Sooner or later, most gearheads end up needing a transport truck. You find the right F-250 three states away. A job moves you coast to coast and driving both vehicles isn’t an option. The project car finally deserves a spot at a show it can’t be trailered to on your own schedule. Whatever gets you there, the question is the same: who do you trust to put your vehicle on a trailer?

We reviewed and compared a number of national players on the things that matter most once your car is actually on a truck: the depth of the carrier network, how honest the quote is, how they handle vehicles that aren’t a stock sedan, and whether anyone answers the phone after booking. Here are the seven companies we’d call in 2026.

1. RoadRunner Auto Transport (Best Overall)

RoadRunner Auto Transport is the strongest pick on this list, and the reason starts with the network. The company works with more than 14,000 vetted carriers, every one of them FMCSA and DOT compliant, one of the largest disclosed networks in the industry. That depth matters most when you’re shipping something unusual: a bigger pool of qualified drivers means a lifted truck, a classic, or a fresh restoration gets matched and moved instead of sitting while a smaller broker hunts for a taker. Both open and enclosed transport are on the menu, and the enclosed side is built for exactly the types of vehicles readers here care about.

The booking experience seals it. The instant quote calculator returns a real, all-inclusive number for your route in under a minute, and there’s no deposit; you pay nothing until a carrier is assigned and pickup is scheduled. More than 20,000 5-star Google ratings back the experience up. A full review of RoadRunner Auto Transport follows the list below.

2. SGT Auto Transport

SGT Auto Transport has spent over a decade building a reputation as one of the more budget-friendly national brokers, and on standard open transport it frequently comes in below competitors. The driver network is large, coverage is nationwide, and the online quote process is quick. Reviews are solid for routine shipments on common routes. The recurring theme in customer feedback is consistency; quotes sometimes shift between booking and pickup, and communication can thin out mid-shipment. For a stock vehicle on a popular lane where price is the deciding factor, SGT Auto Transport is a reasonable call.

3. Mercury Auto Transport

Mercury Auto Transport is a smaller, privately held broker that takes a more hands-on approach to quoting; you work with an agent rather than an algorithm. That slower pace has an upside for odd jobs. Mercury is one of the few names on this list with real flatbed capability, useful for vehicles that can’t roll onto a standard trailer. Open and enclosed options are available nationwide. The trade-off is speed and scale; carrier assignment can take longer than the volume players, and the company is a lighter presence on less-traveled routes.

4. AmeriFreight

AmeriFreight has been brokering shipments for more than 20 years and leans hard into its discount programs, with published savings for military members, first responders, students, and seniors. Its gap protection add-on, which covers part of the difference if a carrier’s insurance falls short on a claim, is a feature most competitors don’t offer. The catch is complexity. Between tiered pricing, add-ons, and discount stacking, the number you start with and the number you pay are not always the same, so read what’s included before comparing quotes.

5. Sherpa Auto Transport

Sherpa Auto Transport built its brand on one promise: the price you book is the price you pay. The Price Lock guarantee genuinely does remove the quote-creep problem that frustrates shippers elsewhere, and pickup dates come with real commitments behind them. The company is newer, founded in 2017, and runs a smaller carrier network than the established players, which can show up in higher initial quotes and fewer options on uncommon routes. For a stock vehicle on a fixed timeline where certainty beats savings, Sherpa is worth a quote.

6. Montway Auto Transport

Montway Auto Transport is the volume leader in this space, moving vehicles across all 50 states. That scale brings broad route availability, but cuts the other way too. Your vehicle is one of thousands moving through a largely automated system on any given day, which works well when everything is standard and less well when a shipment needs individual attention, particularly around claims or oversized loads.

7. Nexus Auto Transport

Nexus Auto Transport is one of the newer national brokers and has carved out a niche in fast dispatch, often placing vehicles with carriers on shorter notice than larger competitors. Coverage is nationwide, with open and enclosed options. The track record is simply shorter than the rest of this list, and the carrier pool is smaller, so experiences vary more from route to route.

How to Choose

Whoever you call, run the same checks. Verify the company’s USDOT and MC numbers in the FMCSA database before booking; it takes two minutes and screens out the fly-by-night operators. Get two or three quotes and compare what’s actually included, because a low headline number with a deposit, fuel surcharge, and “market adjustment” behind it isn’t low. And match the company to the vehicle. A stock Camry can ride with almost anyone; a lifted truck, a classic, or a six-figure build belongs with a company whose carrier network can handle it, which is a big part of why RoadRunner Auto Transport sits at the top of this list.

RoadRunner Auto Transport Review: A Closer Look at Our Top Pick

You’ve seen the checks we’d run on any company. Here’s how our top pick holds up against them, from first quote to delivery day.

Booking and pricing

The process starts on the company’s website with the quote calculator. You enter pickup and delivery locations, the vehicle’s year, make, and model, and your preferred shipping date, and the tool returns a price in under a minute. The number you get is all-inclusive; door-to-door service, carrier insurance, and taxes are in the figure, so you’re not reverse-engineering a real total from a teaser rate. Shipping more than one vehicle? You can add cars to the same quote and see the combined price before talking to anyone.

Booking follows the same pattern. No deposit changes hands when you reserve; payment happens once a carrier is assigned and your pickup is scheduled. If your plans change before then, you’re not chasing a refund.

During transport

This is where 30 years of running an in-house operation shows. RoadRunner Auto Transport has its own dispatch team and an AI-powered, proprietary load board, so carrier matching happens inside the company rather than being farmed out to whoever bites first on a public board. Once your vehicle is on a truck, the 24/7 online tracking portal shows where it is, and text and email updates hit the milestones without you asking, so you’re never left wondering where your car is. If something does come up mid-route, live agents are reachable rather than buried behind a phone tree.

Vehicles and special situations

The service menu covers more ground than most national brokers: cars, trucks, SUVs, motorcycles, classics, exotics, RVs, boats, and heavy equipment, running or not. Enclosed transport is available on most routes for anything that shouldn’t ride in the open, with carriers who know the details that matter on high-value loads, things like loading angles and soft tie-downs, and expedited service exists when the calendar is tight. Coverage runs across all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, plus Puerto Rico and other Caribbean destinations. The company is also veteran-owned and offers military discounts for active-duty members, veterans, and their families, a detail that matters if a PCS move is what put you here.

On the credentials side, RoadRunner Auto Transport is headquartered in Bethpage, New York, operates under USDOT #3124544, and carries an accident-free FMCSA safety record over the last two years. Beyond the Google footprint mentioned above, the company holds more than 30,000 five-star reviews on Shopper Approved, the largest verified review count of any auto transport company.

Where it falls short

No transport company controls the road. Pickup windows stretch when a route is remote or demand spikes, and RoadRunner Auto Transport is subject to the same physics as everyone else; a shipment out of rural Montana will take longer to place than one out of Dallas. Enclosed and expedited service raise the price the way they do everywhere. And because the company quotes all-inclusive, its number can look slightly higher next to a competitor’s teaser rate until you compare what each one actually covers.

Verdict

The pattern across every part of the experience is the same: fewer surprises. Real quote upfront, no money down, in-house people managing the shipment, and a paper trail of reviews backing it up. That’s what earns the top spot.

FAQ

How much does it cost to ship a car?

Most state-to-state shipments run between $500 and $1,500 on an open carrier, with coast-to-coast moves at the top of that range or above. Vehicle size, route popularity, and season all move the number, and longer hauls usually cost less per mile than short ones.

How long does car shipping take?

Regional moves typically deliver in 1 to 5 days after pickup. Cross-country shipments generally run about a week to 10 days. Add a pickup window of a few days on the front end, since carriers string together multiple vehicles along a route.

Do I have to pay a deposit?

It depends on the company. Some charge a deposit or broker fee at booking; others, including RoadRunner Auto Transport, charge nothing until a carrier is assigned and pickup is scheduled. A large upfront deposit from a company you haven’t vetted is a red flag.

Should I choose open or enclosed transport?

Open transport is the default and handles the vast majority of shipments safely at the lowest cost. Enclosed runs roughly 30 to 50% more and makes sense for classics, exotics, fresh paint, and anything whose value justifies a covered trailer.

Can I ship a lifted or modified vehicle?

Yes, but disclose everything upfront: real height on the tires it’s wearing, width at the widest point, and estimated weight. Underselling the dimensions to get a lower quote just means renegotiating with a loaded trailer in your driveway.