Open car transport

Open car transport is a running car on an open trailer, usually with several other vehicles. It is the service most people mean when they say they need a car shipped inside the continental United States. The thing that moves the price most is not a mystery fee. It is whether a truck is already rolling your way on the days you can hand over the keys, and how many miles that truck still has to cover.

The car sits in the weather. Rain, dust, and road grit reach it. Carriers wash nothing as a standard step unless the contract says so. For a daily driver, that exposure is the trade people accept because open trailers are the trucks that exist in the largest number. A show car, a fresh respray, or a car you will not accept stone chips on belongs on the enclosed page, with the two ranges compared on the same route.

What an open shipment costs compared with other choices#

These ranges are RideShipper estimates for open transport, not a booking and not a carrier's offer. The company that accepts the load sets the price. A sedan from Chicago to Dallas is currently $623–$949 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 New York to Miami is $804–$1,225 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.. An SUV from Los Angeles to New York is $1,106–$1,686 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..

The same routes in an enclosed trailer price higher because fewer of those trailers are on the road. Use the open versus enclosed cost guide when you are choosing, and the cost calculator when you want to change the vehicle or the date. Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico are ocean moves. Do not read a highway range as the price of a ship.

A short hop can cost more per mile than a long one, because the carrier still spends a day on your car. An inoperable car, a lifted truck, an exact pickup date, or a week when snowbird traffic is heavy all push the offer up. None of those add-ons is included just because a form said "open."

How the job runs#

1. You request quotes with the true pickup and delivery areas, the vehicle, and whether it runs and steers. RideShipper shows a range and sends the request to companies. It does not assign a truck.
2. A broker or a carrier replies. A broker arranges a carrier and does not haul the car. A carrier hauls it. Broker versus carrier is the distinction to settle before any money moves.
3. You ask for the company name, the USDOT or MC number, and the price in writing, including what is due later. Look the number up on the FMCSA SAFER company snapshot.
4. The truck is assigned a window, not a clock time. Pickup windows slip when the trailer is still loading other cars or when weather slows the route.
5. On pickup day someone with the keys meets the driver, walks around the car, and signs the condition notes on the bill of lading. Photograph the car in daylight before it is on the trailer. The guide on what the driver inspects is the checklist.
6. At delivery you walk around again before you sign that the car arrived as described. Note fresh damage on the paperwork before the driver leaves.

Have the car running, with brakes and steering that work, an alarm that will not scream for two days, and a fuel level the carrier states in writing. Remove toll tags if the carrier asks. Leave no more than the carrier allows in the cabin. Fold mirrors only if the driver asks. A car that does not run is a different job, priced on the inoperable fee page.

What to ask before you agree#

Ask who hauls the car, not only who took the order. Ask whether the first price is the carrier's pay plus a broker fee, or a guess that can be replaced when a truck is found. Ask what the pickup window is, what happens if the truck misses it, and whether the balance is paid to the broker or to the driver. Ask for the cargo policy's exclusions, especially weather, undercarriage, and personal items.

The mistakes that show up over and over are simple. People take the lowest text, pay a deposit through a digital wallet, and then cannot get the money back when nobody comes. The Better Business Bureau described that pattern in its 21 July 2023 alert, including a case where the company did not appear on the USDOT site, and a harsher version in which the car moved and then more money was demanded before it was released. Pay a company you have looked up, by a method you can dispute, and do not send a wire or a gift card. The deposit red flags guide walks through the clauses.

A property broker must keep a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000, filed on Form BMC-84 or BMC-85, under 49 CFR 387.307. That bond is not insurance on your paint. A for-hire interstate carrier using a vehicle rated 10,001 pounds or more to haul nonhazardous property must have at least $750,000 of public liability under 49 CFR 387.9. That filing covers injury and property damage from the truck's operation. It is not a promise that your car is covered for its full value. Ask for the cargo terms in the contract you sign.

What this service will not do#

Open transport will not keep the car out of the weather. It will not hold an exact hour unless a contract you signed says so, and even then the driver is bound by hours of service and by the other cars on the trailer. It will not register the car in the new state, pay a toll bill you left on the transponder, or store the car for free if nobody meets the driver.

If the car must stay dry, price enclosed transport on the same route before you decide. If the driveway cannot take a long trailer, read door-to-door shipping and plan a meeting point while you still have a choice.