Shipping a Car You Bought Online
You found the right car three states away, wired the money, and now it sits in a stranger's driveway. This is the moment transport was made for, and done in the right order, the whole thing is painless.
What order should everything happen in?
- 1. Verify before paying: video walk-around with the seller, VIN check, title in hand
- 2. Pay the seller and get written confirmation the car is released to a carrier
- 3. Book transport immediately, with the seller as the release contact
- 4. The driver picks up, photographs, and condition-reports the car
- 5. You inspect at delivery and pay the driver the balance
How does pickup work when I have never met the seller?
You put the seller's name and phone in the booking as the pickup contact. Your driver calls them about 30 minutes out, inspects the car with them, and documents its condition with photos before it moves an inch. You get the driver's direct number at dispatch, so the first stranger in this story you actually talk to is the professional hauling your car.
Private seller versus dealer purchase
Distant dealerships are the easy case, they release cars to carriers daily, just give us the dealer's contact and stock number. Private sellers need slightly more coordination: confirm they will be reachable during the pickup window, or that they can authorize someone else to hand over the keys. Auction purchases have their own rhythm entirely, covered in the auction pickup guide.
Won it on eBay Motors?
eBay Motors is the biggest online car marketplace, and it does not ship vehicles, that part is entirely on the buyer. The listing may show shipping quotes from eBay's partner marketplace, but comparing your own transport quotes typically beats the in-listing referrals, and you keep control of who actually hauls your car. The process is the standard one on this page: once payment clears, the seller becomes your release contact, the driver calls them at pickup, and the condition report protects you both. One eBay-specific tip: save the listing photos before it closes, they are your record of the car's advertised condition if anything is disputed later.
What does it cost and how long does it take?
Normal transport pricing applies, distance, vehicle size, season, laid out in our cost guide, and most cross-country purchases arrive within a week or so of booking, timelines in the timing guide. Get your exact number in the instant calculator before you even finish negotiating, it makes the total cost of that distant car real.
The one mistake online buyers make
Believing the listing about whether the car runs. If there is any doubt, book it as a non-runner, the $225 surcharge is insurance against a failed pickup, and the non-runner guide explains exactly how those loads work.
Online purchase questions
The seller is a stranger. How does the handoff work?
You authorize the seller as the release contact when you book, the driver calls them, inspects and photographs the car at pickup, and you receive the driver's direct number so you can follow along.
Can the driver check the car matches the listing?
The driver completes a condition report with photos at pickup, which documents the car's state. Judging whether it matches the ad is on you, ask the seller for a video call walk-around before money moves.
Who pays for shipping, buyer or seller?
Almost always the buyer, and arranging it yourself is safer than letting an unknown seller pick the cheapest option with your car.
When should I book transport, before or after paying the seller?
After payment clears and the seller confirms release, but immediately after. A sold car sitting in a stranger's driveway for two weeks tests everyone's patience.
What about cars bought from online dealers like Carvana or a distant dealership?
Dealerships release to carriers all day long, just give us the dealer contact and any stock number. It is the smoothest version of this whole process.
How much does it cost to ship a car bought on eBay Motors?
The same as any transport on that lane: distance, vehicle size, and season set the price. Run the pickup and delivery ZIPs through the instant calculator, no email or phone number required, before you even finish bidding.
What is the cheapest way to ship a car you bought online?
An open carrier with a flexible pickup window is the cheapest real option. Be careful with quotes far below everyone else, those are usually teasers that get raised after booking when no carrier accepts the load.
Does eBay Motors deliver cars to your house?
No, eBay does not ship vehicles, the buyer arranges transport. Door-to-door auto transport does exactly that: the driver picks up from the seller and delivers as close to your door as the truck can safely get.
Is it safe to ship a car from a seller I have never met?
Yes, the driver documents the car with a photo condition report at pickup before it moves, and you get the driver's direct number at dispatch. Your risk is in the purchase itself, so verify the car and title before money moves.
Are very cheap car shipping quotes real?
Often not. A quote well under market wins your booking, then gets bumped days later when no carrier accepts it. A real quote reflects what carriers actually charge on your lane, which is what our calculator is calibrated to.
I bought the car on eBay Motors. How does shipping work?
The same as any online purchase: after payment, the seller becomes your release contact and the driver coordinates pickup with them. eBay itself does not ship vehicles, and comparing your own transport quotes usually beats the shipping referrals shown in the listing.
The car I bought online turned out not to run. Now what?
It happens more than sellers admit. Update us before pickup so a winch truck comes, the surcharge is about $225, far cheaper than a failed pickup attempt.