Shipping your car with an auto transport company

 
The most frequently used method of transporting a car will be to ship it with one of several car shipping companies on the ground. This tends to be one of the cheapest auto transport options available depending on when you are shipping your car and which shipping methods you selected.
 
Using an auto transport company to ship a car also allows maximum scheduling flexibility. With other vehicle transport methods, very advanced booking may be required. Typically, when shipping with one of the auto transport companies you find online, a week or two of notice will suffice. Most vehicle transport companies offer pickup/delivery 365 days a year, whereas shipping a car by plane or train will have certain days when the service does not operate.
 
Finally, when you choose to transport your car with a car shipping company, door-to-door transport is offered in most cases. This means that your car will be picked up at the exact address you select and delivered to the exact address you choose. When you use other methods to transport your car, you will have to drive it to the train depot or airport/airfield.
 

The different methods of transporting a vehicle with a car shipping company

 
The following are the different shipping options that you will have when you choose to transport a car with an auto transport company:
 

• Open-air car shipping – Open-air car shipping is when you choose to have your car shipped on a typical car carrier truck that has no walls or roof. This is, by far, the most commonly selected method of auto transport. It is also the cheapest way to ship a car with car shipping companies.




• Top-loading – Top-loading is when you elect to have your car placed on the top deck of an open-air or enclosed car carrier. On open-air car carriers, this ensures that small pebbles and rocks from the road cannot kick up off the road and scratch or chip the exterior of your car, and it also ensures that fluid leaks from vehicles above yours cannot damage your car. In an enclosed carrier, this only ensures that your car is not damaged by a fluid leak from above, as your car will already be protected from all outside elements due to the walls and roof.




• Enclosed car shipping – When you choose to ship a car in an enclosed car carrier, your car will be placed on a car carrier that houses all vehicles with walls and a roof. This protects the cars from any potential damage from strong UV rays, rain/snow, tree branches, and rocks. This will add a few hundred dollars to the cost of your car shipment.




• Specialty vehicle shipping – Specialty vehicle shipping includes a variety of services that many auto transport companies offer. This includes:
  
  
  • Motorcycle shipping – As you would expect, motorcycle shipping is the special type of vehicle shipping used to transport motorcycles, mopeds and even other similar vehicles such as small ATVs. This type of shipping usually occurs in an enclosed carrier with one deck but can sometimes occur on an open-air flatbed trailer.

  
  

  • Oversized vehicle shipping – Oversized vehicle shipping includes the transport of any type of vehicle too large to fit on a typical car carrier truck. This can include much larger cars/trucks, construction or agricultural equipment, RVs, limos, and more. This type of vehicle shipping will always occur on one type of flatbed trailer or another.

  
  

  • Military car shipping – Military car shipping refers to the shipment of cars for military members to or from their bases and PCS assignments. Most of the time, this is just typical car shipping with the wrinkle that car carrier trucks are typically not permitted on the base. Thus , the driver must meet the military member close by for their pickup and/or delivery. Sometimes, the military will pay for a portion or all of the cost of a military member shipping their car.




• Inoperable car shipping – Inoperable car shipping is the method of auto transport in which cars that do not run at all or well enough to be driven onto a regular car carrier truck are transported. The process entails a special car carrier with a winch connecting that winch to the car in question and pulling it on board while the car is in neutral. This will cost extra in comparison to orthodox car transport.

Transporting your car by towing it yourself

 
The cheapest option for transporting a car can be towing it yourself on a tow dolly or car transport trailer (if you have a second vehicle with the correct towing capacity). However, on top of spending several days on the road driving at fairly low speeds due to the extra weight, much of your savings will get eaten by the extra fuel you burn with your engine working twice as hard. You will also need to cover the cost of lodging and overpriced meals along the highway. When you factor in the additional cost of depreciation on both vehicles due to driving while towing for several hundred or thousand miles, you will likely only see two or three hundred dollars in savings at most.
 
If you plan on renting an auto trailer to be able to tow your car, there are several options including a U-Haul car trailer. However, a U-Haul car transport trailer’s cost can be quite discouraging for many people. For trips over 250 miles, the cost can easily exceed $1,000. U-Haul car transport tempts many people with a low starting rate, but when you do the math and consider it is only so cheap for very short trips of 50 or a hundred miles, you can see how this might not be the best option.
 

Shipping your car on an auto plane

 
When you choose to ship your car on the auto plane, you will be using the most expensive option for having your vehicle transported. It will likely also be the fastest. However, the cost will be more than double that of shipping a car on a car carrier truck with an auto transport company. If a car shipment on a typical open-air car carrier costs $1,500, you can expect the same shipment to cost over $3,000 shipping the same car on the auto plane. If the ground shipment would take seven days, shipping a car by plane would only take one. However, let’s break down the cost.
 
If you were to be without your car at your new destination for an additional six days and needed to rent a car for those six days, the rental would cost $50 per day at most. So, with the $1,500 cost of the ground car shipment plus $50 times six days, you would spend about $1,800. For no extra convenience other than the peace of mind you are driving your very own car, airplane car transport would cost you at least $3,000. So, it would be an additional $1,200 for essentially no extra convenience other than not having to pick up and drop off a rental car.
 

Shipping your car on the auto train

 
The Amtrak auto train is an effective way to get yourself and your vehicle to the same place simultaneously. That is a distinct advantage over other methods of having a car transported. Plus, the auto train’s cost will be fairly affordable as well. The catch is that the auto train only runs between Virginia and Florida. In fact, it only runs from/to one location in each state with no stops in between. So, unless you are transporting your car between the Lorton, Virginia, area and the Sanford, Florida, area, you are likely out of luck.
 
The odds are that you will have quite a bit of driving before you arrive at the train and after you depart it. Depending on your starting location, this could defeat the entire purpose of transporting your car via the Amtrak auto train. Another potential issue with the auto train is that it holds up to 320 vehicles at a time. This means you will have to wait for your car to get loaded when you get there and unloaded after the train arrives. It will typically take one to two hours to get in your car and drive to your final destination. In fact, the whole auto train schedule, from arrival with your car to driving away, can be nearly 24 hours long.
 

Conclusion

 
Different methods of auto transport will offer different upsides and downsides. Some methods are faster, some are cheaper, and some are easier for different reasons. One certain thing is that shipping with a vehicle transport company like RoadRunner Auto Transport is the most frequently chosen and trusted option, year after year. This is because instant free quotes are always available, as are a staff of car shipping experts with decades of experience. Plus, you can ship your car with a car shipping company just about whenever you like, it will always be one of your cheapest options, and your involvement will be absolutely minimal.
 

FAQ

What is the best method of auto transport?

 
Whether a method of auto transport is “best” for you will depend on what you consider most important. If the ease of process, cost, or scheduling flexibility is most important to you, shipping your car with a car shipping company will be best.
 

What is the cheapest way to transport a car?

 
The cheapest way to transport a car will either be to tow it yourself or to ship it with an auto transport company on an open-air car carrier. Other factors, like the cost of fuel at the time of transport and what time of year you are transporting your car, can also impact the overall cost of transporting a vehicle.
 

Is it cheaper to ship a car by train or truck?

 
While the overall cost of shipping a car on the auto train can be cheaper than shipping on a car carrier truck, the cost to ship per mile will almost always be cheaper when you ship by truck. Remember, the auto train only runs from one Virginia location to one Florida location and vice versa.