Car shipping
What car shipping costs, and a calculator to estimate your route
The short answer
A car shipping cost calculator works from four inputs: distance, vehicle size, open or enclosed, and how far each address sits off a carrier lane. Published market data puts the US average between $1,000 and $1,500, falling from roughly $1.25 a mile on short hauls to $0.55 on cross-country runs. Licensed carriers quote the lane.
FreightWaves Checkpoint — How Much Does It Cost To Ship a Car?Checked August 30, 2026
When it pays to run the numbers first
An estimate earns its two minutes whenever a number is about to be compared with something, or committed to.
You are deciding whether to ship or drive it
The comparison is not the quote against fuel. It is the quote against fuel, food, a night on the road, the miles added to the vehicle and the days you do not get back.
A quote came back and you cannot tell if it is fair
One number alone means nothing. Placed against the published band for that distance and trailer, it is either in the market or it is not, and you can say which before you reply.
The dates are still movable
Flexibility has a price. Knowing its size tells you whether to hold out for a wider pickup window or pay for a fixed one.
How the number is built
Every carrier prices the same five things. Knowing the order they come in is what lets you argue with a quote.
Start with the distance band
Rate per mile falls as the trip lengthens, so the bands below are not a discount but a different unit cost. A short hop costs more per mile than a coast-to-coast run, and far less in total.Adjust for the vehicle
A carrier sells deck length and payload. A dually pickup, a lifted SUV or a long-wheelbase van takes the space and weight of more than one sedan, so it prices above one on the identical lane.Choose the trailer
Open is the market rate. Enclosed is a premium on top of it, and the premium is proportionally larger on short lanes because a specialist trailer is spread over fewer miles.Add what the route makes awkward
Interstate corridors are cheap. A pickup well off the highway, a street a full-length carrier cannot enter, a mountain pass in winter or a fixed date all cost someone time, and time is what a quote is made of.Check the estimate against real quotes
Send the route through the estimator on the car shipping page, then compare what carriers come back with. A quote far under the band is usually one that gets revised once a driver has to be found.
Upfront pricing
The published bands an estimate is built from
These are published market ranges, not an offer. InterCar Group does not quote transport and does not take payment for it: the carrier running your lane sets the price and confirms it with you before pickup.
| Service | Typical range | What is included |
|---|---|---|
| Open carrier, under 500 miles | $1.25 – $2per mile | The highest rate per mile: loading, paperwork and the driver day cost the same however short the trip. |
| Open carrier, 500 to 1,500 miles | $0.65 – $1.2per mile | The middle band, and where most one-off household moves land. |
| Open carrier, over 1,500 miles | $0.55 – $0.95per mile | The lowest rate per mile and the highest total. |
| Typical US move, all in | $1,000 – $1,500one vehicle, total | The national average across distances and trailer types. Your lane can sit well outside it. |
| Vehicle that does not run | $150 – $300added to the quote | Winch loading and the trailer position it forces. The vehicle still has to roll, steer and brake. |
Estimates only. Final price confirmed by the local operator before dispatch.
What moves this price
- Distance, on a sliding scale. The per-mile rate drops as the trip gets longer, which is why a short move looks expensive per mile and cheap in total.
- Vehicle size and weight, because a carrier is selling deck length and payload rather than a slot.
- Open or enclosed. Enclosed trailers carry fewer vehicles over fewer routes, and that scarcity is most of the difference.
- How far each address sits off the carrier lane. A pickup two hours off the interstate is a detour someone has to be paid for.
- Date flexibility. A pickup window of several days gets your car onto a truck already running the lane; a fixed date has to be bought.
Where these ranges come from
- FreightWaves Checkpoint — How Much Does It Cost To Ship a Car?Checked August 30, 2026
Ship it, drive it, or tow it
Three ways a vehicle covers a long distance, and what each costs you.
| What matters | Open carrier | Driving it yourself | Long distance towing |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay | The bands in the table above | Fuel, food, a night on the road, and wear you will not see for a year | Billed by the loaded mile, plus a hook-up fee |
| When it moves | A pickup window of several days, then transit | The moment you leave | Today, if a truck is free |
| What it costs in your time | A walk-around at each end | Every hour of the drive, and the trip back | A phone call |
| Miles added to the vehicle | None | Every one of them | None |
| What it suits | Most moves past a few hundred miles | Short hops, and a car you want to arrive in | A vehicle that cannot be driven and cannot wait for a truck |
Past a few hundred miles a carrier is the cheaper of the two options that do not involve you driving, and the only one that adds nothing to the odometer. Drive it when the trip is short. Call a wrecker when the vehicle cannot be driven and cannot wait.
Where these statements come from
Anything numeric or regulatory on this page carries the document it was read from and the date it was checked against it. A claim with no source is left off the page.
Published market data puts the average US car shipping cost between $1,000 and $1,500.
FreightWaves Checkpoint — How Much Does It Cost To Ship a Car?Checked August 30, 2026
Per-mile rates fall as the trip gets longer: about $1.25 to $2.00 per mile under 500 miles, $0.65 to $1.20 from 500 to 1,500 miles, and $0.55 to $0.95 above 1,500 miles.
FreightWaves Checkpoint — How Much Does It Cost To Ship a Car?Checked August 30, 2026
Published sample lanes give a sense of the spread on real routes: New York to Florida at $879 to $1,363, and Florida to California at $1,445 to $2,094.
FreightWaves Checkpoint — How Much Does It Cost To Ship a Car?Checked August 30, 2026
Under 49 U.S.C. 13901, a person may provide the service of arranging transportation by motor carrier for compensation only if registered with FMCSA to do so. InterCar Group is not registered, which is why nothing on this page is a quote or a booking.
49 U.S.C. 13901 — Requirements for registration (govinfo)Checked August 30, 2026
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to ship a car?
Published market data puts the average US move between $1,000 and $1,500. The per-mile rate falls with distance: roughly $1.25 to $2.00 under 500 miles, $0.65 to $1.20 from 500 to 1,500 miles, and $0.55 to $0.95 beyond that. Enclosed transport adds a premium, and a vehicle that does not run adds about $150 to $300. These are market ranges, not an offer.
Does the estimate give me a firm price?
No. InterCar Group holds no FMCSA operating authority, so we never quote a firm price, never take a deposit and never put a truck on your lane. The estimator shows you the published market range for a move like yours. The carrier that runs your lane sets its own price and confirms it with you before pickup.
Why do two quotes for the same route differ so much?
Because they are pricing different things. One may assume an open deck and a wide pickup window on a busy corridor; the other a fixed date, a residential street a full-length carrier cannot enter, or a trailer that has to be found. Ask each carrier which trailer, which window and which meeting point the number assumes before you compare them.
When is the cheapest time to ship a car?
Whenever your lane is running empty in your direction. Carriers price the direction as well as the route, so northbound and southbound on the same corridor can differ in the same week. Northern-to-southern lanes tighten in the fall and the squeeze reverses in the spring. Flexible dates and a few weeks of notice help more than picking a month.
Does a car that does not run cost more to ship?
Yes. It has to be winched aboard and it occupies a particular position on the trailer, which adds about $150 to $300 to the quote. It still has to roll, steer and brake for a winch load to be possible. Say so when you first describe the vehicle: a driver who finds a surprise no-start can refuse the load and charge for the trip.
Last updated
Put your route through the estimator
Pickup and delivery ZIP codes, the vehicle, and whether it runs. You see the published market range for that move before we ask for a phone number, and the carriers who contact you set their own price.
Estimates only. The local operator confirms the final price before dispatch.