Speed Reads:
- Intercity Lines is a high-end auto transport company with a reputation for carefully handling rare and classic cars.
- While there aren’t many customer reviews online, Intercity Lines holds a 5.0-star rating on Google, with many customers citing professionalism and quality services.
- Intercity Lines only offers enclosed and door-to-door services, making it a more expensive option.
When ranking the best car shipping companies in the United States, our team looks at factors such as cost, customer experience, reputation, and services. We’ve completed nearly 300 hours of research and collected over 500 data points using car shipping quotes, customer reviews, and our own surveys to understand the value of each provider. Using our methodology for auto shipping companies, we give Intercity Lines 4.0 out of 5.0 stars overall.
To learn more about Motor1 review standards, see our full-length methodology.
Intercity Lines Overview
Founded: 1980
Headquarters: Warren, Massachusetts
Service area: Nationwide, excluding Hawaii and Alaska
Intercity Lines Inc. is a family-owned auto shipping company with over 40 years of experience in the car transport industry. It specializes in caring for classic, luxury, and exotic cars, and the provider will also ship motorcycles. Intercity Lines offers door-to-door transport across the U.S. and, unlike car shipping brokers, doesn’t contract work out to other truckers.
Intercity Lines includes a $2 million cargo insurance policy with every shipment and uses its decades of expertise to provide the highest standard of safety during the shipping process. The company has received an endorsement from entertainer Jay Leno, who named it as his favorite car shipping experience.
Intercity Lines Pros And Cons
While Intercity Lines reviews are generally strong, some customers think its services are too expensive. Below, we’ll run through a few more pros and cons of Intercity Lines.
Intercity Lines Auto Transport Costs
Intercity Lines is one of the more expensive car shipping carriers on the market, based on the instant quotes we received on its website. That isn’t too surprising, though, since it only offers enclosed shipping and door-to-door deliveries. Intercity Lines doesn’t require upfront payments or deposits, and you’re unlikely to face additional car shipping costs or surprise bills.
We got three quotes on Intercity Lines’ website for moving an operable 2018 Toyota RAV4. Keep in mind that inoperable vehicles will almost always be more expensive to ship than operable ones. Here are the quotes we received:
| Car Shipping Route | Intercity Lines Shipping Quote |
|---|---|
| Chicago to Kansas City, Mo. (500 miles) | $1,795 |
| Los Angeles to Houston (1,500 miles) | $2,495 |
| New York City to San Francisco (3,300 miles) | $2,995 |
Car Shipping Cost Survey Results
According to our 2021 customer satisfaction survey, Intercity Lines has prices that are on the more expensive side. However, it only provides enclosed car hauling services, which are significantly pricier than open car shipping. We asked 1,000 customers how much they paid for their auto transport, and here are the responses we received:
What Affects Car Shipping Costs?
Auto shipping costs vary widely depending on which provider you work with, but many other factors also play a role. If you’re looking for cheap car shipping, here’s what to consider:
- Type of car: Larger vehicles like SUVs and trucks cost more to ship than smaller ones.\
- Location: It’s cheaper to ship a vehicle to or from an urban area than a rural one.
- Shipping distance: Shorter trips cost more per mile but less overall than longer trips.
- Fuel costs: As fuel costs increase or decrease, so will car transport costs.
- Vehicle condition: Inoperable vehicles cost far more to ship due to the extra time and effort required to load and unload them.
- Time of year: January and the summer months bring higher demand, leading to steeper prices.
Intercity Lines Shipping Services
Intercity Lines is an enclosed auto transport company, so your car will be safe from bad weather and road debris while in transit. However, enclosed transport pretty much always comes at a higher cost than open car transport services. Intercity Lines also provides door-to-door transportation, meaning you’ll receive convenient pickup and dropoff locations.
While Intercity Lines is known for transporting classic cars, luxury models, and exotic cars, the company provides the following services as well:
- Motorcycle shipping
- Military car shipping
- Auction car shipping
- Race car shipping
- Show car shipping
- Corporate auto shipping
- Airport pickups and deliveries
Popular car brands serviced by Intercity Lines include Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, and Ferrari. The company’s careful touch with luxury and classic vehicles makes it a common choice for those with these high-value car models.
Intercity Lines ships from coast to coast, along with popular routes from New England to Florida. However, the auto transport company does not ship to Alaska, Hawaii, or international locations.
How To Ship A Car With Intercity Lines
The auto shipping process with Intercity Lines is relatively simple. According to its website, there are four key steps involved in the process:
- Call 1-800-221-3936 or head to intercitylines.com to get a free quote and book your enclosed auto transport service.
- Schedule your pickup time and provide payment information to a shipping specialist.
- Meet up with your truck driver on the pickup date to inspect your car and send it off.
- Sign the bill of lading upon your vehicle’s delivery and drive the car away.
Your vehicle will be inspected for damages both before pickup and once it’s been delivered. Intercity Lines has a $2 million load insurance policy on every vehicle and will work to ensure that any damages from the trip are fixed as quickly as possible.
Intercity Lines takes steps to prevent issues, such as using nylon tie-downs instead of chains and adding seat covers and floor mats during transit. The company also employs hydraulic lift gates and car covers to make sure its services offer the highest level of safety. All car trailers used by Intercity Lines are state-of-the-art air ride trailers.
Intercity Lines Customer Reviews
While Intercity Lines holds an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), it is not accredited on the site and there are no customer reviews. However, the company holds a 5.0-star rating on Google from nearly 100 car shipping customers.
Our team surveyed 1,000 car owners who’ve shipped their vehicles to find out how satisfied they were with their experience. We found that most customers were “very satisfied” overall, revealing mostly positive opinions about auto transporters like Intercity Lines.
Intercity Lines: Conclusion
We rate Intercity Lines a 4.0 out of 5.0 in our auto shipping review. The carrier has a strong reputation with plenty of industry experience, but its limited service offerings and high costs drag down its score. However, Intercity Lines is a great option for classic cars, luxury vehicles, and exotic cars due to its fully enclosed trailers and advanced GPS tracking.
Other Recommendations For Car Shipping
When shopping for car shipping, it’s recommended that you look at various options to find the one that best fits your needs and budget. Our team recommends SGT Auto Transport and Sherpa Auto Transport as two companies to get car shipping quotes from.
SGT Auto Transport: Best Price-Matching Guarantee
While SGT Auto Transport generally has rates near the industry average, it offers customers price-match quotes from other reputable auto shipping providers. Because of this, car owners can almost always get a competitive rate from the company with a bit of effort.
SGT Auto Transport has favorable customer reviews on the BBB website and an A- rating. Reviewers cite the impressive range of available services along with excellent customer service as positives of the shipping carrier.
Read more: SGT Auto Transport review
Sherpa Auto Transport: Locked-In Prices
As with Intercity Lines, Sherpa Auto Transport is known to take careful steps to enable safe and efficient car deliveries. However, the company typically offers cheaper rates by allowing drivers to choose either open transport or an enclosed delivery. You’ll also receive locked-in prices from Sherpa Auto Transport, meaning that your initial quote won’t increase during the move.
Sherpa Auto Transport earns 4.7 out of 5.0 stars from over 1,200 Google reviews, making it one of the higher-rated shipping providers. On top of that, the company is accredited and holds an A+ rating from the BBB.
Read more: Sherpa Auto Transport review
Intercity Lines: FAQ
Below are some frequently asked questions about Intercity Lines: