uShip Auto Transport Review 2021

Name: uShip Brand Review: Pricing & Services
Item: uShip
Rating: 4.0
Author: Julia Campbell

Bottom line: uShip is an online marketplace that gives customers flexibility to choose their car shipper, but it costs about 40% more than average.

uShip

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By Kurt Manwaring

Researcher & Writer

Published on February 15, 2021

6 min read

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Would you pay more to have your favorite food delivered straight to your door? Companies like DoorDash and Grubhub bank on your willingness to pay a premium for convenience.

uShip follows a similar approach to car shipping. It’s convenient, but its rates are 40% higher than the industry average.

It’s also different from any other car shipping company. In fact, uShip isn’t a car shipping company at all: it’s an online marketplace that connects customers with auto transport companies that bid on jobs.

Think of it as the eBay of car shipping. You say what kind of car you have and where you’re going, and car shipping companies bid on your job. You’re also given the average customer satisfaction rating for each company, so it’s less likely you end up with a lemon.

We’ll walk you through the company’s pros and cons in our uShip review.

How uShip compares to the car shipping industry

	uShip	Industry averages
Company pricing (out of 5)	$$$$$	$$$
Age of company (years)	18	17
Vehicles shipped in 2019	50,000	20,400

Compare uShip to its competitors on our Best Car Shipping Companies list.

How uShip is different

uShip is like the eBay of car shipping. Rather than selling car shipping services, uShip serves as a marketplace that connects customers with auto transport companies that bid on their jobs.

The company also provides other shipping services:

Vehicles and boats
Household items (furniture, appliances)
Heavy equipment (farm, construction)

More than 40,000 companies have shipped items for six million uShip customers.

As a result, uShip doesn’t fit neatly into a car shipping box: it's not a freight broker or a carrier. We don’t feel comfortable giving it a typical rating because of how different it is from other auto transport companies:

Pricing. uShip itself doesn’t offer car shipping quotes. Instead, it lets car shipping companies on its platform bid on your job—so you’ll get a list of bids from a bunch of transporters instead of a single quote.

Employees. uShip doesn’t vet the companies on its marketplace. While that would typically be a red mark for a car shipping company, it’s tough to hold uShip to the same standard because its service providers aren’t employees.

Reviews. uShip shows you the reviews for each company on its website and allows you to choose your shipper. Most auto transport brokers make that choice for you. The downside is you can’t see an overall customer service rating for uShip car shipping services.

Avoid the uShip app

If you’re a new uShip customer, consider using the company’s website instead of the mobile app. The uShip app gets poor reviews from users and requires you to create an account to do any shopping.

How much does uShip cost?

uShip auto transport is expensive: its average price of $1,300 is about 40% higher than the average car shipping company. The average cost per 100 miles to ship a car with uShip is $182—although prices vary depending on car size, distance, and seasonality.

uShip car shipping pricing

	2008 Dodge Charger	2011 Toyota Highlander	2012 Chevrolet Silverado
Open transport	$1,020	$1,140	$1,300
Enclosed transport	$1,430	$1,540	$1,370

Data as of 6/9/2020. Average cost calculated by comparing costs across five distances. Offers and availability may vary and are subject to change.

We collected 406 uShip quotes for open and enclosed shipping to see how much it would cost to ship three different cars to five different locations.

What did we find?

The average auto transport cost for jobs booked through uShip is about $1,300—or about $182 per 100 miles.

uShip fees explained

uShip doesn’t charge to use its website, but it passes down costs to customers in the form of service charges. Our research shows the average uShip service charge for car shipping is about $75.

How uShip pricing compares

uShip is expensive

uShip lets the marketplace set its own prices—and they’re steep. The average uShip bid is almost $400 more expensive than the average car shipping company quote. Even if you look at only the lowest uShip bids, they’re still almost 30% above average.

uShip average car shipping prices

	uShip average	uShip lowest bid	Industry average
Open transport	$1,150	$1,050	$710
Enclosed transport	$1,450	$1,340	$1,120

Data as of 6/9/2020. Average cost calculated by comparing costs across five distances. Offers and availability may vary and are subject to change.

uShip cost factors

Peanut butter, jelly, and bread are basically the same price at every store. Car shipping rates are far less consistent.

uShip says its car shipping prices depend on several factors:

Auto transport service type
Distance
Pickup and delivery locations
Seasonality
Vehicle condition
Vehicle make and model
Vehicle size

Vehicle transport prices are also affected by extra services (like insurance or expedited shipping), whether you ship more than one vehicle at the same time, and the carrier bidding process.

How much does it cost to ship a car?

The average cost to ship a car is about $920. Costs range from about $280 to $2,060 depending on the type of transport, vehicle size, and distance. Learn more in our guide to car shipping costs.

uShip coverage options

Car shipping companies are legally required to carry insurance. uShip doesn’t verify that service providers on the marketplace provide insurance, but it does allow customers to purchase insurance through a third-party partner.

Additionally, uShip has a “ship with confidence” guarantee that compensates you up to $500 in the event of negligent loss or damage.

No motor? No insurance.

uShip sells car shipping insurance through a third party, but you can’t buy the insurance if your car isn’t drivable. Learn more about how insurance works in our car shipping insurance tutorial.

uShip at a glance

	Company information
MC #	N/A
US DOT #	N/A
Broker or carrier	Neither
Carries basic insurance	No
Average customer service rating	4.2/5
Years in business	18
Cars shipped in 2019	50,000

uShip features and services

Pros

Convenience

Provider star ratings

GPS tracking

Damage-free guarantee

Cons

High prices

No provider vetting

The car shippers on uShip’s marketplace provide several auto transport services:

Door-to-door auto transport
Expedited car shipping
Enclosed auto transport
Open auto transport

uShip's response to COVID-19

uShip remains open for business during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company strongly encourages all customers and shippers to follow CDC guidelines on hygiene and social distancing while delivering and receiving shipments.

Things to know about uShip

uShip price estimates are misleading

If you need a car shipping quote, you can get one in less than a minute with uShip—and you don’t even need a uShip account. But there’s a catch: the initial prices are far below what you’ll end up paying.

We’ll show you why.

When you enter your destination and vehicle type, uShip shows you a screen with an “average” amount and a few sample quotes.

But there are a few problems:

The prices aren’t actual quotes. The amounts represent what quotes are likely to be, but you have to create an official listing to see real bids—and the numbers differ from what you see on the initial screen. Your final cost will likely be about 40% more expensive.
The prices don’t reflect enclosed transport. You can see open transport estimates with almost no effort. But to get a quote for enclosed shipping, you have to create a uShip account, make a listing for your job, and wait up to 24 hours to get quotes.
The prices don’t include fees. uShip doesn’t charge customers for accounts, but it makes money on service fees not included in initial estimates. We found an average service charge of about $75 for auto shipments.

A screenshot of uShip prices for auto transport.

uShip average vs. actual cost for open transport

	uShip “average”	uShip actual cost	Price difference
150 miles	$390	$460	$70 ↑
550 miles	$700	$830	$130 ↑
1,000 miles	$940	$1,270	$330 ↑
1,050 miles	$880	$1,460	$580 ↑
2,750 miles	$1,240	$1,760	$520 ↑

Data as of 6/9/2020. Cost calculated by comparing 406 uShip quotes and uShip “average” listings. Offers and availability may vary and are subject to change.

uShip is convenient

uShip’s greatest strength is its convenience. You don’t have to call 10 companies to get 10 quotes—or give your personal info 10 times and sort through 10 answers to the same question.

You just go to the uShip website, enter your shipment details, and sort through the results. It’s as simple as that.

Customers like it so much that uShip transports more than twice as many cars as the average car shipping company.

uShip vehicles shipped in 2019

	uShip	Industry average
2019	50,000	20,400

Data as if 4/30/2020.

uShip has a “ship with confidence” guarantee

uShip doesn’t verify that its marketplace providers have insurance, but it does offer a “ship with confidence” guarantee. This means that if your car is damaged, uShip will compensate you for up to $500.

Want a car shipping company that has extra insurance coverage?

Get a Quote

FAQ about uShip

How much is the uShip service charge?

The average uShip service charge for auto transport is approximately $75. uShip fees are not part of your initial car shipping estimates.

Is uShip legitimate?

uShip is a legitimate online marketplace with more than 6 million shipments to its name. The marketplace ships 50,000 cars each year—more than twice as many as the average auto transport company.

Are there other companies like uShip?

There are no other companies like uShip in the auto transport industry, but there are similar online marketplaces for hourly moving labor. Check out our reviews of the best moving labor companies to learn more about marketplaces like TaskRabbit, Dolly, and HireAHelper.

How are uShip car transport reviews?

uShip reviews have an average customer service rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars for auto transport, and the company provides access to star ratings for all providers on the marketplace.

Is uShip safe to use?

uShip says it’s rare for marketplace service providers to damage customer vehicles but acknowledges that it doesn’t verify the insurance status of its car shipping companies. The average customer service rating for car shipping service providers is 4.2 out of 5 stars.

Is the uShip shipping price estimate accurate?

The uShip shipping price estimates for car shipping are not accurate. Our research shows that the final uShip cost for auto transport is approximately 40% higher than its initial estimate.

How fast is uShip auto transport delivery?

The average uShip car shipping delivery time is six days—about one day slower than the average auto transport company.

Our recommendation

uShip is worth considering if convenience matters more than anything. The company makes it easy to get multiple quotes and even helps you weed out providers that get bad customer reviews. Just be aware that uShip car shipping costs are 40% higher than the average car shipping company.

Want a convenient car shipping experience?

Get a Quote

Other car shipping picks

Looking for a more affordable car shipping company? Check out our reviews of some other top companies:

Written by

Kurt Manwaring

Kurt Manwaring brings nearly a decade’s worth of research experience as a business consultant to the Move.org team. He specializes in taking complicated issues (like moving) and presenting them in a way that everyone can understand. His writing has been featured in hundreds of publications, including USA Today, Martha Stewart Living, Country Living, Good Housekeeping, Heavy, Slate, and Yahoo! Lifestyle. He brings a BS in sociology and an MPA (masters of public administration) to the Move team. He would love to hear about your moving experiences and questions at kurt@move.org.