Open vs. Enclosed Car Shipping: Which Is Right for You?

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  Open transport

  Your car rides on an open multi-car carrier.

  • Lowest price
  • Most trucks and dates
  • Exposed to weather and road dust

  Learn more
• 

  Enclosed transport

  Your car rides inside a covered trailer.

  • Protected from weather and debris
  • Often liftgate loading
  • Higher price and fewer trucks

  Learn more

• Luxury, exotic and high-value cars
• Classic, antique and collector cars
• Freshly painted or restored vehicles
• Low-clearance cars that could scrape on ramps
• Cars that must arrive spotless for a show, sale or auction

Open transport leaves your car exposed to the weather and whatever the road kicks up. Most of that is harmless: road grime and the odd stone chip that wash or polish off. The exception that matters is severe weather, and the sharpest example is hail. A car on an open trailer has nowhere to hide, while an enclosed trailer removes that exposure.

Bigger stones mean deeper dents, and a storm can strike anywhere along a long route. Most cars never meet hail in transit, but the few that do can face a serious repair bill, which is why owners of valuable cars lean toward enclosed.

None of this makes open transport unsafe. Damage claims are uncommon, and carriers strap down and secure every vehicle for the trip. Enclosed just narrows the odds further, and for a high-value car it adds a second edge: a sealed trailer keeps the car out of sight at stops.

Soft-sided trailers use heavy curtains that block rain and most debris, usually at a lower price. Hard-sided trailers have solid walls and roofs and offer the most protection, which is why they're the usual choice for very valuable cars.

Enclosed trailers carry fewer cars, so each car pays a bigger share of the trip. Expect a noticeable premium on the same route, and book earlier because there are fewer enclosed trucks.

Across the published studies we use, the premium is about 30% to 60% on a typical long-distance move. It is smaller on short trips: one study puts it near 21% under 500 miles, rising with distance.

For most cars the answer is open. To know whether yours is an exception, weigh the enclosed premium against what the car is worth and your own tolerance for risk. Three questions settle it:

• What would cosmetic repair cost on this car, and how long would it take? A respray or a trim piece on a rare car can be slow and expensive; on a common sedan it rarely is.
• Is the enclosed premium large or small next to the car's market value? The same few hundred dollars is trivial on a collector car and real money on an everyday commuter.
• How would you feel if it arrived with a minor chip? If a small blemish would genuinely bother you, that counts.

If repairs would be expensive or slow, if the premium is minor against what the car is worth, or if any blemish would bother you, enclosed earns its cost. Otherwise open is almost always the better value: it is what most cars ship on, and they arrive fine.