kansas City, and many students ship a car to or from out of state.
• Military moves. Fort Leonard Wood near Waynesville and Whiteman Air Force Base near Knob Noster bring moves in and out through the year. Ask your carrier how gate access will work and consider meeting the driver outside the gate. Active-duty members can ask about our military discount.
• Industry. Automaker assembly plants and the logistics hubs around Kansas City and St. Louis mean new vehicles, company cars and employees moving in and out, and dealer transfers are a steady source of pickups.
• Ozarks and lake season. The Lake of the Ozarks and Branson areas bring seasonal moves of second cars, boats and trailers in summer, so book early for May and June.
• Summer heat and storms. Missouri summers are hot and humid with hail risk, so many owners of newer or collector cars choose enclosed transport for the trip.

A flexible pickup window of a few days usually gets a faster carrier match, and booking a few weeks ahead matters more in winter weather or when students move in.

Distance, transit time and the main corridors

Missouri’s traffic runs on a few roads:

• I-70 crosses the state from Kansas City through Columbia and Jefferson City to St. Louis, about 250 miles, and carries most of the east–west freight. I-44 runs from St. Louis southwest through Rolla and Springfield to Joplin and on to Oklahoma.
• I-35 and I-29 run north from Kansas City toward Des Moines, Omaha and the Twin Cities, and I-35 runs south through Kansas toward Dallas.
• I-55 runs from St. Louis north to Chicago and south toward Memphis, and I-64 links St. Louis to Louisville and the East. I-57 and US-60 serve the Bootheel and the southeast.
• Rural roads and small towns. Much of Missouri is farm country and hills, with fewer carriers outside the main highways, so a pickup in a rural county may take longer to schedule or need a meeting point on a bigger road.

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 Missouri: title, inspection, emissions and insurance

If you are moving to Missouri, the car arrives before the paperwork starts. These are the rules we found on Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR) pages and insurance guides, as search excerpts, so confirm each item with the DOR or your local license office before you go:

• Title and registration. The sources we read give new residents 30 days to title and register a vehicle, and say you surrender your out-of-state title and apply for a Missouri title. The DOR’s titling page is at dor.mo.gov. Fees and late penalties differ between sources, so use the DOR’s own pages.
• Safety inspection. A Missouri safety inspection is required to title a vehicle, and it must be no more than 60 days old. One source says vehicles less than 10 years old with 150,000 miles or fewer are exempt, so ask the DOR whether your car needs one.
• Emissions test. Required only in certain counties. The sources list St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County and Jefferson County, and one adds the Kansas City area, so check where you will live.
• Other documents. Proof of Missouri-minimum insurance and a statement of non-assessment from your county showing no personal property taxes are owed. If a lender holds the title, the license office generates a letter for the lienholder.
• Insurance. Guides give the minimum liability limits as $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, with uninsured motorist coverage required at the same limits. Property damage is reported as $10,000 by some sources and $25,000 by others, so confirm the current number with the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance or your insurer.

Rules and fees change, so confirm each item with the DOR or your local license office before you go. Our moving-to-Missouri tip: ship the car to arrive after you have your inspection and county tax statement lined up, so the 30-day clock does not run out while the car is on a truck.

Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield and the rest of Missouri

• Kansas City. The metro straddles the Missouri–Kansas line, with Independence, Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs and Liberty on the Missouri side and Overland Park and Olathe in Kansas. It sits on I-35, I-70 and I-29 and is the main logistics hub for the western half of the state.
• St. Louis. The St. Louis area, with St. Charles, O’Fallon, Chesterfield and Clayton, is the state’s other large market, on I-55, I-64, I-70 and I-44, with dealer, university and corporate moves.
• Springfield and the Ozarks. Springfield, Joplin, Branson and Lake of the Ozarks are on I-44 and US-65, and price against the Kansas City and St. Louis lanes.
• Columbia and Jefferson City. Mid-Missouri on I-70 includes the University of Missouri and state-government moves, and sits roughly halfway between the two hubs.
• The Bootheel and the southeast. Cape Girardeau, Sikeston and Poplar Bluff along I-55 and I-57 have fewer carriers and longer pickups.
• Relocations and second cars. Missouri moves people to and from Texas, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Colorado, and many movers ship a second car instead of driving two.

Dealerships and auctions in Missouri

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 Missouri dealerships, so these are examples drawn from company listings rather than a top-ten list. For the full picture of auction pickups, see our auction and dealer car shipping guide.

Auction yards

• St. Louis area — directory listings give Copart’s St. Louis yard as 13033 Taussig Ave in Bridgeton, with other Copart yards listed in Columbia, Sikeston and Rogersville near Springfield. Check Copart’s location finder.
• Kansas City area — a listing shows an IAA branch, Kansas City East, in Odessa on Old Highway 40, east of the city, and another IAA branch in Springfield. Confirm current addresses with IAA.
• Elsewhere — we could not confirm a Manheim yard in Missouri, so check its location finder.
• After storms — Copart and IAA sell salvage vehicles, including hail-damaged and storm-damaged cars, 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 entries are years old, so check each company’s own location finder. Dealers shipping cars to out-of-state buyers, and buyers having a car delivered to their Missouri home, are both common, and the same open, enclosed and inoperable pricing above applies.

How to choose a car shipping company in Missouri

Searches for auto transport companies in Missouri 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.
• 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 should come off before pickup.
4. In winter, clear the ice and snow and keep the car where a truck can reach it, and tell the carrier if a storm may delay the pickup.
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 rural road or a tight city street, 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.

Missouri auto transport: frequently asked questions

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