Illinois to Florida car shipping
Shipping a car from Illinois to Florida costs roughly $1,160–$1,310 and takes 4–5 days over 1,121 road miles (Chicago to Orlando). Below is what moves that number, and how to get real quotes for this lane.
| Vehicle & trailer | Price | Transit |
|---|---|---|
| Sedan, open trailer | $1,160–$1,310 | 4–5 days |
| SUV or crossover, open | $1,240–$1,410 | 4–5 days |
| Any vehicle, enclosed | $1,550–$1,760 | 4–5 days |
Estimates from distance and vehicle type. Actual price depends on how busy the lane is the week you ship.
The distance behind this page was measured Chicago to Orlando, and those points sit differently in their own registers. Chicago heads the list of Illinois towns where this corridor's licensed companies are filed, with Plainfield, Schaumburg, Naperville and Downers Grove behind it. Orlando does not head Florida's. It closes it: Miami holds most of that register, and Hialeah, Kissimmee and Homestead each hold more than Orlando.
So the measured line meets the companies at the near end and falls short of them at the far end. Carry that into the form. The pickup address you enter will mostly confirm the road behind this estimate; the delivery address is where it can change. Every figure renders live in the panel, so nothing written here can quietly go out of date.
This corridor, measured
| Illinois → Florida | back | |
|---|---|---|
| Measured between | Chicago → Orlando | Orlando → Chicago |
| Road miles | 1,121 | 1,121 |
| Transit | 4–5 days | 4–5 days |
| Open carrier, sedan | $1,160–$1,310 | $1,150–$1,310 |
| Direction multiplier | 0.986 | 0.985 |
| Carrier reloads at the far end | 0.87 — with some hunting | 0.88 |
| Licensed companies based there | 128 | 609 |
Distance is measured between Chicago and Orlando by a routing engine, not as a straight line. Registered companies at the Illinois end cluster in Chicago, Plainfield, Schaumburg; at the Florida end, in Miami, Hialeah, Kissimmee. A register counts businesses filed at an address, not trucks on this road today.
The other direction has its own page: Florida to Illinois.
The measurement meets the register at the near end
Corridors here are measured metro to metro, and on this pair only the pickup metro is also where the register gathers. A car collected across those Illinois towns starts near the point the distance was measured from, and the estimate is honest about that part of the trip. The Florida end does not answer in kind. Its companies sit away from the measured point, so a delivery into Miami, Hialeah, Homestead or Kissimmee is further road than the panel contains. Set against the whole run that difference is small. It is still the part of the measurement likeliest to move once you enter real addresses.
The ends differ in size, not in kind
Florida's register is much the larger of the ends. That is the obvious thing to notice about this pair and the least useful, because it predicts nothing about your quote: not how many companies reply, not which, not what they charge. We do not choose who answers. More telling is the balance inside each roster: the share holding broker authority rather than carrier authority lands close together at either end. The far end is not a different kind of market, only a larger one. This site is neither kind: no operating authority, no trucks, never custody of a car, and the contract is with the company you book.
When to ship it
This lane runs with the retiree migration, and that migration is one-way at a time: Florida fills up from October and empties from March. Whichever way the trucks are scarce is the way that costs more, so a month of flexibility is worth more here than any amount of negotiating.
| Month | Sedan, open trailer | vs year-round |
|---|---|---|
| January | $1,270–$1,450 | +10% |
| March | $1,020–$1,160 | -12% |
| May | $1,160–$1,310 | level |
| July | $1,290–$1,470 | +12% |
| October | $1,390–$1,580 | +20% |
Indicative only. Fuel is indexed to the U.S. weekly retail diesel average, last read 2026-09-07.
What drives the price on this lane
- Distance. 1,121 miles puts this lane at about $1.10 a mile. Past 1,200 miles the per-mile rate keeps dropping but driver hours start to bind — the run needs rest stops, and a carrier will hold for a second or third car before rolling.
- Season. This is a snowbird lane. Southbound fills from October and northbound from April, and in those windows a week of lead time is worth more than any amount of haggling. Running south, this lane competes with everyone else heading for warmer weather in autumn.
- Direction. Florida is a dense freight market, so a carrier delivering here can reload quickly and does not need the trip to pay for the run back. This direction usually prices a little under Florida to Illinois.
- Trailer. Enclosed protects from weather and road debris and costs about 34% more here ($1,550–$1,760). The premium grows with distance — an enclosed trailer carries fewer cars, so the longer the run the more deck revenue the carrier gives up. Worth it for low-clearance, classic or high-value cars; rarely worth it otherwise.
- Condition. A car that does not run needs a winch at both ends and adds about $200. Tell the broker up front — a driver who finds out at pickup can refuse the load.
Pickup and delivery on this lane
The companies that run Illinois to Florida are registered in these cities. A carrier based near either end is the one most likely to already be heading your way, which is what makes the difference between a quote and a quote you can actually book.
Picking up around Illinois
- Chicago10
- Plainfield6
- Schaumburg5
- Naperville4
- Burbank3
- Downers Grove3
- Tinley Park3
- Addison2
- Beardstown2
- Buffalo Grove2
Delivering around Florida
- Miami103
- Hialeah28
- Kissimmee27
- Homestead26
- Orlando22
- Jacksonville20
- Cape Coral19
- Boca Raton16
- Coral Springs12
- Lehigh Acres12
Counts are companies with active FMCSA authority registered in each city.
Licensed companies based in Illinois
128 companies with active FMCSA authority are registered in Illinois.
- ABOVE AUTO TRANSPORT LLCBUFFALO GROVE, IL · broker · bonded
- AM/PM PREMIUM CAR CARRIER CO.CHICAGO, IL · broker · bonded
- AMERICAN AUTO TRANSPORTATION, LTD.DOWNERS GROVE, IL · broker · bonded
- AUTO DRIVEAWAYLOMBARD, IL · broker & carrier · bonded
- AUTO SHIPPING GROUP LLCSCHAUMBURG, IL · broker · bonded
- AUTO TRANSPORT CHICAGO INCMELROSE PARK, IL · broker · bonded
All Illinois auto transport companies →
Illinois to Florida: common questions
My car is going to Miami, not Orlando. Is this the right page?+
Only as far as the road it describes. Orlando is the point the routing engine measured to, and it sits at the shallow end of Florida's register: Miami, Hialeah, Kissimmee and Homestead each hold more of it. A delivery at any of those is further road than the panel contains, and it will quote as further road. That the register is thicker down there is not something you can bank on. Enter the delivery address you actually have.
Which months move this leg the most?+
The ones the retiree migration is running in. This corridor carries that flag and points south, so the seasonal term is live on it, lifting this direction while the migration runs and easing it once the flow turns back. Worth knowing: the busiest stretch of the general moving calendar falls elsewhere in the year, so the months when movers are hardest to book are not the months this leg prices highest. The panel applies whichever month you pick.
More people search this corridor in the other direction. Does that matter to me?+
It tells you which way the moves are running, and that is all it tells you. The panel prices this leg on its own direction term and on the month you choose, and the leg out of Florida is priced on its own rather than as this page read backwards. If a car is coming back later, price that trip when the dates are real. Nothing about who searches decides who answers your request.
How much does it cost to ship a car from Illinois to Florida?+
Expect $1,160 to $1,310 for a running sedan on an open trailer. An SUV on the same lane runs about $1,240–$1,410, and an enclosed trailer about $1,550–$1,760.
How long does it take to ship a car from Illinois to Florida?+
About 4 to 5 days in transit over 1,121 miles, plus one to three days to schedule pickup after you book.
Can the carrier pick up and deliver to my door?+
Yes on almost every lane. The truck gets as close as it legally and physically can — on a narrow residential street the driver will ask you to meet at a nearby lot.
How do I ship my car from Illinois to Florida?+
Give the two ZIP codes and what you drive, and the request goes to a panel of licensed companies at once instead of you calling down a list. They quote, you compare side by side, and you deal directly with whoever you pick — we take no commission and nobody gets your number until you hand it over. You do not travel with the car: the driver collects it, you both sign an inspection report, and the same happens at the far end.
More lanes from Illinois
More lanes to Florida
Where is the car going?
Two ZIP codes. No account, no obligation.
Shipping somewhere else in Florida? Florida car transport →