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Car Transport Quote: Calculator Estimate or Real Price?

Why an instant estimate and a real quote can be far apart.

Plenty of websites give you a car shipping price in ten seconds. That number is an estimate. A real quote is a price someone commits to, for your car, your route and your dates. The two can be far apart, and knowing why keeps you from booking a price that never turns into a truck.

What an Instant Estimate Knows

A calculator knows the distance between two ZIP codes, a rough vehicle size and average prices from past shipments. That’s fine for a ballpark. Here’s what it usually doesn’t know:

  • What carriers on your route are accepting this week
  • Whether it’s snowbird season, moving season or a holiday week
  • Whether your pickup is on the interstate or two hours off it
  • Your car’s lift kit, low front lip or dead battery
  • How firm your dates are

How a Real Quote Is Built

A real quote starts with the same distance and vehicle, then adjusts for everything above. The question behind it is simple: what will a licensed carrier that runs this route accept to take this car on these dates? We quote a price a carrier will actually take. If a price is too low for any carrier to accept, we tell you up front instead of booking it anyway.

Why a Low Estimate Can Cost You

Some companies show the lowest possible number to win your booking, then raise it once no carrier takes the load. That’s the bait and switch. The cheapest estimate isn’t a deal if your car is still in the driveway a week later.

What Makes Your Quote Accurate

  • Pickup and delivery ZIP codes, or the cities if you don’t have addresses yet
  • Year, make and model, plus any modifications
  • Whether it runs, steers and brakes
  • Open or enclosed
  • Your first available date, and how flexible you can be

More on what to have ready: getting a car transport quote.

Our Price Promise

The price we quote is the price you pay. It’s good for 30 days, as long as your vehicle, route and dates stay the same, and it’s agreed in writing before pickup. Get your quote.

Questions

Why did my quote change?

With us, a quoted price holds for 30 days as long as the vehicle, route and dates stay the same. If one of those changes, say a different pickup city or a car that no longer runs, the price is quoted again before anything moves.

Is an online estimate useless, then?

No. It’s a fair starting point for a budget. Just don’t book a shipment, or turn one down, based on a number nobody has committed to.

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