It will usually take a few days to two weeks for your car to arrive at the pickup point after leaving for transportation. This time frame is extremely long because automatic transport times vary considerably depending on the individual shipment. There are many factors that influence the time it takes to ship a car, such as the type of vehicle being shipped, the shipping route, and the time of year. Open carriers can carry more vehicles at a time, meaning they'll have to make several stops to pick up other vehicles along the way. The best way to reduce the time it takes to ship a car is to book a delivery weeks in advance, while the most efficient suppliers are still available.
However, there are a few factors that consistently contribute to the big difference in the time it takes to ship a car. The average length of a 500-mile car shipment is 2 to 3 days, depending on the time of year you ship and other mitigating factors. Open transportation is the most popular vehicle transportation service, so requesting the shipment of a closed vehicle can increase time and costs of the process. The summer months and January are popular months for shipping vehicles, so you may have to wait a little longer during these times, as carriers may struggle to meet high demand.
This could increase overall transit time, but it's usually one of the fastest ways to ship your car. One of the advantages is that it protects cars from the weather elements, since the car is an enclosed space. You'll need to pay the remaining balance at this time if you only paid part of the cost of shipping the car beforehand. The choice of transportation method will also play an important role in the time needed to ship your car. On the other hand, it may take longer to organize pickup and delivery during the winter months because the demand for car shipping services is lower.
Check your car for damage that may have occurred during the shipping process and re-sign the bill of lading if there's nothing wrong. Another obvious factor affecting the delivery time of a car shipment is the distance between the pickup location and the destination. Since multiple variables play a role in the process, it's difficult to establish exactly how long it takes to ship a car. Either way, this should provide you with peace of mind and a solid estimate of how long it will take to ship the car.
