When shipping a car to another state, the reliability and quality of the transport services are as important as the price. Missed pickup windows or late deliveries can disrupt your moving plans, even your business. That could leave you asking, “How long does it take to ship a car?”
To help you evaluate companies you might consider for transporting your car, we've prepared this guide that explains the auto transportation process and the factors to consider when selecting a provider.
How Car Shipping Works: The Vehicle Transportation Timeline
Customers are interested in the car shipping schedule, specifically, how long it takes to ship a car from the point of origin to its destination. Ensuring that vehicle shipments are completed on schedule and without incidents requires a robust process at every step. The three steps include:
- Getting Your Free Quote
- Schedule Your Shipment
- Complete Your Delivery
Next, we’ll cover each step and point out best practices brokers such as Nexus Auto Transport use to provide reliable, on-time car shipping delivery.
Getting Your Free Quote
Delivering on-time car shipping services starts with the quoting and booking process. During the quoting process, you provide key information using our real-time car shipping cost calculator, including:
- Vehicle make and model
- Origin ZIP code
- Destination ZIP code
- Desired delivery schedule
You can personalize your shipment based on your desired for:
- Open versus enclosed shipping
- Expedited shipping
- Multi-vehicle discounts
An option in the industry is terminal-to-terminal shipping, which involves dropping off and picking up your car at a trucking terminal. Terminal-to-terminal shipping takes longer and can involve multiple vehicle handoffs as your car switches trailers along the way.
Nexus Auto Transport specializes in door-to-door vehicle shipping, meaning your car is handled by one carrier who picks up and delivers the vehicle as close to your preferred locations as is legally and safely possible. Door-to-door shipping:
- Shortens transit time
- Lowers the risk of scheduling conflicts
- Improves delivery accuracy
- Discounts for active-duty military personnel and veterans
Providing a Quote
To illustrate the process, let’s assume that you need a car shipped from San Francisco to Boston three weeks from today, and you obtain an online quote from Nexus. Nexus Auto Transport uses advanced market data to offer fair, accurate car shipping quotes. While you may wonder how long it takes to ship a car, we take multiple factors into account, including:
- Route length or mileage
- Vehicle size and operability
- Open versus enclosed carrier
- Timing: How soon are pickup and delivery needed?
- Route difficulty, such as a pickup or delivery in a remote area
- Route demand: summer and snowbird months have increased demand, especially on some routes
Using this information, years of experience, and data from completed jobs, we quote you a price to deliver the service, along with several-day pickup and delivery windows for your car, that reflects the time needed to ship a car along your desired route.
As needed, our specialists are always here to explain pricing and administer applicable discounts.
Schedule Your Shipment
Assuming you obtained multiple quotes and confirmed with Nexus, we begin scheduling your shipment and assigning a carrier.
The market for auto carriers is dynamic, with individual carriers traveling regional or cross-country routes. Continuing with our example, a carrier planning to drive from San Francisco to Boston might have space for one more vehicle with timing that matches your needs.
Nexus Auto Transport is a highly regarded broker with more than 10 years in the business, so carriers are eager to work with us. We only assign carriers who have:
- Demonstrated record of reliability
- Provided us with information and photographs regarding the trucks and trailers used to transport Nexus loads
- Documented driver’s license and license plate registrations
- Proof of insurance and coverage amounts for their listed trucks and trailers, and lists Nexus AT LLC as a holder
Nexus then assigns a qualified carrier, and we move toward the vehicle pickup process.
Before the pickup occurs, we recommend that you clean and empty your car, document preexisting damage in writing and with images, and leave your vehicle with ¼ tank of gas. (Your car needs enough fuel to load and unload while minimizing the vehicle weight while being transported.)
Complete Your Delivery
Nexus confirms the carrier assignment by emailing you a dispatch notification that confirms the carrier you will work with and helps establish the car shipping schedule. It typically includes:
- Carrier name
- Contact information
- Motor Carrier number
- Estimated pickup window (a date range, not a specific time)
When we schedule your vehicle pickup, we provide a pickup window around your requested date. This occurs because carriers run multi-stop routes and can't commit to exact times far in advance. The carrier contacts you about 24 hours before the pickup to arrange the pickup time, subject to traffic, weather, and other conditions.
Vehicle Pickup and Transport Process
The carrier arrives at your preferred origin location or as nearby as legally and safely possible. The driver:
- Inspects your vehicle
- Documents any damages in the Bill of Lading, which you sign
- Loads the vehicle onto the carrier
- Begins the journey
Once your vehicle is on the road, Nexus continues to manage the car-shipping timeline. The driver cannot check their phones while driving, but they check in when stopped.
Our Customer Service Department keeps you informed throughout the transport process by phone, text, and email. We alert customers when problems arise and work to resolve them. Our customer support team is available to answer your questions by:
- Calling our direct customer service line: (224) 955-1155. Customer Service hours are Monday-Friday, 6:00 AM-10:00 PM CT and Saturday-Sunday, 7:00 AM-9:00 PM CT.
- Emailing us at help@nexusautotransport.com or info@nexusautotransport.com
- Texting our Customer Service team at: (224) 355-2633.
Vehicle Delivery Process
You receive an estimated delivery date at the time of booking, which depends on the route length and other factors. As with the pickup, the driver typically contacts you 24 hours in advance with a narrower pickup window.
During the delivery, the driver:
- Unloads the vehicles
- Inspects it for damage
- Documents the vehicle condition in the Bill of Lading.
- You or your representative must sign the Bill of Lading to confirm receipt of the vehicle and its condition.
In the event your vehicle is damaged in transit, you must notify Nexus within 72 hours of delivery.
Final Payment
Generally, you pay an initial deposit by credit card at the time of booking. The remainder is paid to the driver at delivery. Drivers only accept guaranteed funds, such as cash, cashier's checks, certified checks, or money orders. Credit cards and personal checks are generally not accepted.
For customer convenience, Nexus allows customers to pay for the entire transaction upfront by credit card, helping you to avoid carrying cash or obtaining guaranteed funds.
Why Customers Trust Nexus Auto Transport
Nexus Auto Transport is a nationally recognized auto transport company and professional car shipping broker. Rather than owning a fleet of trucks and trailers, Nexus partners with a vetted network of independent carriers to provide flexible, nationwide coverage.
- A+ BBB-accredited
- Customer reviews featured by Forbes and TrustPilot
- Thousands of verified 5-star customer reviews
- Covers all 50 U.S. states
- Decades of combined logistics experience
Nexus Auto Transport has earned its strong industry reputation by consistently meeting car shipping timeline expectations on routes of all distances. With more than a decade of experience and over 500,000 completed shipments, our company has refined processes that minimize delays and maximize customer confidence.
How Nexus Supports On-Time Car Shipping at Each Stage
Shipping Stage |
Key Action by Nexus |
Why It Helps Keep Delivery on Schedule |
|---|---|---|
Booking and order setup |
Provide instant quote based on your vehicle and timing requirements |
Fair quote based on current market; We do not make low-ball offers |
Carrier assignment |
Select vetted, trusted carrier with capacity |
Solid carriers with top-notch equipment are timelier |
Route planning and scheduling |
Thorough calculations at time of quote |
Realistic timelines are more dependable |
Pickup coordination |
Schedule pickup window and ensure carrier communication |
Proper expectations produce more reliable results |
In-transit monitoring |
Consistent monitoring of carrier and customer updates |
Status confirmations help you plan |
Delivery coordination |
Ensure carrier-customer communication and timing |
Final step in process is smooth, timely delivery |
FAQs
How can I track my car shipment with Nexus Auto Transport?
Nexus Auto Transport has systems in place to communicate with customers during the vehicle transportation timeline by text, email, and other electronic methods. We also have customer support staff to answer customer phone calls and keep you up to date regarding your vehicle’s status. We do not provide mile-by-mile tracking.
Is Nexus Auto Transport a broker or a carrier, and how does that affect delivery timing?
Nexus is a broker. Rather than owning our own trucks and trailers, we work with thousands of vetted carriers nationwide and coordinate with them to provide efficient, on-time deliveries. Brokers like Nexus offer better scheduling thanks to our access to many carriers. We also provide stronger customer support, particularly for long-distance shipments.
Will I receive updates throughout transit or only at key milestones like pickup and delivery?
The top auto transport companies provide customers with consistent updates on the status of their vehicles through email, text, and their customer support centers. However, the complications and requirements of interstate shipping do not allow real-time tracking.
Be sure to confirm with your car shipping company in advance how they will keep you informed of your car's status.
What happens if my pickup or delivery schedule changes after booking?
The impact depends on when you notify us of the change and the extent of it. Assuming you need to adjust the dates by a few days, and the carrier has not yet been booked, there should be little effect. However, if the carrier has been booked or has already picked up your vehicle, the situation becomes more complicated and largely depends on the carrier's schedule and other obligations.
Carriers commonly charge a dry run fee if a pickup is scheduled and the customer does not appear.
How does Nexus handle delays or unexpected issues during car shipping?
Weather, traffic, and other factors sometimes cause delays that are beyond the carrier's control. However, if your shipment experiences delays, communication from Nexus is critical.
As with other aspects of car carrier services, you should confirm expectations in advance and identify the parts of the contract that cover delays.
