Car Shipping Transit Times from Fort Lauderdale
- Estimates clearly labeled
- Independent company rankings
- Free to compare
Fort Lauderdale at a glance
- Typical price
- $555 – $4,480
- Open transport
- $0.33–$1.89 per mile
- Transit time
- 2–6 days
- Trips within Florida
- $310 – $860
Free · No obligation · About a minute
Get a Fort Lauderdale car shipping quote
2–6 days
500–2,000 miles
Regional and mid-distance
5–14 days
2,000+ miles
Cross-country
11 hours a day
Driving limit
Federal hours-of-service rule
Transit times from Fort Lauderdale to major cities
Estimated days on the road after pickup, from nearest to farthest.
| Destination | Distance | Standard transit | Open transport |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston, SC | 550 mi | 2–3 days | $400 – $1,040 |
| Atlanta, GA | 700 mi | 2–3 days | $510 – $1,325 |
| Charlotte, NC | 760 mi | 2–4 days | $555 – $1,435 |
| Birmingham, AL | 780 mi | 2–4 days | $570 – $1,475 |
| Houston, TX | 1,150 mi | 3–5 days | $805 – $2,175 |
| New York City, NY | 1,280 mi | 3–6 days | $895 – $2,420 |
| Chicago, IL | 1,400 mi | 3–6 days | $980 – $2,645 |
| Phoenix, AZ | 2,370 mi | 5–10 days | $875 – $4,480 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 2,790 mi | 6–12 days | $975 – $5,275 |
| Seattle, WA | 3,260 mi | 7–14 days | $1,075 – $6,160 |
Pickup window vs. transit time
- Day 0
Book
Compare estimates, choose a company and confirm the price, pickup window and payment terms in writing.
- Before pickup
Carrier assigned
Your order goes to a carrier with space on your route. Busy routes usually fill faster than rural ones.
- A range of days
Pickup window
Pickup happens within an agreed window, not at an exact hour. Drivers usually call ahead to set a time.
In transit
Time on the road depends on distance, weather, other stops and drivers' required rest breaks.
- On arrival
Delivery
Inspect the car against the Bill of Lading and note any new damage before you sign.
What can slow a shipment from Fort Lauderdale
- I-595 is the spine the whole metro hangs offI-595, the Port Everglades Expressway, runs east to west across Broward and ties I-95, Florida's Turnpike, the Sawgrass Expressway and I-75 together before it reaches the airport and the port. A carrier working Fort Lauderdale is on it at some point almost every time, so a pickup gets planned around its interchanges rather than around your street.
- The port ships cars, not only cruise passengersPort Everglades is one of the busiest cruise ports anywhere, but it also loads roll-on, roll-off automobiles and takes in most of South Florida's gasoline and jet fuel. A car leaving the country sails from the port on an ocean carrier, which is booked separately from the truck that drives it the short distance there.
- The Gulf Coast is on the far side of the EvergladesA car going from Fort Lauderdale to Naples or Fort Myers crosses Alligator Alley, the roughly eighty-mile toll run of I-75 through the Everglades with no towns, exits or fuel along it. Drivers treat it as a single leg, and during the June-to-November hurricane season it doubles as a signed evacuation route with tolls lifted.
- Canals and drawbridges decide the pickup pointFort Lauderdale is cut through with canals, and the isle streets off Las Olas and along the Intracoastal are reached only by low drawbridges that a loaded carrier will not cross. The normal answer is to load on the mainland a few minutes away rather than try to thread an island cul-de-sac with eighty feet of truck.
Truck drivers may drive up to 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty, which is why long routes are measured in days, not hours. Source: FMCSA hours of service
Standard vs. expedited shipping
Example: Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles.
Standard shipping
6–12 days in transit
- Most cost-effective
- Widest choice of carriers
- Good for flexible schedules
Expedited shipping
Sooner pickup; similar time on the road
- Priority carrier assignment
- Shorter wait for pickup
- Costs more
Delivery dates are estimates. Weather, freeway closures and other stops on the truck's route can add time, so plan a little buffer.
Ready to ship your car from Fort Lauderdale?
Enter your route to compare estimated prices, pickup dates and transport companies.