In this blog article, Direct Express Auto Transport shares our expertise, honed over 20 years experience as a leading car shipping company, to inform you on what it takes to transport a car successfully.
How Long Does Car Shipping Take?
Step one is the right price to get assigned a carrier. It can make a big difference. Generally speaking, auto transport brokers do not know upon receiving an order, which of the nearly 10,000 car transport carriers will be shipping the vehicle. Broker experience and ethics are important when it comes to proper market pricing of vehicles.
How long car shipping takes starts with the right price in order to get the customer vehicle assigned to a carrier. Priced right and carrier assignment can happen quickly, as in a day or two, or at minimum a few days. Priced too cheap and the customer may wait a week or even longer to be assigned a carrier.
How Long Does It Take For The Car Transport Carrier Pick Up?
The good news is that once a car transport carrier has been assigned to ship your vehicle, things usually happen quickly. Expect one of the following after assignment:
- Most carriers pick up the vehicle one day after assignment..
- Sometimes carriers pick up the vehicle in two days.
- Sometimes carriers pick up the vehicle the same day as assigned.
- Occasionally, carriers pick up the vehicle in three days.
- Rarely do carriers pick up the vehicle in four days or more after being assigned.
How Long Does Car Shipping Transit Take?
A single auto transport driver will typically traverse about 500 miles per day. So how far is your vehicle shipment? Do the math and add one or two days for the carrier driver loading and unloading at either end. Here are a few examples, or scenarios, and see if any closely resemble your situation.
|
Miles
|
Route
|
Trailer
|
Load/Unload
|
In Transit
|
Total Days
|
|
284
|
Chi – Det
|
3-car
|
1 day
|
1 day
|
2 days
|
|
754
|
SF – Pho
|
5-car
|
1 day
|
2 days
|
3 days
|
|
1211
|
Cin – San A
|
7-car
|
2 days
|
3 days
|
5 days
|
|
1851
|
Bos – Hou
|
9-car
|
2 days
|
4 days
|
6 days
|
|
2530
|
Mia – LV
|
10-car
|
2 days
|
5 days
|
7 days
|
|
2716
|
LA – Phil
|
10-car
|
2 days
|
6 days
|
8 days
|
|
3274
|
Sea – Ft L
|
11-car
|
2 days
|
7 days
|
9 days
|
We are assuming, of course, that there are no hiccups. That everything goes smoothly.
The Car Shipping Carrier Fee Is The #1 Key Factor
Waiting for a carrier assignment can take as long or longer than the actual car shipment. Think of walking, jogging, or running. Here are three vehicle shipment pricing scenarios for an average 1,500 mile route.
Cheap Auto Transport / Low Pricing
- 7 days for broker to assign a carrier
- 2 days for carrier pick up
- 1 day for carrier to load all his vehicles
- 3 days in transit / on the road
- 1 day for carrier to unload all his vehicles
Total 14 days from start to finish for Cheap Auto Transport.
Expedited Car Shipping / $100-$200 Additional
- 3 days for broker to assign a carrier
- 2 days for carrier pick up
- 1 day for carrier to load all his vehicles
- 3 days in transit / on the road
- 1 day for carrier to unload all his vehicles
Total 10 days from start to finish for Expedited Car Shipping.
Rush Vehicle Shipping / $300-$400 Additional
- 1 days for broker to assign a carrier
- 2 days for carrier pick up
- 1 day for carrier to load all his vehicles
- 3 days in transit / on the road
- 1 day for carrier to unload all his vehicles
Total 8 days from start to finish for Rush Vehicle Shipping.
The extra money on the carrier fee hastens the search for assignment. It shortens the wait for assignment, which is really the only part of the car shipping process that can be speeded up. Every other aspect is what it is. You can’t speed up the loading or unloading. The number of days on the road is governed by the FMCSA. The drivers cannot legally go faster in transit.
That leaves only the time it takes for a broker to find a carrier to assign. Money has a lot to do with the speed of that.
Other Factors That Affect How Long It Takes To Ship A Car
There are other things that may affect how long it takes to ship a car. While the carrier fee, or money, is paramount, here are other considerations.
Car Shipping Route
The unpopularity of a car shipping route can affect the number of days it takes to assign a driver. Think of it this way:
- Fast Popular Route: Detroit to Dallas
- Medium Route: Lansing to Dallas
- Slower Route: Lansing to Lubbock
- Extremely Slow Route: Cadillac, MI to Lubbock
Involving a rural location on either end of the vehicle shipment will likely slow things down. The remedy is to add more money to entice a carrier. Patience becomes important.
Type of Vehicle
Sedans ship faster than SUVs, which ship faster than Pick-Up Trucks.
Smaller SUVs ship faster than big SUVs.
And smaller Pick-Up Trucks ship faster than big Pick-Up Trucks.
Carrier Driver Hours of Operation
The Department of Transportation correctly keeps drivers safer, and the public too. We share the road with truck drivers, and we all need them to get plenty of rest. No nodding off on the road. Here are the FMCSA rules.
Seasonality
How long it takes to ship a car is also affected by the time of year, the seasons. In the northern states and Rocky Mountains, the warmer weather months are far easier to car ship than in the winter months. In the winter, in the north, count on it taking longer regardless of the carrier fee.
Stormy Weather
Bad weather will slow car shipments down. Especially hurricanes. Icy conditions in southern states will cause havoc as they are simply not used to it. Tornadoes and arctic storms will also slow things.
In recent years, global climate change that causes huge fires in the western states will derail car shipping schedules.
The Bottom Line On How Long It Takes To Ship a Car
Shipping a car is not like overnighting a package. It is not nearly as predictable. About the only thing a customer can do is reduce the wait time for a carrier assignment, because everything else is on autopilot. To make vehicle shipments go faster is simple, just add money.
