How car shipping works, from the quote to the driveway

Car shipping works in two layers. You agree on a price and a pickup window with a company. Separately, a motor carrier accepts the job and sends a truck. The quote is not that truck. The carrier is assigned when one agrees to haul the car. Until that happens, you have an order with an arranger, not a loaded trailer.

Most personal cars move on a shared open trailer with other vehicles. Enclosed trailers, a single-car truck, and a terminal drop-off are different services with different trucks. The steps below are the same shape for each. The paperwork should name which service you bought.

Who is the broker, and who is the carrier?#

A broker, under 49 CFR 371.2, is a person who, for compensation, arranges transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier. The carrier is the company that hauls the car. FMCSA's consumer advisory on automobile transporters tells readers to learn the difference, and to be suspicious of a website that will not say which one it is. 49 CFR 371.7 says a broker shall not represent its operations to be that of a carrier, and advertising shall show the broker status of the operation.

Some companies hold both kinds of authority. The contract for your car should say which role that company is playing on this order. The name on the advertisement can be the broker. The name on the truck door should match the carrier assigned to the pickup. The comparison is in broker versus carrier.

RideShipper is neither. It is a free comparison and quote-request service owned by World Media Group LLC. It does not move cars, negotiate a carrier's rate, take a deposit, or insure the vehicle. Companies that receive a quote request may pay RideShipper for the introduction. The contract is between you and the company you hire.

The path from a price to a delivered car#

Work through the steps in order. The turn that matters is step 4. That is the first time a specific carrier owns the job.

1. Get a price you can compare. A useful quote names the route, the vehicle, open or enclosed, whether the car runs, and the first day it may leave. A single national average is not a quote for your car. RideShipper shows a dated range before any contact details. You can email that range to yourself without requesting quotes. A quote request is a later step, and it is not a booking. You can also call (800) 989-8833 for quotes by phone, 24/7.
2. Check the company before you book. Interstate brokers and interstate auto carriers must be registered with FMCSA. Look up the USDOT or MC number on the free Company Snapshot. You can search by DOT number, MC number, or name. The company check uses those federal records. Registration is not a promise of good service. A missing number is a reason to stop, which is also the point of FMCSA's advisory.
3. Sign the company's order and read the clauses that move money. Those are the price, what can change it, the deposit, cancellation, personal items, and the cargo limit. The order confirmation is not the bill of lading. You can hold a confirmation and still have no carrier. That split is explained in order confirmation versus bill of lading.
4. Wait for a named carrier. The broker, or the carrier's own dispatcher, offers the load to trucks. A carrier is assigned when one accepts the vehicle, the dates, and the pay. You should receive that carrier's name and its MC or USDOT number before pickup, on a dispatch sheet you can check. Where to look is in how a quote becomes a named carrier. If the company will not name the carrier after it asks you to pay, treat that as a stop sign.
5. Meet the truck. You, or a named adult with the keys and authority to sign, walks the car with the driver. Existing scratches go on the condition record before the car is loaded. For transportation covered by 49 USC 14706, the carrier has to issue a receipt or bill of lading. For carriers subject to 49 CFR 373.101, that receipt must show the consignor and consignee, origin and destination, a description of the freight, and the weight, volume, or measurement if that measurement applies to the rating. Keep a copy.
6. The car is in transit. Days on the road start at pickup, not at the quote. The driver may load other cars along the way. A status update is whatever the company you hired chooses to send. It does not, by itself, prove a minute-by-minute location.
7. Inspect at delivery before you pay the balance the contract says is due. New damage is written on the delivery copy. Then you sign. What to photograph, and in what order, is in photos and the condition record.

What the price is, and what it is not#

There is no public catalog of the price every carrier will accept for every car. Household-goods movers work from tariffs. A typical auto-transport quote is not that kind of filing. The figure a broker offers is the amount it believes a carrier will take. The carrier that accepts the load is the one that agrees to haul for the pay it is offered. If none does, the quote was not a rate the market would move that car for on those dates.

That is why a very low opening price is not a bargain until a carrier is assigned at that price. Ask, in writing, what happens if the carrier's price comes back higher, and who pays the difference. A price that changes again at the curb is a separate problem, covered in if the driver wants a price change at the curb.

Two services get sold under one "shipping" word. Open transport is a shared trailer, exposed to weather and road grit. Enclosed transport is a covered trailer and a different truck, not a fee sprinkled on the open price. Which one you need depends on the car and the contract, not on a slogan. Compare them in open versus enclosed before you book. A terminal drop-off is a third choice: you deliver the car to a lot and collect it at another lot. That is not door-to-door. The price gap between those two services is its own question, and this page does not invent it.

Who gets paid, and when#

The order should say whether you pay the broker, the carrier, or both, and whether money is due at booking, at pickup, or at delivery. A balance collected at delivery can be legitimate. It is also the moment a price change hurts most, because the car is already on the truck. Match every amount to the contract before that day. Do not pay a second figure that is only spoken.

If the company asks for a deposit, read deposit red flags before you send it. FMCSA's advisory, updated February 10, 2015, says that if you pay by credit or debit card, you should make sure the amount you authorized is the amount taken. The Better Business Bureau's July 21, 2023 alert describes a low quote, a digital-wallet deposit, and then no pickup, and a second version in which the car is moved and then held for more money.

Public liability on file with FMCSA is not coverage for a scratch on your car. 49 CFR 387.9 sets 750,000 dollars as the minimum public liability for for-hire carriage, in interstate or foreign commerce, of nonhazardous property in a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more. That filing is about harm to the public. The limit for damage to your car is what the contract sets. Under 49 USC 14706(c), a carrier may limit liability for property other than household goods to a value set by the shipper's written or electronic declaration, or by a written agreement, if that value would be reasonable under the circumstances. Read the dollar limit on the contract. RideShipper does not insure the car.

Pickup and delivery are meetings, not a driveway promise#

"Door to door" in this trade means the closest place the truck can legally and safely reach. It is not a federal promise that a multi-car trailer will enter your driveway. Confirm the meeting point before the driver is on the way. The meaning of the phrase is in what door-to-door car shipping means.

The person at the curb needs the keys, a way to move the car if it runs, and the right to sign the inspection. If you will be in another state, name that adult to the company before dispatch. Details are in who must be present.

What you can check without taking anyone's word#

• The MC or USDOT number, on FMCSA's Company Snapshot, before you pay.
• The carrier name on the dispatch against the truck that arrives. If they do not match, do not hand over the keys while you sort it out.
• The condition notes at pickup and again at delivery, in writing, on the carrier's form.
• The complaint line on FMCSA's auto-transporter advisory: 1-888-368-7238, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. A complaint is not a damage claim. The claim goes to the carrier under the contract. RideShipper does not decide either one.

A first shipment is easier if you follow one short path through the price, the company check, the contract, and prep. That path is the first-time shipper's short course.