Bought a Car Online? Here's How to Ship It Home
Buying a car online from a dealership, private seller, or auction is the new normal. Here's the complete guide to shipping your online car purchase home. What to prepare, what to watch for, and how it works.
Online car buying has gone from an oddity to the norm faster than most people expected. In 2024, more than 1 in 4 Americans purchased or seriously considered purchasing a car entirely online, without a test drive.
Platforms like Amazon Autos, Carvana, CarMax, Cars.com, Autotrader, and eBay Motors have made it possible to buy a vehicle in another state the way you'd buy a book on Amazon.
The part nobody tells you until after you've clicked "purchase" is how the car actually gets to you.
That's what this guide is for.
How Online Car Purchases Typically Work Logistically
Dealership Out-of-State
You find a vehicle at a dealership in another state. You complete financing and paperwork remotely (or partially remotely). The dealership agrees to release the vehicle to a carrier.
This is the cleanest scenario. The dealership is experienced with carrier pickups, has a lot for loading, and can sign release paperwork on your behalf. You tell us the dealership address, give us your buyer ID or a release authorization, and we coordinate pickup directly with the dealership.
Private Seller Purchase
You buy a vehicle from a private seller on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or a similar platform. The seller is at their home address.
This works well too, but requires more coordination. The seller needs to be present for pickup (or designate someone who is), and the vehicle needs to be accessible for a carrier. If the seller is in a neighborhood with narrow streets or limited access, we'll coordinate a nearby meeting point.
Online Car Platform (Carvana, CarMax, etc.)
Many online platforms handle delivery themselves and won't release the vehicle to a third-party carrier. If the platform offers their own delivery, that's the path. If you want to arrange your own transport for cost or timing reasons, check whether the platform allows third-party carrier pickup; many now do.
Auction Purchase (Copart, IAA, eBay Motors)
See our dedicated guide: Shipping from an Auto Auction. Auction pickups require specific documentation and have storage fee timelines that make booking quickly important.
What You Need Before Booking Transport
| Item | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Seller/dealer address (full) | Yes | Pickup address |
| Your delivery address | Yes | Where you want it delivered |
| Seller contact info | Yes | For carrier coordination |
| Vehicle year, make, model, VIN | Yes | For booking and insurance |
| Does the car run? | Yes | Critical for carrier assignment |
| Authorization or release | Sometimes | Dealership or fleet vehicles |
Note: You do not need the title in hand to ship. Title transfer can happen separately. The vehicle is being transported, not re-sold.
What the Seller Needs to Do
This is the part people don't think about until the carrier calls. Your seller needs to:
- Be available (or designate someone) during the pickup window
- Have the keys ready one set for the driver
- Do the vehicle inspection with the driver, they sign the pickup BOL confirming the vehicle's condition
- Provide access if it's a gated community or a property with difficult access, they should plan a nearby meeting point
Coordinate this with the seller before you book. An unresponsive seller at pickup time is one of the most common causes of failed pickups and rescheduling fees.
What to Do When the Car Arrives
This is where you do the most important work of the whole transaction.
Inspect before you sign anything. Use the photos from the listing and any photos the seller provided as your baseline. Compare to the vehicle in front of you systematically, every panel, glass, wheels.
If you find damage that wasn't in the listing and wasn't on the pickup BOL, note it on the delivery BOL before signing. This is your legal record. Contact us immediately.
If damage was in the listing, it should have been noted on the pickup BOL. If it wasn't, that creates a documentation gap, which is why thorough pickup inspection (even at the seller's end) is important.
What About the Title and Registration?
Those processes are separate from transport and vary by state. In most states, you have 30-90 days to register a newly purchased vehicle. Shipping the car doesn't affect that timeline.
For out-of-state purchases, you'll typically:
- Receive the title from the seller (or their lienholder)
- Bring it to your local DMV with proof of purchase and insurance
- Register and title the vehicle in your state
Your new car can be transported before this process is complete.
Q&A
Q: Can I ship a car that's still being financed by the previous owner?
If there's an active lien, the seller needs to satisfy it or get lienholder authorization to transfer. This is a title issue, not a transport issue. The car can be shipped once the seller has clear authority to release it.
Q: What if the seller doesn't have plates on the car?
No plates required for transport. The vehicle rides on a trailer, it's not driven on public roads except for loading and unloading.
Q: The listing said "runs great" but I'm worried it won't start for pickup. What should I do?
Ask the seller to send a video of the car starting in the days before pickup. If there's any doubt, let us know when booking so we can assign a carrier with winch capability just in case.
Q: Can I use transport as a form of inspection before finalizing the purchase?
Not really. You're committing to transport costs regardless. If you have doubts about the vehicle's condition, order an independent pre-purchase inspection (PPI) from a local mechanic near the seller before booking transport.
Car purchase confirmed? Book transport in minutes. Get a free quote at webautotransport.com, call (760) 932-2886 / (760) WEB-AUTO, or use LiveChat. | USDOT# 4574725 | FMCSA Licensed and Bonded. Email: info@webautotransport.com