Coast-to-coast lane
From $1,450 · 7–10 days · Door-to-door on I-40 and I-70 and I-80
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Price by vehicle
Ranges come from carrier quotes received on the Los Angeles to New York City lane, last checked September 12, 2026. Your firm price depends on the exact addresses and dates.
No deposit until a carrier is assigned.
| Vehicle | Open carrier | Enclosed carrier |
|---|---|---|
| Sedan / coupe | $1,450 – $2,000 | $2,100 – $2,950 |
| SUV / crossover | $1,625 – $2,250 | $2,350 – $3,300 |
| Pickup truck | $1,750 – $2,400 | $2,525 – $3,550 |
| Van / minivan | $1,825 – $2,500 | $2,625 – $3,700 |
| Motorcycle | $1,150 – $1,600 | $1,675 – $2,350 |
What moves the price: the season (peak months run 5–10% higher), whether the vehicle runs (winch loading adds about $150), how flexible your pickup window is (a 3–5 day window beats a fixed date), and modifications such as lift kits or oversized tires.
Two of the hardest cities in the country for a car hauler, joined by the longest common lane. A 75-foot truck cannot stop on a Silver Lake side street or anywhere in Manhattan, so this shipment begins and ends with a phone call and a parking lot, and in between the car spends a week crossing the country on somebody else's schedule. None of that is a problem if you know it in advance, and this page is about what the week actually looks like from a Los Angeles driveway or a Fort Lee lot.
The lane carries relocations between the two biggest metros in both directions, film and finance people moving between offices, students, retirees and buyers collecting a rust-free California car for a Brooklyn garage. It is well served all year, priced at $1,450 to $2,000 for a running sedan on an open carrier, and takes seven to ten days on the truck. The quote form above is set to the lane; add your vehicle and a specialist calls with a firm carrier price within business hours.
Timeline
Most shipments on this lane are complete 8–13 days after booking. Expedited pickup shortens the front end.
Day 0
Confirm your route, vehicle and first available pickup date.
1–3 days
A licensed carrier accepts the load; you get the name, DOT number and insurance certificate.
Agreed window
Driver inspects the car with you and both of you sign the bill of lading.
7–10 days
About 2,790 miles at 400–500 miles per driving day, with stops for other customers.
Driver calls ahead
Inspect against the pickup report, sign, and pay the carrier the balance.
On the ground
Carriers pick up and deliver anywhere in these regions; addresses outside them are quoted on request.
Day one the truck collects around the basin, the Valley and Westside in the morning and Orange County or the Inland Empire in the afternoon, and sleeps in Barstow or Kingman. Days two and three are I-40: Flagstaff, Albuquerque, the Panhandle, Oklahoma City, with drops and pickups in Phoenix and Amarillo if the load has them. Day four is Arkansas and Memphis. Day five is Nashville and the turn onto I-81, day six the Shenandoah Valley to Harrisburg. Day seven the truck comes into New Jersey on I-78 and starts the New York deliveries, which can run into day eight or nine depending on how many cars are aboard and where they are going.
A load of eight or nine cars may have three going to Long Island, two to Westchester, one to Brooklyn and one to a Fort Lee handover, and the driver sequences them to avoid crossing the city twice. Your car's position in that sequence is not known until the truck is close, which is why the driver calls the day before with a time and a spot rather than promising a date at booking.
In Los Angeles, the Valley, the South Bay, Long Beach, Orange County and the Inland Empire are driveway pickups where the street lets the truck turn; the Westside, Hollywood, the hills and downtown are lots near the 405, the 10 or the 101, and LAX hotel lots on Century Boulevard serve anyone flying the same day. In New York, the Nassau and Suffolk suburbs, Westchester, Rockland and Bergen County are driveway deliveries. The boroughs are meeting points, and Manhattan is Fort Lee or Long Island City.
Open vs enclosed
Most cars on this lane are daily drivers moving with their owners, and they ship open: a week of dust on the deck and, in winter, some salt from Tennessee onward, all of it gone at the first car wash in Queens. The exceptions are the cars that make this lane interesting, the classic bought in the dry California climate for a Manhattan collector, the exotic going to a Hamptons garage, the fresh restoration. Those go enclosed, with a liftgate if they are low, for 40 to 60 percent more.
Most popularSedan on this route · Baseline price
PremiumSedan on this route · 40–60% more than open
Seasonality
Peak demand runs June–August. Booking ahead of the peak keeps your price at the lower end of the range.
Outlined bar is the current month. Amber months are when carrier space sells out first.
June through August is the busy season, driven by relocations and school calendars; prices then sit at the top of the range and a fixed pickup date adds to them. Two to three weeks of lead time with a three-day window keeps most customers in the lower half. November through February is the cheapest, except for the two holiday weeks when drivers are off the road and windows widen.
Winter also changes the route. Storms close I-40 over the Flagstaff plateau and I-80 and I-70 through the Rockies for a day at a time, and carriers wait rather than drive into them. A nor'easter at the New York end can hold a delivery by a day. None of it is charged, and your specialist keeps you updated as the truck moves.
City pairs
The same lane priced to and from the individual metros. Each row links to the city guide with pickup notes for that area.
| City pair | Road miles | Open carrier | Enclosed | On the truck |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles to Long Island | 3,039 mi | $1,575 – $2,175 | $2,275 – $3,150 | 8–12 days |
| Los Angeles to Brooklyn | 2,988 mi | $1,550 – $2,125 | $2,225 – $3,100 | 7–11 days |
| Los Angeles to Buffalo | 2,676 mi | $1,450 – $2,000 | $2,100 – $2,900 | 7–11 days |
| San Diego to New York City | 2,961 mi | $1,525 – $2,100 | $2,200 – $3,075 | 7–11 days |
| San Francisco to New York City | 3,130 mi | $1,625 – $2,225 | $2,325 – $3,250 | 8–12 days |
| San Jose to New York City | 3,110 mi | $1,600 – $2,225 | $2,325 – $3,225 | 8–12 days |
| Sacramento to New York City | 3,049 mi | $1,575 – $2,175 | $2,275 – $3,175 | 8–12 days |
Running sedan on a flexible pickup window. City rows are priced from road miles on the same curve as the lane range above; SUVs add about 12%, pickups 20%.
The single most useful thing you can do is give the driver a receiver who can reach a meeting point on any of days seven to nine, not just one afternoon. A doorman cannot sign for a vehicle; a friend, a sibling or a colleague with an hour to spare can. Send them the photographs you took at pickup, a copy of the bill of lading and the driver's mobile number, and tell them to look at every panel before they sign. If the car is going to a garage in the city, check the garage's height limit and hours before booking so the receiver can drive it straight in.
At the Los Angeles end, the questions are practical. The FasTrak comes off the windshield or the truck will bill it at every gantry from Pennsylvania in. The alarm is switched off. The tank is a quarter full. Personal belongings stay under about 100 pounds, below the window line, and are not insured, which on a relocation lane means the boxes go with the movers. Take the photographs in daylight, all four sides, the wheels, the glass and the odometer.
The driver takes one key and glances at a photo ID. The California title stays with you, the lender does not need to know, and New York registration and inspection happen after the car arrives. If the car is being collected from a dealer or a private seller rather than you, give your specialist their name and number and the pickup is arranged with them.
After delivery
Shipping to New York City: the paperwork New York asks of a new resident, so you can book the DMV visit for the week the car lands rather than discover it at the counter.
Register within 30 days of becoming a New York resident.
No separate VIN verification for a vehicle with an out-of-state title in your name.
A New York safety and emissions inspection is required within 10 days of registration (the DMV issues a 10-day inspection extension sticker). A valid out-of-state inspection can be used until it expires or for one year, whichever comes first.
New York insurance from a company licensed in the state is required before registration.
Source: New York State DMV . Checked September 15, 2026. Deadlines and inspection rules change; confirm on the official page before you go.
Related
Pickup state
The largest outbound state, with daily carrier departures east on I-10 and I-40.
State guideQuestions
Not covered here? A specialist can answer route-specific questions in a couple of minutes.
888-706-8784$1,450–$2,000 for a running sedan on an open carrier and $2,100–$2,950 enclosed for about 2,790 miles. A meeting-point handover in Manhattan or Brooklyn costs nothing extra; a suburban driveway on Long Island or in Westchester is the same price. SUVs and pickups add 12–20%.
Seven to ten. Day one is loading around the basin, days two to four are the desert and the Plains, days five and six the Mid-South and the Shenandoah, and days seven to nine the New Jersey and New York drops. Pickup is one to five days before that.
You have the driver's mobile and the dispatcher's, and the carrier calls or texts at pickup, mid-route and the day before delivery. Some run GPS you can view. Your specialist can reach dispatch at any time.
Never on a Manhattan street. The regulars are a lot in Fort Lee just over the bridge, the big-box lots in Long Island City and Bay Ridge, and the park-and-rides on the LIE. Long Island, Westchester and the Jersey suburbs are driveway deliveries.
November through February, apart from the two holiday weeks. June through August is peak and the most expensive.
Yes. Expedited pickup within 24–48 hours costs about $200–$400 more and gets the car on the road sooner; transit time itself is set by the driver's hours and the route.
A quarter tank, the FasTrak removed, the alarm disabled and belongings under 100 pounds. It does not run during transit and arrives with the mileage it left with, plus a week of road dust on an open deck.
Guides
7 min read
Most shipments deliver 1–3 days after pickup for under 500 miles, 3–5 days for 1,000–1,500 miles and 7–10 days coast to coast. Add 1–5 days for the carrier to be assigned and reach you.
Read the guide
8 min read
Confirm the seller or dealer will release the car to a carrier, get the pickup contact and hours, ship on an open carrier for most purchases, and inspect on delivery before the driver leaves. Expect $550–$2,000 depending on distance.
Read the guide
7 min read
Wash the car, photograph every panel, leave a quarter tank of fuel, remove personal items and toll tags, fold in mirrors, note existing damage on the Bill of Lading, and hand over one set of keys.
Read the guideCarriers on this lane are quoting $1,450–$2,000 for a running sedan. Lock in a pickup window in about a minute.
Average response time under 5 minutes during business hours (Mon–Sun 7am–9pm ET).
Last updated September 12, 2026 · Written by the AutoShippingUS Editorial Team · Reviewed by Christofer Whiteman, Editor · Industry review by Sarah Williams, Independent auto transport consultant, 20 years in the industry
