Car shipping from Albany to Florida
We collect right across the Capital Region - Albany, Schenectady, Troy, Saratoga and everywhere between - and run it down to Florida on our own trucks every week, both ways.
Ship it, or drive it down yourself?
Everyone in the Capital Region asks this before they book, so here is the straight answer rather than a sales one.
Albany to Florida is the better part of two full days behind the wheel each way. Not impossible - people do it every year - but it is worth adding up what the trip actually costs before you decide.
| Driving it | Putting it on our truck | |
|---|---|---|
| Your time | Two days down, two days back | None. You fly, or you go down later |
| On the car | Around 2,500 miles on the clock, round trip | Nothing. It travels on a deck |
| Out of pocket | Fuel, a night or two in a motel, meals, tolls | One flat price, quoted before you commit |
| The bit nobody mentions | Arriving worn out after two long days | Arriving on a flight |
When driving genuinely is the better call: if you were going to make the trip anyway and enjoy it, if you need the car on the road along the way, or if you are travelling with more than the car can hold once we have asked you to empty it. We would rather say that than talk you into a booking you did not need.
Where we come to you
Door pickup, any weekday, Monday through Friday. That covers Albany itself and out through Colonie, Latham, Delmar, Guilderland, Clifton Park, Schenectady, Troy, Rensselaer and up the Northway to Saratoga Springs.
Close to the state line in Vermont or Massachusetts? Ask anyway. We can usually work it into the same run, and if we cannot we will tell you rather than leave you waiting.
Our terminals are at Ontario and East Syracuse, both a good way west of you. They take $50 off the price, but from Albany that is a long round trip for the saving - the door pickup is almost always the sensible choice here.
The weekly run
Going south, we collect across the Northeast on Thursday and Friday, and the car is usually in Florida by the following Tuesday - sometimes Monday through Wednesday, depending how far down the state it is going.
Coming home, we collect in Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday and you normally have the car back that Friday or the Monday after. Those two Florida days are fixed, because that is when the truck is down there.
Three to five days on the road, either direction. Those dates are how the run normally goes and not a guarantee - weather and the hours rules can move a delivery by a day. If that happens you get a phone call, and it costs you nothing.
What sets the price
No published rate, because an honest flat number does not exist. You get a firm quote up front, usually the same day, and it does not change afterwards. Four things move it:
- How far down Florida you are going. Jacksonville is a shorter run than Naples or the Keys
- The size of the vehicle. A large SUV or a pickup takes more deck than a sedan
- Whether it starts. A non-runner is winched aboard and needs a spot the winch can reach
- The time of year. Autumn going south and spring coming north are the weeks that fill
What we carry, and what we do not
- Cars, trucks and SUVs on open carriers, up to nine a load
- Vehicles that will not start - tell us when you book so we plan the deck
- Two vehicles on one booking, which is what most couples do
- Dealer and auction vehicles, dealer to dealer
- Our trucks are open, not enclosed. If you have something that really needs to travel covered, say so when you ask and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right people for it
Before the driver comes
- Quarter tank of fuel or less - it keeps the load legal through the weigh stations
- Take the E-ZPass off the glass, or it scans along the way and bills your account
- Nothing loose or aftermarket - roof boxes, tire covers, spoilers. They can shift at speed and are not covered
- Empty the car. By law we carry vehicles, not freight. If a few things stay: nothing in the front seats or under them, back seat below the window line, no plants, nothing time-sensitive like medication
What the Capital Region asks
Do you come up to Saratoga and Clifton Park?
Yes, and Schenectady, Troy, Colonie, Latham, Delmar and the rest. A car carrier is around eighty feet long, so on a narrow street or in a condo complex we may ask you to meet us at a plaza nearby. We agree that when you book rather than surprising you on the day.
We are just over the line in Vermont. Can you still take us?
Usually. Ask when you request the quote and we will tell you plainly whether it fits the run that week. If it does not, we will say so instead of leaving you hanging.
The car is in a storage unit for the winter. Is that a problem?
No, as long as the truck can get to it and someone can let us in and sign the report. Tell us where it is and whether it has been sitting - a car that has not turned over since spring may need winching, and that is easier when we know beforehand.
Our return date is not fixed yet.
That is fine. The trip home is a separate booking, so nothing needs deciding in October. Call us when you know, and give us as much notice as you can so we can fit you into a run.
I have a classic I only drive in summer. Can it go?
It can go on the open deck like anything else, and plenty of them do. But we run open carriers, so if the car is one you would not leave outside for three days, say so and we will be straight with you about it rather than take the booking.
Can I be there for pickup but not delivery?
Yes. Someone you trust can receive it, walk round the car with the driver and sign the report at the far end. Paying online ahead of time makes that handover simple.
Tell us about the move
Where the car is, where it needs to be, and what it is. We will send a firm price back, usually the same day.
Empire Auto Transportation Group INC · 3546 Walters Rd, Syracuse, NY 13209 ·
(315) 488-2523 ·
dispatch@empirets.com
Dates on this page are how the run normally goes, not a guarantee - weather and road
rules move things by a day now and then. The full terms are on the
terms page.