Average Auto Shipping Cost?

How does pricing work?

There are a few different factors that come into play when a auto transport company is trying to figure out the cost to ship your vehicle:

There are two different types of carriers, the first one is a open carrier, this option is the most widely used in the car transport world. And the second option would be a Enclosed Carrier. The difference between the two are simple, with a open carrier the vehicle is open to all the elements, weather, rain, snow, rocks, oil, road debris, sand and any other issues that mother nature throws at it. 

Now on the other hand a Enclosed Carrier, is exactly that, it keeps the vehicle protected from all the elements, it is in a enclosed trailer, this way nothing can get to it. One tip to keep in mind, if your going short distance during the summer, it might be fine to ship Enclosed, but if your going across country, in the heart of winter, it might be smart to pay the extra cost for a Enclosed Carrier.  

Now your probably wondering how much does it cost to ship Open Vs. Enclosed, well a good rule of thumb is to get a price for Open, and then add your $500.00 to the total, which gives your rough cost for a Enclosed Carrier. Example: Lets say you where given a price of $1400 to transport your car on a open carrier, if you wanted to ship it on a Enclosed Carrier, your total price would be $1900.  

There is a extra charge for vehicles that do NOT run, if the vehicle just don't start, but it rolls, brakes and steers, than usually it will only cost you an additional $100, but if the vehicle does NOT brake, steer or roll, it usually will be left up to the carrier to say how much more, from experience it should be around $200-$300 more, but it is solely up to the transporting carrier.

One bit of advice I can say, is make sure your broker and carrier is aware if the vehicle does NOT run, if you try to slide it under them, it might come back to haunt you, the driver might get to you for delivery, and decide now you owe him alot more then agreed upon do to the fact the vehicle does NOT run, so your best letting them know up front so there are no surprises later on.

Auto Transport Carriers prices depend alot on the price of fuel, the lower the cost of diesel fuel, the lower the cost is per mile to transport your vehicle. Just because it is 1200 miles to one place, and another place is the same 1200 miles, prices can vary from one location to another. Think about this, its alot easier to driver on flat roads, than it is to drive though the mountains in, lets say, Colorado, so 1200 miles though Colorado, is alot more expensive then 1200 miles though Florida.