Price math

Cross-Country Car Shipping Cost

Shipping a car coast to coast on an open carrier costs $1,413 to $2,365 in the 2026 estimates of FreightWaves Checkpoint, a consumer guide with an advertiser disclosure and quote links, across its four coast-to-coast routes (low end California to Florida, high end California to New York). Ship A Car, Inc., a broker, says the middle half of what its customers paid for open-carrier moves of 2,500 miles or more between September 2025 and August 2026 was $1,450 to $1,800. Web Auto Transport, a broker, lists $1,100–$1,600 for coast to coast. FreightWaves Checkpoint and Web Auto Transport both put the trip at 7 to 10 days on the truck after pickup; Ship A Car says about 5 to 7. The pickup window comes before that.

Coast-to-coast prices by route

The FreightWaves Checkpoint and Ship A Car figures are for one car on an open carrier; Sherpa doesn’t say whether its route figures include enclosed shipments or larger vehicles. Each source measures something different, so they sit in separate columns.

Route	FreightWaves Checkpoint (2026 estimate)	Sherpa Auto Transport (“Typical Cost”)	Ship A Car, Inc. (middle half of its orders since 2023)
California → New York	$1,447–$2,365	$1,400–$1,900 (3,546 shipments)	West Coast → Northeast: $1,550–$1,900 (median $1,700)
New York → California	$1,475–$2,204	$1,350–$1,725 (2,953 shipments)	Northeast → West Coast: $1,450–$1,750 (median $1,550)
California → Florida	$1,413–$2,205	$1,250–$1,675 (5,928 shipments)	$1,300–$1,650 (median $1,450)
Florida → California	$1,445–$2,094	$1,175–$1,650 (5,089 shipments)	$1,200–$1,550 (median $1,475)

What the columns are: FreightWaves Checkpoint’s ranges are its estimates for “a standard, operable sedan using door-to-door open transport.” Sherpa’s are from its own shipments. Ship A Car’s come from its table of “Booked open-carrier ranges by lane, one ordinary car, our bookings since 2023 (middle half and median)”; two of its rows are regions, not states. On its service page, Ship A Car also lists “Los Angeles, CA to New York, NY” at $1,600 to $2,000, from its California to New York orders since 2023.

Web Auto Transport, whose quote it says includes “broker service,” lists Los Angeles → New York for a Toyota Camry on an open carrier at $1,200–$1,500. On a separate page it shows the same route at about $1,250 standard and about $1,700–$1,900 with expedited pickup.

Per-mile rate on long routes

Long trips have the lowest per-mile rates in every source:

Source	Long-distance band	Per mile	Typical total
FreightWaves Checkpoint	1,500+ miles	$0.55–$0.95	$1,050–$3,000+
Sherpa Auto Transport	About 2,000 miles	$0.50–$0.80 (our arithmetic)	$1,000–$1,600
Web Auto Transport	1,500–3,000 miles	$0.50–$0.80	$1,000–$1,500
Web Auto Transport	Coast to coast	$0.45–$0.75	$1,100–$1,600
Ship A Car, Inc.	2,500 miles and up	about $0.60 (median)	about $1,650

A rate from a short trip doesn’t carry over to a long one. The per-mile page explains why the rate drops with distance.

Transit time coast to coast

Source	Days on the truck after pickup	Pickup window before that
FreightWaves Checkpoint	2,000+ miles: 7–10 days	“one to five business days after your scheduled date”; “Budget an extra two to seven days on top of transit time”
Web Auto Transport	2,500+ miles: 7–10 days; Los Angeles → New York (~2,800 miles): 7–10 days	1–5 business days (standard); within 48 hours (expedited)
Sherpa Auto Transport	Cross-country (1,500+ miles): 5–10 days	“Carrier assignment typically takes 1-7 days after booking”
Ship A Car, Inc.	“about 5 to 7 days of transit for a true coast-to-coast move”	“a pickup window of a few days”; “7 to 10 days door to door is typical”

The limit is the driver’s clock. Federal hours-of-service rules say a truck driver needs “10 consecutive hours off duty” before driving, may not drive after “a period of 14 consecutive hours after coming on-duty,” and “may drive a total of 11 hours” in that window (49 CFR 395.3). Web Auto Transport says this works out to “350–500 miles of progress per day.” At that pace, about 2,800 miles takes roughly 6 to 8 days of driving (our arithmetic). Whether expedited service shortens the trip is unclear: one Web Auto Transport help page says expedited “accelerates your pickup but it does not change transit time once your vehicle is on the truck,” while its transit-time page lists 5–8 days expedited against 7–10 days standard for 2,500+ miles. More on timing: how long it takes to ship a car.

Busy lanes vs rural pickups

Metro to metro is cheaper. FreightWaves Checkpoint: “You’ll usually pay less if you live close to a major metropolitan area because there are more trucks and routes available. Shipping to a rural or hard-to-reach destination adds cost.”
How much rural adds depends on the source. Sherpa: rural or remote areas “may add $50-$200.” Web Auto Transport: rural ZIP codes far from main trucking lanes “can add 30 to 100 percent.”
Direction matters. Ship A Car says West Coast to Northeast “runs about $150 higher at the median than the reverse.”
Long lanes are touchy. FreightWaves Checkpoint says coast-to-coast lanes “can also be more sensitive to timing, fuel prices, and pickup/delivery flexibility.”

Ways to lower a cross-country quote

What to do	What the sources say
Choose open transport	Ship A Car says open is “what nine out of ten cars use”; enclosed “has run about a third more, lane for lane.”
Give a wide pickup window	Sherpa: “a 3-5 day pickup window (instead of a single day).” Web Auto Transport: “5 or more days.”
Book ahead	FreightWaves Checkpoint: “at least two to four weeks ahead.” Ship A Car: “2 to 3 weeks in advance secures the date” on its service page; its guide says “One to two weeks is comfortable on most lanes” and two to three weeks in peak windows. Web Auto Transport: “1 to 2 weeks ahead.”
Avoid the busiest months	Ship A Car puts February “about a tenth below a typical month” and June “about an eighth above.” Sherpa calls January–March off-peak; Web Auto Transport names January–March and September–October.
Terminal instead of door-to-door	The sources disagree. FreightWaves Checkpoint: “The most budget-friendly car shipping combo is open transport with terminal-to-terminal delivery.” Ship A Car: “on long routes the saving is small and the car sits in a lot at each end.”
Meet the truck near a main road	Ship A Car: meeting the carrier “at a nearby accessible location rather than door-to-door” can help reduce the cost.

More ways to save are on the cheapest way to ship a car page. To see your own route’s range, with each add-on listed separately, use the car shipping cost calculator.

Estimate your route

Before paying a deposit, check the company's USDOT or MC number.

Sources

Updated November 2, 2026