Dealer and fleet car shipping: questions and answers

A text that demands a deposit before you have the dealer's paperwork is the pattern in the BBB's July 21, 2023 vehicle-transport alert, not proof that every dealer delivery is fake. A real delivery names the store, the car, and the VIN on papers you can match to that dealer. The person who releases the car is whoever the dealer named for pickup day, and the lot's hours control whether the truck can load. Read any free-delivery offer on the dealer's current page.

The dealer sets its own delivery charge, and that number belongs on the buyer's order you can read today. This page will not print a dealer's fee. A hired carrier is a separate contract. For an open sedan from Dallas, TX to Atlanta, GA, a current planning range is $592–$902 as of November 9, 2026, model v1 RideShipper estimate, updated 2026-11-09, based on 3,588 prices that customers reported paying in MoveAdvisor reviews, adjusted for U.S. diesel at $6.13 a gallon for that week (U.S. Energy Information Administration). In testing, the typical difference between an estimate and a reported price was about 20% of the estimate. This is an estimate, not a quote: the carrier sets the price. No pickup date was supplied, so this estimate uses November 2026. There is no seasonal direction adjustment for this route and month.. That range is not the dealer's fee and not a booked price. The carrier that accepts the load sets the carrier price. Ask who pays it, you or the store.

It depends on the lane, the vehicle, and whether the car runs. Shipping from a dealership is still a carrier job once the store will release the car. For an open sedan from Phoenix, AZ to Chicago, IL, the current range is $721–$1,099 as of November 9, 2026, model v1 RideShipper estimate, updated 2026-11-09, based on 3,588 prices that customers reported paying in MoveAdvisor reviews, adjusted for U.S. diesel at $6.13 a gallon for that week (U.S. Energy Information Administration). In testing, the typical difference between an estimate and a reported price was about 20% of the estimate. This is an estimate, not a quote: the carrier sets the price. No pickup date was supplied, so this estimate uses November 2026. Reported prices on seasonal routes to and from Florida and Arizona support different prices in each direction this month.. That is not a booked price and not the dealer's own delivery line. Put the lot's hours and a named release contact on the order. If the driver arrives after the gate closes, the car does not load.

Fresh paint is a reason to ask for enclosed transport, which is a hard-sided trailer, not a fee on the same open truck. It is not a promise of zero marks. The dealer's phrase about fragile paint does not, by itself, change what the carrier's contract covers. Compare open and enclosed ranges for the same cities and the same car. Tell the carrier the paint is new, and read the damage exclusions before you pay. Photograph the panels at pickup.

Some dealers will arrange it, and some will not. Ask the selling store whether it will release the car to a carrier you hire, or whether delivery is only on the dealer's contract. Three states and about 500 miles is a normal trailer lane, not a special favor, but the store still chooses its own policy. Get the release contact, the lot hours, and the fee in writing. A local dealer near you is a different store. It may not be the one holding the keys.

The dealer does. The salesperson who sold the car may not be the person with the keys on pickup day. Put a named release contact and the gate hours on the booking. A truck that arrives after the lot closes does not load the car. You, or another adult the order names, still meet the truck if delivery is at a house.

A store-to-store trade and a delivery to a buyer's house are different stops. Two commercial lots can be easier for a large trailer than a residential street. Door to door means as close as the truck can legally and physically get, which may be a nearby lot rather than a driveway. The price still follows the lane, the vehicle, and whether it runs. A one-time buyer is not on a fleet contract unless the paperwork says so.

A company that ships often can ask for billing, cancellation, and cargo terms a household does not get. Those terms are whatever the carrier signs. Nothing on this page is a rate card. Each vehicle still needs its own VIN on the order and its own inspection. Name one person who can release every car. A list with no one at the yard does not load. Look up the carrier's USDOT or MC number on the FMCSA SAFER snapshot before you rely on the account.

They are different contracts. A retail buyer pays for one car on one lane. A fleet account is a repeat shipper, and the price can be negotiated. Do not assume the web range for a household sedan is the fleet rate, and do not assume a fleet rate applies to your one purchase. Ask which contract you are on. The carrier that accepts each load still sets that load's price.

Ask who may release the car, what the gate hours are, whether the delivery fee is the dealer's charge or a carrier's quote, and what happens if the truck is late or the lot is closed. Ask whether the fee is refundable if the car is not released. Read the free-delivery line on the dealer's current page rather than a salesperson's summary. Get the carrier's name and MC or USDOT number before the keys move.