2025 American Auto Shipping Review

American Auto Shipping is one of our favorite car shipping companies. Why? Because it confidently handles every type of transport you can think of, doesn’t require a single deposit, and has fully guaranteed prices that we’ve never seen before. All in all: it’s tough to do better than American Auto Shipping.

Check out where American Auto Shipping ranks on our Best Car Shipping Companies article.

In 2024, the average cost to transport a vehicle with American Auto Shipping is approximately $1,193. You’re likely to see pricing change significantly between open and enclosed transport. For example, while it’s about $560 to ship a mid-size car a couple of hundred miles on an open transport carrier, it’ll be around $2,110 to ship a heavy-duty truck across the country in an enclosed carrier. American Auto Shipping’s initial quotes are higher than you’ll see with many of their competitors, but its final prices are usually lower than the industry average—thanks to their guaranteed pricing.

American Auto Shipping’s initial quotes are a bit higher than the industry average by almost 10%. But don’t let that scare you away, because the shipping company offers its customers guaranteed prices, which means your final price is usually lower than what you’d expect to pay with other companies.

Let us explain why.

Car-shipping pricing is not usually super straightforward. That’s because the initial quote you get from most companies is their best guess of how much it will cost. Once you book with them, they’ll give your transport details to thousands of truck drivers across the country who, in turn, bid on your shipment. And at the end of the process, the final price often settles around 25% higher than your initial quote.

In other words, if an auto transporter quotes you $1,000 on day one, there’s a good chance you’ll end up paying closer to $1,250 by the time the driver arrives to pick up your vehicle.

But American Auto Shipping is different. Its guaranteed prices mean that you might experience a little sticker shock when you see its higher prices on your first quote, but you’re actually more likely to save money in the long run because you won’t have to worry about your price increasing on the back end, like you will with many of its competitors. Your initial quoted price is the only price you pay—nothing more.

Want guaranteed prices to ship your vehicle?

In industry-standard fashion, American Auto Shipping reports that there are several factors that can (and will) affect the cost of shipping your vehicle, including:

• The time of year. As with professional moving, it’s more expensive to ship your automobile in the summer when demand is highest. On the other hand, you can usually snag the most affordable prices during the winter. So if you have a flexible timeline, or you don’t need to ship your car right away, it might be best to wait till winter.
• Your vehicle size and type. It’s not rocket science: bigger and heavier vehicles cost more to ship than smaller and lighter ones. For example, the average cost to ship a mid-size car with American Auto Shipping is about $1,055, while transporting a heavy-duty truck costs around $1,340.
• Transport type. You can ship your vehicle on open or enclosed transport.
  • Open transport trucks don’t have walls or a roof, so your vehicle is open to the elements. It’s also cheaper than enclosed transport.
  • Enclosed shipping is great if you have a classic car or expensive vehicle. Just be aware that it will set you back an additional $500 or so on average.
• Distance traveled. You’ve probably realized this already, but it’s worth mentioning regardless: the farther you go, the more it costs. While a trip shorter than 500 miles will likely run you around $780, a cross-country shipment could be twice that much.
• Market conditions. American Auto Shipping looks at nearly 500 market conditions in real-time to calculate your quote. And that attention to detail is why it can guarantee your final price when most other companies can’t. How does it work? The company uses a pricing prediction software that allows it to factor in variables like:
  • Supply and demand
  • Bad weather
  • Minute-by-minute road closures

American Auto Shipping protects its customers by using only auto transport carriers that maintain at least $750,000 in liability insurance, covering any damage caused by the driver or theft during the transport. And in the rare event you do need to file an insurance claim, American Auto Shipping promises to pay up to $500 toward your deductible at no extra cost to you.

American Auto Shipping delivers a full range of services to its customers, ranging from open and enclosed transport, to expedited pickup and motorcycle shipping:

• Open transport. The most common option, the vast majority of all auto shipments go on open transport. And they’ll ship almost anything from cars, SUVS, trucks, and even heavy-duty equipment like tractors and bulldozers—bet you didn’t see that coming.
• Enclosed transport. American Auto Shipping can also transport your vehicle inside a fully enclosed trailer. Enclosed shipments are ideal for classic cars, custom vehicles, luxury vehicles, and really any other automobiles you don’t want exposed to the elements during transport. The catch? It costs about 40% more than open transport.
• Military shipping. The military usually pays to ship one personal vehicle if you receive a permanent change of station (PCS), but you’re probably going to be on the hook if you’ve got more than one car. American Auto Shipping lends a helping hand by giving active duty personnel a $25 discount.
• Expedited pickup. You can pay extra to have your vehicle picked up faster with American Auto Shipping, which is not a common industry practice. While the company normally picks up your car within five days, you can pay an additional $200 to have it picked up within two days. And if you’re really in a rush, (because of a new job’s start date or you have to leave town) you can pay $500 to have the driver come within 24 hours.
• Hawaii transport. American Auto Shipping offers transport services in all 50 states, including shipments from Hawaii to the mainland. You must bring several documents with you when you drop off your car at the port, including:
  • Your order confirmation
  • Vessel booking number
  • A government ID
  • An authorization letter. If you’re still making car payments, you’ll also need to provide a lien authorization letter. (Your rep can help you with the details.)

• Motorcycle shipping. You can ship a motorcycle of any size with American Auto Shipping. (Yes, even your Boss Hoss.) While it offers both open and enclosed shipping, we strongly recommend that you ship your motorcycle on an enclosed trailer. Because we’re confident a long trip on an open carrier is not something your bike’s finish will appreciate.

American Auto Shipping is one of the only car shipping companies in the industry that offers truly guaranteed pricing. In fact, most companies don’t offer any kind of guarantee—and as a result, your final price is typically hundreds of dollars more expensive than your initial quote.

And while we know a few of American Auto’s competitors chip in several hundred bucks of their own money if your price goes above the initial quote, American Auto Shipping is the only company we’ve found with a bona fide guarantee. Your initial estimate and your final price are always exactly the same.

That said, there are a couple of caveats you should be aware of:

• 24-hour price limit. Although car shipping prices are constantly in flux by nature, American Auto Shipping has an impressive pricing calculator that lets the company predict your price close enough to offer a guarantee—but you have to accept it within 24 hours, or the deal is off the table, and you’ll have to start again.
• User error is possible. American Auto Shipping’s prices are only as good as the info you provide. If you say you want to ship a compact car when you have a bulky SUV, the price will go up. Small details matter too. For example, you can store up to 100 pounds of belongings in your vehicle. If it weighs more than that, you’re responsible for the extra cost.

If you’ve ever tried getting an online quote for, well, anything, you know it can be a long and sometimes frustrating process. Not so with American Auto Shipping, though. With their innovative online tool, you can receive a quote in as little as three minutes. And you know you’ll be getting the most accurate pricing for your move.

It’s rare that a car shipping customer needs to file an insurance claim, but in the event that you do: American Auto Shipping chips in up to $500 that you can put toward your deductible.

Again, please remember this stuff hardly ever happens, because American Auto Shipping intentionally employs only the drivers who perform within the top 2% of all carriers to maximize your chances of experiencing a safe trip. And if the driver does get into an accident or road debris scratches your paint, American Auto Shipping has you covered.

American Auto Shipping has been around for almost two decades, and there's a good reason for that—especially in an industry where logistics companies disappear just as quickly as they open. Aside from consistently receiving stellar customer reviews (the average customer gives American Auto Shipping a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars), the customer service reps are known for making the entire car shipping process stress-free and easy to understand.

And although we’d expect to see more customer reviews from a company that’s been around as long as American Auto, we can’t scoff at the company’s nearly-perfect star rating.

American Auto Shipping has successfully maintained one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the industry over time. And while the company’s score across eight popular review sites dropped slightly from 2020 to 2021, it held steady in 2022. Plus, its 4.8-star average is still the second-highest we’ve ever seen from any moving company. Even more noteworthy? American Auto Shipping has maintained that star rating over more than two decades.

We don’t have many American Auto Shipping service changes to report in 2024. However, we noticed that its pricing (over time) is sort of all over the place. For example, in 2020, the company’s average price was about 20% lower than the industry average. While in 2021, it was approximately 40% higher, and then back down to only about 10% higher in 2022. Regardless, the high rates don’t seem to scare customers. And we suspect American Auto Shipping’s customers aren’t sounding the alarms because they’ll guarantee their rates (when most companies don’t).

American Auto Shipping still holds one of the top spots on our list of the best car shipping companies, and for good reason. The auto transport broker has been doing all of the little things the right way for decades. As a surprise to no one, customers often give nearly perfect review scores as a result. Our favorite features are American Auto Shipping’s instant online quoting tool, and its generous $500 damage-free guarantee.

And what completely blows us away is its one-of-a-kind guaranteed prices: you never see that in this industry. There are no bones about it: American Auto Shipping is one of the best companies we’ve seen to date.

Want one of the best car shipping companies around?

When we first started researching car shipping companies, we noticed an alarming trend: every brand seemed to have irate customers warning others to never use them. Type any car shipping company into Google and you'll find people complaining about lapses in communication, no-show carriers, surprise price increases, and scratched vehicles. 

Such widespread dissatisfaction seems to suggest that the problem isn't necessarily with the companies themselves, but with the car shipping industry as a whole. Brokers provide a popular service by streamlining the hiring process and allowing multiple carriers to bid on each job, which helps lower the final price. Some brokers offer additional perks like extra insurance coverage and quick access to a back-up plan when a carrier drops the ball, but the fact remains that they're middlemen and have little control over the carriers' schedules or communication skills.

Still, there are companies that successfully deliver cars and customer satisfaction more often than others. It's our job to figure out how they do it and who has the best track record.

We started by reading hundreds of customer reviews to identify common complaints. We determined people care most about the following four things:

• Accurate, transparent pricing with no surprise fees upon delivery.
• A reliable service with on-time pickup and delivery and responsive customer care.
• Carriers who communicate about schedule changes and take good care of the vehicle.
• Some kind of protection or guarantee, often in the form of gap coverage or a damage-free guarantee.

We developed a four-part grading system based on these criteria. Companies earn points in each category, and points equal grades on a scale from A+ to D. We'll adjust our grading criteria as we continue to gather more nuanced information and data, but here's what we currently consider:

• Price transparency: Online quote calculator functionality and privacy, easily accessible fee explanations, guaranteed quotes, price matching, customer satisfaction regarding the final price. 14 points possible.
• Reliability: Guaranteed pickup and/or delivery, customer satisfaction regarding timeliness, and customer satisfaction regarding broker's ability to quickly solve problems. 11 points possible.
• Carrier quality: Transparency regarding carrier vetting process, quality of carrier vetting process, and customer satisfaction with carriers. 6 points possible.
• Insurance coverage: Bare minimum vs. extra liability coverage, optional gap coverage, and extras like claim assistance, damage-free guarantees, and time to inspect for damage. 11 points possible.

To grade a company, we collect information by mystery shopping and analyzing customer reviews on third-party websites like the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot.

Mystery shopping allows us to experience the brand's website, sales process, and customer service from the perspective of the buyer. For example, some brokers have easy-to-use online quote calculators, while others collect your information and provide a quote over the phone. 

Customer reviews give us insight into real experiences, but we tread carefully here because reviews can often be faked. We look for trends that have occurred in the last 12 months and consider warnings from the Better Business Bureau. We calculate a weighted star rating based on all the reviews we can find online. This average customer rating is shared under each brand section but is distinct from the Move.org star rating, which is an editorial score we create to help readers understand the relative value and quality of each company.

We've also conducted online and in-person interviews with company leaders to learn behind-the-scenes information that sets each one apart. We find these interviews especially helpful in understanding the carrier vetting process.

We've published our car shipping leadership interviews below:

• Asadullah Sameer Ismailzada, AmeriFreight Auto Transport (coming soon)
• Mark Scholl, Montway Auto Transport
• Jack Savov, SGT Auto Transport
• Terry Williams, Auto Shipping Group

To date, we've collected more than 800 quotes from more than 13 car shipping companies to find industry and company averages. The car shipping quotes include prices for a motorcycle, car, SUV, and pick up truck across multiple distances with both open and enclosed transport and running and non-running vehicles with a one-week lead time. We use the same criteria when gathering quotes so that we can easily compare prices across brands.

We've published many of our quotes on this page and in our individual brand reviews so you can get a sense of how much it might cost to ship your car without having to share your private information. 

However, we take cost data with a grain of salt when ranking and reviewing companies that don't guarantee their quotes. Our research shows that the final car shipping price can increase by 25% when all is said and done.

Car shipping is a competitive industry, and companies make changes all the time. We repeat our review methodology at least once per year to ensure we publish up-to-date price averages, customer ratings, and proprietary grades.

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