About Montway Auto Transport

Who Montway is

Montway Auto Transport was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois. They operate as one of the largest auto transport brokers in the United States, coordinating the movement of over 140,000 vehicles per year through a national network of independent carriers. Montway does not own trucks — they broker shipments to vetted FMCSA-registered carriers, which lets them match each order to available capacity on existing routes across all 50 states.

What they offer

Montway offers three primary service tiers for personal vehicle transport:

• Open transport. Vehicles ride on a standard multi-car carrier trailer — the same type of transporter used to move new cars from factories to dealerships. Open transport is the most common, most available, and least expensive option. Typical lane quotes for a standard sedan run $400–$1,200 depending on distance and current carrier availability.
• Enclosed transport. Vehicles ride in a covered trailer, protected from weather, road debris, and visibility. Enclosed is standard for classic cars, exotics, and high-value vehicles. Expect a 30–50% price premium over open transport on the same lane.
• Expedited transport. Priority pickup scheduling for time-sensitive moves. Priced at a premium above standard open rates.

Open vs. enclosed — which is right?

For the vast majority of used car buyers, open transport is the practical choice. Your car will share a trailer with five to nine other vehicles. Exposure to rain, dust, and highway grime is real but minor — the same conditions any car encounters driving cross-country. Any dealer-delivered car you have ever bought almost certainly arrived on an open carrier.

Enclosed transport makes sense when the vehicle is a collectible or exotic where cosmetic condition has outsized value, when you need documented chain-of-custody for insurance purposes, or when weather conditions on the route pose real risk. For a daily driver or late-model used car, the open rate is the right default.

Why CarScout uses Montway

CarScout built its cross-state delivery flow on Montway for four reasons:

• Carrier network depth. A broker with 140,000+ annual shipments has leverage to fill orders on thin-demand routes where smaller brokers struggle. That translates to shorter wait times between order placement and pickup.
• Real-time tracking. Montway provides GPS-based shipment tracking so buyers can monitor their vehicle without making manual phone calls to a dispatch line.
• FMCSA licensing and carrier insurance. Montway is a federally licensed property broker (FMCSA) and requires all carriers in their network to carry minimum cargo and liability insurance. Shipper-side coverage passes through to the vehicle owner during transit.
• Transparent pricing. Montway provides upfront rate quotes with no hidden fuel surcharges — the price shown is the price charged. This makes the shipping line item in the CarScout OTD math reliable enough to use for cross-state deal comparisons.

What the quotes on CarScout cover

Shipping quotes shown on CarScout are estimated rates for open transport on standard passenger vehicles (sedans, SUVs, and light trucks within standard dimensions and weight). They are sourced from the Montway rate API and reflect real carrier-market pricing at the time of calculation.

These quotes do not apply to:

• Enclosed transport
• Oversized or modified vehicles (lifted trucks, widened body kits, etc.)
• Non-running vehicles
• Expedited or guaranteed pickup windows

If your vehicle or situation falls outside open-transport-on-standard-vehicle scope, contact Montway directly for an accurate quote before booking through CarScout.

Verify their licensing

Montway Auto Transport operates under a federally issued broker license. You can verify their active operating authority and insurance filings directly through the FMCSA SAFER system (US Department of Transportation):

MC# 776757 · DOT# 2245243 (verify before launch via the link below)

View Montway on FMCSA SAFER →

CarScout is a customer of Montway transport services via Ship.Cars. We are not an affiliate and receive no referral compensation from Montway. We use them because the pricing is transparent and the network is deep enough to service the routes where cross-state deals occur.