There are only four real decisions in car shipping, and most people agonize over the wrong one. Open or enclosed, door to door or terminal, standard or expedited, and whether the car runs. Those four answers determine the trailer, the price and the timeline. Everything else is detail. This page walks each decision and tells you which way most people should go, including the cases where the cheaper option is simply the correct one.
Open or Enclosed
This is the decision people spend the most time on and it is usually the easiest.
Open transport is the standard, and it is what the overwhelming majority of vehicles ship on, including most new cars delivered to dealerships. The car is exposed to weather and road grime for a few days. It arrives dirty. It does not arrive damaged, because the exposure is the same as driving the route.
Enclosed transport adds 20 to 30 percent and puts the car inside a trailer. It earns that money for a genuinely valuable vehicle, fresh paint or a wrap, a classic, a very low car that needs a lift gate, or anything where a stone chip is an expensive problem rather than an annoyance.
If you are hesitating between the two on an ordinary daily driver, take open. The saving is real and the risk difference is small.
Door to Door or Terminal
Door to door means the truck collects and delivers as close to your addresses as it can legally and safely get. That is what almost everyone wants and it is our standard service.
The phrase deserves one caveat. A car hauler is around 75 feet long, and it cannot enter many residential streets, gated communities or low bridges. When that happens the driver arranges a nearby meeting point, commonly a large parking area a few minutes away. That is normal and not a downgrade.
Terminal to terminal means dropping the car at a storage lot and collecting it from another. It can be slightly cheaper, but it adds two journeys of your own, storage fees can accrue, and the car sits unattended. It suits people with flexible timing and a terminal genuinely nearby, which is a smaller group than you would think.
Standard or Expedited
Standard service means your car is assigned to a carrier running that route, and you get a pickup window rather than a date. On most lanes that window is a few days.
Expedited means paying to be prioritized, either for a guaranteed pickup date or a faster overall move. It costs meaningfully more and it is worth it when a date is genuinely fixed, a lease is ending, a closing date is set, or you are flying out.
The honest guidance is that most people do not need it. If you have a week of flexibility, standard service will move your car and the premium buys you nothing.
Running or Not
This one is not a preference, it is a fact about the car, and it has to be declared at booking.
A vehicle that does not start, steer or roll needs a winch and a carrier equipped for it, which adds roughly $100 to $250. What causes trouble is not the condition itself but discovering it at the curb, because a driver without a winch cannot load the car and the slot is lost.
Say plainly whether it starts, whether it rolls, and whether it steers and brakes. Those three answers are what the dispatcher actually needs.
Putting It Together
For the large majority of moves the right combination is open transport, door to door, standard timing, on a running vehicle. That is the default for a reason and it is the cheapest of the four pairs at every step.
Upgrade deliberately and one at a time. Enclosed for a car whose paint is worth protecting. Expedited for a date you genuinely cannot move. Terminal only if one is close and your timing is loose. Our guide to budget versus premium service goes further into what the extra money does and does not buy.
What Moves the Price
Distance is the largest factor but not a straight multiplier, since the per mile rate falls as the distance grows. Vehicle size and weight matter, because a full size truck or SUV takes more deck space than a sedan. Route density matters a great deal, as major corridors between large metros are cheaper and quicker than a rural pickup far off the interstate. Timing matters seasonally, with the winter movement toward the south and the spring return north tightening capacity in predictable windows.
Treat any quote far below the others with suspicion. A rate no carrier will accept leaves the car unassigned until the price is revised, and the pickup date you planned around passes while it sits.
Common Questions
Is open transport safe? Yes. It is what most new cars are delivered on. The car arrives dirty rather than damaged.
When is enclosed worth it? High value, fresh paint or a wrap, a classic, or a very low car needing a lift gate.
Will the truck come to my door? As close as it can legally and safely get. A 75 foot hauler cannot enter many streets, so the driver may arrange a nearby meeting point.
Do I need expedited service? Only if a date is genuinely fixed. With a week of flexibility, standard service does the same job for less.
Can you ship a car that does not run? Yes, with a winch, for roughly $100 to $250 more. Declare it at booking so the right truck is assigned.
Get a Quote
Call Ship A Car, Inc. at (866) 821-4555 with both zip codes, the vehicle and whether it runs, or price it with the instant calculator.
