A car shipping company should fit into your budget and schedule, provide excellent communication, and take good care of your vehicle.
"I wanted a company I could count on," Johannes Hock told Move.org. He wanted to give his car to his parents and needed a way to deliver it safely. "I cared about communication, consistency, and track record. I wasn't looking for the cheapest option—I was looking for the one that was least likely to cause problems."
Hock also recommends avoiding shipping companies that are vague about their process or won't tell you who the actual carrier is. "Trust your gut. If a company seems sketchy at the beginning, they probably won't improve once they have your car."
His number one piece of advice? "Skip the lowest quote. That almost always leads to headaches."
Alex Black, another car shipping customer we interviewed, echoed that sentiment. "Cost played a factor, but I quickly found that the lowest price can be a headache."
He recommends giving yourself plenty of time to plan out the details. "If I had to do it over, I'd book earlier—last-minute shipping can cost you more and limit your options." Black says being flexible about pickup and drop-off dates can also make the process less stressful.
Finally, we spoke with Amra Beganovich about her experience shipping a car from New York City to Los Angeles. She believes preparation is key to a good experience.
"Take pictures before it's loaded, check insurance coverage, and ask about the pickup window," she said. "My best advice is to write it all down and ask all the questions early on."
(Incidentally, Hock, Black, and Beganovich all ended up choosing Montway Auto Transport.)
Consider the following when choosing a car shipping company:
- Reasonable prices. Avoid overpaying by taking the extra time to compare multiple quotes. Beware of pricing that seems too good to be true, though.
- Guaranteed quotes. We’ve often seen car shipping prices go up about 25% between the initial estimate and the final price. So consider it a green flag if a company guarantees even a portion of your shipping quote.
- Years of experience. Longevity is generally a huge trust signal in the car shipping industry. So we recommend looking for a company that’s been around for a while.
- Extra coverage. Accidents are rare—but in logistics, anything can happen. The best companies will offer you more than a bare-bones insurance policy. Keep in mind, though, that most policies will cover damage to the vehicle and are not considered 'cargo insurance' for items shipped inside the car.
- Customer reviews. We take customer reviews pretty seriously at Move.org, and though we understand reviews are subjective, we generally feel safe using a service that has above-average customer reviews of at least 4.6 out of 5 stars when you're looking to ship a car.
- Communication. If you're having a hard time getting a straight answer about a quote or can't get someone on the phone to ask an insurance question, don't expect things to change once you're a paying customer. A good car shipping company will prioritize communication.
- Services. Do you need terminal-to-terminal shipping? Same-day pickup? GPS tracking? Help storing your vehicle? Some auto transport companies offer lots of premium services, while others stick to the basics. Service offerings can quickly narrow the playing field.
We found that costs range from as low as $350 for shipping vehicles a few hundred miles away on an open carrier to up to $1,400 to ship a car across the country in an enclosed truck. The average cost to ship your vehicle is approximately $851. Move.org analyzed nearly 700 quotes and surveyed the top 7 car transportation companies to calculate industry averages.
The large amount of competition in the industry also means that it's absolutely worth it to gather multiple quotes and push to negotiate lower prices from your car transportation providers.