How Much Does it Cost to Ship a Car from Florida to California?

Shipping a car from Florida to California costs an average of $2,327. However, you might pay under $700 or more than $5,000 depending on the starting location, total distance, vehicle weight, and type of transport trailer. 

Below, we'll share some sample quotes, compare the pros and cons of shipping a car versus driving it cross-country, and help you find the best service for shipping your car from Florida to California 

There's quite a difference between $700 and $5,000. Where will your trip fall in that range?

Let's take a look at how car shipping quotes are typically calculated.

Based on our analysis of more than 700 car shipping quotes from industry leaders, we estimate that the average car transport company charges $0.40 to $0.88 per mile. 

The longest distance a car might travel from Florida to California is 3,537 miles. The car would be picked up in Key West, Florida and delivered to the town of Smith River in the northwest corner of California.

The shortest distance between Florida and California is about 1,834 miles. The car would be picked up in Pensacola, the western-most city in Florida, and delivered to the El Centro area in southeast California.

So, you're looking at mileage fees of about $734–$3,113 for moving a car from Florida to California. Note this isn't the final estimate, as other factors will affect the price as well.

You might pay less overall if your car is currently located in a metropolitan area because there will be more carriers available. More carriers means more competition,  which drives down the total price.

Most car shipping companies are brokers. They don't hire employees to haul your car for you. Instead, they maintain a network of independent professional haulers known as carriers. The broker will advertise your job to carriers in the area, and they'll bid against each other for the chance to win it. The lowest bid wins.

So, if you're shipping a car from a major city like Orlando, you can expect a larger number of carriers to view and bid on your job compared to a rural location off the beaten path. Carriers will also look for the opportunity to pick up additional cars on their existing routes, so it helps to live close to a major freeway or highway.

Check the table below for a real-life example. We got quotes from SGT Auto Transport for moving a running 2025 Toyota Camry in an open transport carrier from Port St Joe, FL to El Centro, CA. Next, we changed the pick-up location to Gainesville, FL, a city about four hours away from Port St Joe. Although it adds more than 150 miles to the total distance, the second quote is cheaper. 

We also compared those two estimates with a quote from Miami to Los Angeles, the largest metro areas in each state. Despite being 700 miles further apart than El Centro and Pensacola, the Miami-LA route is the cheapest. That's likely because there's tons of competition among carriers in Miami, and they know they'll be able to pick up more cars in Los Angeles. 

Same-day pick-up is hard to come by in the car shipping industry, and it tends to cost more than pick-ups scheduled in advance. 

Give carriers plenty of time to consider your job as they plan upcoming routes. You'll likely get more bids, and more bids means a lower price.

Heavier vehicles cost more to transport. Open car carriers can haul about 40,000–50,000 pounds total, which equals about six to ten vehicles. 

Hauling heavier vehicles means the carrier can't take as many in one trip. To make up for the cost gap between a full and partially full transport trailer, carriers will charge extra for the heavier vehicles.

We estimate that most car shippers charge $0.09–$0.13 per 100 pounds of vehicle weight. That means you can expect to pay about $300-$500 extra to ship a heavier vehicle, like a dually truck, compared to a typical sedan.

There are two main types of car transport carriers: open and enclosed.

Open carriers leave your car open to the weather, just as if you were to drive it all the way from Florida to California yourself. It might get covered in dust or road salt, and there's a chance rocks might fly up and hit it.

If your vehicle is valuable and you don't want to expose it to thousands of miles of road debris, consider an enclosed transport trailer. Your car will be inside a semi trailer for the entire journey. 

Based on our research, enclosed trailers can increase your bill by 30% to 50%. 

If the stars align, you could pay $1,500 or less to ship your car from Florida to California. We recommend the following to get the best price:

• Plan ahead. Try to connect with a broker at least one week before you need the car picked up.
• Be willing to drive your car to the nearest metro for pick-up. If you can't stick around to meet the driver, ask about terminal-to-terminal shipping. 
• Choose open transport. Most vehicles don't really need the extra protection of an enclosed trailer. 
• Get quotes from multiple brokers. Choose the best price, or ask your favorite company to price match.

Here's how our favorite car shipping brokers usually stack up with their quotes:

If you're travelling from one major city to another, the table below can help you get an idea of how much it might cost to ship your car. Look for the distance that's closest to your own trip. 

As discussed above, you may pay more if the car is picked up from a smaller town.

Here's more info about how we made this table: We randomly paired the six largest Florida metros with the six largest California metros to create pick-up and delivery locations. Then, we used our proprietary auto shipping calculator to estimate the average cost. We used an average vehicle weight of 4,300 pounds and assumed the vehicle is operable. Add about $500 for inoperable vehicles.

These are ballpark estimates, so make sure you get a personalized quote from one of the top car shipping companies. 

If shipping your car seems expensive, you might consider driving it from Florida to California yourself. 

While doable, such a drive can take days. Assuming you have the energy to drive for about 10 hours per day, it would take three to six days to make the trip. And that's without encountering traffic or other delays. Do you have that much time to spare?

It takes a lot of mental energy to drive a car for that long, and it's not as cheap as you think due to the cost of lodging and gas.

Budget Your Trip estimates that the average US hotel room costs $171 per night. To drive a car from Florida to California, you would spend about $513 to $855 on lodging at that rate.

Next up is gas. Assuming your vehicle has a fuel efficiency of about 25 miles per gallon on the highway, you would need at least 74 gallons of gas to make it from Florida to California. The longest FL to CA route would require 142 gallons of gas. 

According to AAA, gas costs an average of $3.18 across the nation, but it's cheapest in the south and most expensive west of the Rocky Mountains. To keep things simple, we'll use the national average and assume your car needs regular unleaded. You'd spend $235–$452 on gas.

So, between hotel rooms and gas, it would cost $748–$1,307 to drive from Florida and California. Don't forget to budget extra for tolls and the inevitable fast food. And if your car breaks down on the way, you'll need to fix it right away to make sure it gets to California.

On the other hand, professional drivers can do all the work for you while you hop on a flight from Florida to California and get an extra week to prepare your home, work, or relax.

It could take a carrier slightly longer (about five to 10 days) to deliver your car because they may need to pick up or drop off other vehicles. During that time, you may need to rent a car, take public transportation, or pay for rideshares, which can increase your total cost. 

It's a lot to think about, so we summed up the pros and cons in the table below.

You won't know whether shipping your car from Florida to California is the best choice for you without crunching some numbers. It could be more affordable than you think—or similar in price to the cost of driving it across the country yourself.

Get real quotes from our five favorite car shipping companies to start comparing prices: