Shipping a car between the U.S. and Canada

Shipping a car between the United States and Canada is a border, not a longer version of a state-to-state haul. RideShipper arranges quote requests for U.S. transport only. A carrier that answers can bring the car to a U.S. city or a U.S. meeting point near the border, or pick it up after it is already on the U.S. side. You must arrange U.S. Customs for a car that is leaving, and you must arrange whatever Canada requires to enter or to register the car. Those are not included in a highway quote. The fact that wrecks the timetable is the 72-hour export clock, which you cannot start the morning you reach the port.

This page is not a customs filing guide and not legal advice. The regulation and CBP's pages are the instructions.

What the U.S. leg costs, and what it leaves out#

These open estimates are U.S. highway miles only. They are not a Canadian truck rate, a duty figure, or a brokerage fee. A sedan from Seattle to Detroit is $935–$1,425 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.. A sedan from Buffalo to New York is $395–$601 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.. An SUV from Blaine, Washington, is not a city in the estimator; the nearby U.S. haul from Seattle to a U.S. delivery you name is the kind of leg a quote can describe. A sedan from Minneapolis to Seattle is $804–$1,226 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. if that is the U.S. repositioning you actually need.

Tell the carrier the delivery address is in the United States. Do not type a Canadian street into a U.S. quote and hope. Door-to-door still means as close as the trailer can get on the U.S. side. What RideShipper does not book overseas is the same boundary.

What you arrange yourself#

Leaving the United States with a used, self-propelled vehicle:

1. Read 19 CFR 192.2 and CBP's motor-vehicle export page. For a vehicle that has a U.S. title, you present the original title or a certified copy, and two complete copies.
2. If the car is leased or a lien is on the title, you also need a separate writing from that company, on letterhead, with the VIN, their phone numbers, an original signature, and the date. Start that before you book the truck. The leased-car page is the domestic half of the same problem.
3. At a land border, the documents must be submitted to Customs at least 72 hours before export. The vehicle itself is presented at the time of export. A vessel or aircraft export is stricter: documents and vehicle at least 72 hours prior. CBP's FAQ says Electronic Export Information is filed in AES 72 hours prior to export for used self-propelled vehicles, regardless of value or condition, with exemptions it lists for cars that arrived under an in-bond procedure, a carnet, or a temporary importation bond.
4. You, the person, need a WHTI document. CBP says a U.S. citizen at a land border can use a passport, a passport card, an enhanced driver's license, or a NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST card. A driver's license that is not the enhanced kind is not on that list. The car's title packet does not replace your identity document.
5. Canadian entry, duties, and the registrar process on that side are Canada's. This page does not state them. Ask the Canadian agency that handles vehicle imports before the car arrives at the line.
6. Only then does a U.S. carrier's window matter. Build the truck around the Customs appointment, not the other way around.

Coming into the United States, CBP's import pamphlet says to have the bill of lading, the bill of sale, foreign registration, EPA form 3520-1, and DOT form HS-7. It says the undercarriage must be free of foreign soil, and that the contents of the car must be declared. EPA's import page, updated 9 October 2026, says short-term travelers from Canada or Mexico may operate their own vehicles during a visit and that those vehicles are not subject to EPA emission standards and other requirements in that short-term case. It points a longer stay to a different section of EPA's procedures. Confirm which stay you are making.

What to ask, and the mistakes#

Ask CBP at the port you will use how they want the 72-hour package presented. Ask the carrier to stop at a U.S. address. For the export, 19 CFR 192.2 says the person exporting the vehicle may employ an agent. RideShipper is not that agent. If the car is coming into the United States, CBP's import page says the law prohibits CBP officers from acting as agents or making the entry, and that you may hire a customs broker to handle that entry.

The mistake is a quote "to Vancouver" that is only a truck to Seattle, discovered at the Peace Arch. Another is a leased car with no letter from the lessor. Another is treating the $75,000 U.S. broker bond as if it cleared Customs. It does not. The bond rule is 49 CFR 387.307, and it is about property brokers, not about export filings.

Limits#

A U.S. carrier on a RideShipper request does not cross the border, file AES, or register the car in a province. RideShipper does not do those things either. It does not set a cross-border price, take a customs deposit, or insure the car. World Media Group LLC operates the U.S. quote service. Companies that receive a U.S. request may pay RideShipper. Confirm the export and the Canadian import with the agencies and, if you need one, a licensed customs broker.

Use the quote form for the U.S. addresses only. Put the border work on a separate checklist with the CBP pages open.