What Is the Fastest Way of Shipping a Car?

Whether you’re relocating, going off to college, or need to get a vehicle to a new owner quickly, shipping a car can be a necessity.

And, good news? The process doesn’t need to take weeks if speed is the priority. There are several methods available for transporting vehicles, each with their own advantages when it comes to time and convenience.

For those who need their car delivered across town or across the country rapidly, it is important to understand the options and what truly represents the fastest way to ship a car. In this post, we’ll help you understand what options are available to you when you’re looking for the fastest way to ship a car.

Why Fast Shipping When It Comes to Cars?

Fast car shipping can be vital for a number of reasons. Those relocating for a new job may need their vehicle at their new home city right away to commute to work. Or, selling a car privately out of state requires getting it delivered to the buyer swiftly to complete the sale.

Delivery times also factor into the overall cost of shipping - the sooner a vehicle arrives, the less time the shipper has it in their possession.

Speed is also a concern for transporting classic or high-value collector cars between shows, auctions, and other events. With deadlines and schedules to keep, many vehicle owners prioritize having their car delivered as quickly as possible when shipping is necessary.

While fast shipping is ideal, options do exist with tradeoffs between time and price that must be weighed. The fastest methods tend to be more costly, while cheaper alternatives are slower.

Air freight, for instance, can deliver anywhere in one to two days but comes with high price tags. Open auto transport is significantly faster than enclosed shipping and offers competitive rates. Each vehicle situation is different, so balancing speed, cost, and other priorities is key to choosing the optimum fast car shipping solution.

Air Freight

For those who need the absolute quickest transport time possible and cost is no object, air freight stands alone as the fastest way to ship a car. While more commonly used to move luxury and exotic vehicles internationally, air cargo provides lightning-quick domestic delivery as well.

Cars are driven onto plane pallets and securely strapped down for flights that zoom coast-to-coast in just 8 hours or less. Some shipping companies can coordinate door-to-door airport pickups and deliveries within 1-2 business days.

Benefits of Air Freight Shipping

The primary benefit of air cargo is unrivaled speed - it is by far the quickest car shipping option available. Using a combination of ground transportation and passenger plane space, air freight motors from origin to destination in mere hours rather than days like other methods.

Cars loaded one afternoon can touch down across the country the very next morning, completely avoiding the 2-5+ day timelines of surface transportation. For those with urgent relocation, sale, or event shipping needs, air cargo gets the vehicle there before almost any other solution.

Challengers of Air Freight Shipping

However, the tremendous velocity of air freight comes at tremendous cost as well. Since it uses commercial passenger flights in small cargo areas rather than dedicated ground transporters, prices scale rapidly with vehicle size. Expect to pay thousands for a compact car and up to $10,000 or more for luxury SUVs, exotics, and large trucks.

The small cargo capacity also means it is primarily an option for low-volume, specialized hauls rather than mass consumer transportation. While light planes can move a few cars per flight, air charter is truly an impractical luxury for most people compared to more affordable ground methods. Overall, air transport remains the fastest way to ship a car but demands a high price tag that limits its practical use.

Open Auto Transport

For those seeking an affordable yet still speedy car shipping approach, open auto transport provides an excellent middle-ground option. These specialized trucks are designed to haul multiple vehicles simultaneously outdoors on their open steel decks, strapped tightly in place for the drive.

Benefits of Open Auto Transport

With capacity for 4-10 vehicles per load, depending on sizes, open auto haulers can offer competitive group pricing while still maintaining quick transit schedules cross-country.

Open transport is the fastest realistic surface shipping alternative for the majority of consumer car hauling needs. Trucks dedicated solely to automobile logistics make the non-stop journey and can cover enormous distances each day.

A carrier able to haul 6 small cars per load is making dedicated progress towards the destination without stops for other cargo types along the way. Crossing the entire United States can generally be accomplished within 4-7 business days, leaving enclosed transport and self-drive relocation trailing far behind in terms of elapsed time.

Open Auto Transport Logistics

With streamlined open-deck configurations optimized to maximize vehicle quantities, auto carriers maximize each mile on the road transporting automobiles. Pile-ups of 4x4s, sedans, and more are safely layered high for cross-country trips without diversions.

Open trucks go direct point-to-point between pickups and dropoffs across their service areas, focusing solely on auto logistics rather than mixing cargo. This concentrated approach on automobile hauling allows covering big miles every operating day towards rapid continental transit schedules.

The fast-paced, point-to-point approach of dedicated auto haulers means open transport cuts typical shipping time frames significantly, whereas cnclosed trucks must spend extra hours loading and unloading individual vehicles into enclosed compartments, reducing miles logged per day.

Factors to Consider

While speed is a leading priority for some car shipping needs, it is not the only important consideration when determining the best transportation solution. Cost, convenience, and vehicle protection also factor significantly into the overall fit of different options.

Faster routes are not preferable by default if the budget, schedule, or vehicle security of the owner disqualifies certain fast methods. That’s why careful analysis of additional factors, along with transit time frames, helps you choose the most suitable vehicle transport option.

Cost is always a huge consideration for most people, especially because faster methods like air cargo bring extremely high price tags.

Convenience also matters. Closed car haulers may take an extra day or two but provide climate control and loading services more suitable in some situations. Safety is paramount as well, favoring enclosed compartments or multiple vehicle fleets on open carriers over risky solo drives.

Considering total door-to-door value rather than speed alone often will give you a better idea of the best choice that suits your own individual shipping needs. A two or three day delay is trivial compared to going way beyond your budget, damage to the vehicle, or lapses in planning convenience.

While air freight and more premium open carriers can deliver in hours versus days, their speed advantages alone do not automatically designate them as the right pick every time. High costs, lack of services, and other drawbacks could undermine the value proposition versus slightly slower methods that provide more complete solutions.

Vehicle owners should carefully weigh their budgets, schedules, vehicle security priorities, and overall transport requirements - not just speed - to choose what’s truly optimized for their needs.

Conclusion

In the end, if you’ve got the cash to spare, then naturally, the absolute fastest car shipping is via air freight to deliver vehicles coast-to-coast in a single day.

But if you’re looking to avoid stick shock, then open auto transport leads the way in providing point-to-point ground transportation 2-7 days quicker than enclosed trucks or self-drive relocation across the country.

Whether the goal is quick relocation, a time-sensitive sale, or event transport, understanding available car shipping methods helps people to ship their cars efficiently. But selecting the method, route, and company also means assessing your priorities beyond pure speed.

Fast solutions exist - but fit, not just fleet, should guide you in choosing the right company and method for your car shipping needs.

Need a Hand Shipping Your Car?

Relax - let A1 Auto Transport handle it. As one of the top auto transporters, we'll move your vehicle safely and securely, whether across town or country. Fully enclosed or open transport available. Trained drivers and flexible scheduling. Affordable rates so shipping fits your budget.

Get a free quote today and book with confidence, knowing your car is in reliable hands with A1.