Maine Car Shipping & Auto Transport Services

Every price on this page is an estimate taken from our own Maine route tables, and each one is shown as a range because your final quote depends on the vehicle, the dates and how easily a truck can reach you. The starting point is road miles. A 407-mile move from Portland to Philadelphia is estimated at $353–$505, while a 3,174-mile move from Seattle to Lewiston is estimated at $1,289–$1,841.

Distance is not the whole story, because cost does not grow in a straight line. Dallas to Portland is 1,860 miles, about 4.6 times as far as Portland to Philadelphia, but is estimated at $1,055–$1,507, about three times the price.

Where you start inside Maine matters more than most people expect. Heading to Washington, D.C., a car in Portland (539 miles) is estimated at $426–$609. From Lewiston (571 miles) it is $452–$645, from Augusta (594 miles) $470–$671, from Belfast (641 miles) $476–$679 and from Bangor (668 miles) $496–$708. The same destination costs more the farther north and east you load, simply because the miles add up.

Direction changes very little. Portland to Chicago is 1,082 miles at $742–$1,060, and Chicago to Portland is 1,083 miles at $743–$1,061, so a one-way move costs about the same whether Maine is the start or the end. Short runs inside New England, such as Belfast to Boston, are quoted for your exact towns.

The cities on our Maine pages show the lanes customers request most often, such as New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta, Chicago, Miami and the big Texas and California cities. For any other pair, such as a small town in the Downeast region to a suburb in Ohio, the estimate comes from the same road-mile approach, and we confirm the exact figure when you ask for a quote.

Other things move the number inside the range:

• Pickup and delivery location. A car near the Maine Turnpike or Interstate 295 in the Portland area is easy for a carrier to collect. A car down a long private road, on the Downeast coast or in the far north may need a longer detour, which pushes the quote toward the top of the range.
• Vehicle size and condition. Pickup trucks, large SUVs and cars that do not run take more room or equipment than a sedan.
• Open or enclosed. Enclosed trailers cost more than open ones. Our tables show a single range, so ask for the enclosed price separately.
• Time of year. The fall and spring snowbird lanes to Florida and the summer season keep carriers busy, so flexible dates help.

Plan for two clocks. The first is the pickup window: a carrier is normally assigned and arrives 1–3 business days after booking. The second is transit, which depends on distance. On our Maine routes it runs 1–2 days for trips up to about 700 miles, such as Portland to Washington, D.C. (539 miles) or Madawaska to New York City (644 miles). It is 2–3 days from about 750 to 1,100 miles, for example Augusta to Detroit (860 miles) or Portland to Chicago (1,082 miles), and 2–4 days from about 1,100 to 1,400 miles, such as Portland to Atlanta (1,179 miles).

Florida is the lane most Maine owners ask about. Miami to Portland (1,595 miles) is 3–5 days, Bangor to Miami (1,725 miles) is 4–7 days and Caribou to Miami (1,895 miles) is 5–8 days. Houston to Portland (1,940 miles) is 5–8 days, Phoenix to Portland (2,746 miles) is 7–9 days, and Los Angeles to Portland (3,082 miles) is 7–10 days. The longest runs from northern and Downeast Maine, such as Caribou to San Francisco (3,351 miles), reach 8–12 days.

Short regional moves are quick on the road, but they still wait for a carrier, so the pickup window is often the longest part of the timeline. On cross-country moves it is the reverse and transit decides the arrival date.

Maine adds its own local factors. Winter snowstorms and icy roads can slow a carrier on the Maine Turnpike, Interstate 295 and Interstate 95, and secondary roads can close for a day. In spring, frost and mud can make dirt and gravel roads soft, so the driver may ask you to meet on pavement. In summer, weekend traffic on Route 1 and the main roads to the coast can add time near the tourist towns. In the Downeast and Aroostook regions the towns are far apart, so a pickup can take a little longer to schedule than one in the Portland area. Tell us about any plowing, gate or driveway issue when you book.

A few more examples from our Maine tables: Bangor to Boston (236 miles) is 1–2 days, Brewer to Philadelphia is 1–2 days, Augusta to Charlotte (995 miles) is 2–3 days, Waterville to Chicago (1,157 miles) is 2–4 days, Dallas to Bangor (1,987 miles) is 5–8 days and Orono to San Francisco (3,330 miles) is 8–12 days.

Maine roads are treated with salt and sand in winter, and gravel and dust are part of the spring and summer. If your vehicle is valuable, low to the ground or newly delivered, an enclosed trailer shields it from road salt, stone chips and weather. That is a common choice for classic cars that spend the winter in a garage and come out for the summer season, and for sports cars heading to a seasonal home. Open carriers are the standard choice for everyday cars and cost less. Read more about enclosed transport and open transport. Tell us which you prefer when you request your quote and we will match the car with the right carrier. Enclosed trailers hold fewer cars and fewer carriers run them, so availability on a given date can be tighter. Book enclosed shipments a little earlier, especially from Downeast and northern Maine and in winter.