Is your car parked at your home in New York, and you’re ready to drive it down to Miami?
It might be easier to opt for auto shipping instead. This is when you’ll hire a professional freight company to ship your car to your desired location.
But before you prepare your car for shipping, you must determine whether open vs. enclosed car shipping rates are the best option.
Here’s what you need to know about these services and costs:
Open Car Shipping Rates Are Cheaper
This is the most common method for shipping a car. Your car will get fastened to a trailer and exposed to the open air.
Often, your car will be on a large trailer with other cars. Sometimes, trailers can hold up to ten cars at a time.
This process is often much cheaper. The price comes down even more if many cars are on the trailer.
You can use this website for car shipping calculator to estimate how much you’ll pay.
But what happens if you want to pay a premium for enclosed car shipping?
Enclosed Car Shipping Rates Are Higher
This is when your car will be shipped in an enclosed trailer. At most, you can fit two or three cars in this trailer.
If you have multiple cars, you can choose this option if you want your cars to be in a different trailer than others! It’s an especially popular option for rare or classic cars.
As a general rule, there are fewer availabilities for enclosed car services. You’ll often have to reserve your spot well in advance.
Auto-Shipping Costs
If you opt for open-car shipping, you’ll pay between $500 to $1,000 per car on average. For enclosed car shipping, you’ll pay an average of $1,000 to $2,000 per car.
The price will increase based on a variety of different factors. For example, is your car a sedan or an SUV? The larger your car, the more expensive it’ll be.
Of course, the distance matters. If the journey is at least 1,000 miles, you can expect your cost to be a minimum of $1,000.
Prices are often much higher during the first few months of the year and during the summer. You’ll need to book in advance to avoid paying higher fees.
If your car isn’t operable, labor costs will be added. This is because these cars are harder to load onto trailers.
Get the Best Car Shipping Rates
Now you know the average cost between open vs. enclosed car shipping rates.
Open car shipping options are much cheaper. Your car will be loaded onto a trailer with several other cars. This is the most common option, and prices can start as low as $500.
Enclosed car shipping options are more expensive and limit the number of cars. This is better at protecting your car from damage. You can expect to pay a minimum of $1,000.
We’ll see your car on the other side! Make sure you read our other car-related blog posts.
