Vehicle transport & non-runner moves: what to expect

Sometimes a car needs to move somewhere without being driven there at all, whether that's collecting a vehicle bought at auction or through an online marketplace some distance away, relocating a car when you move house, or moving a non-running vehicle that simply can't make the journey under its own power. This is a different service to breakdown recovery, since it's arranged in advance rather than in an emergency, and it's priced differently as a result.

For a runnable, driveable car, professional transport in the UK is commonly priced per mile, and the rate generally falls the further the vehicle needs to travel. Short trips under about 50 miles typically cost somewhere around £2.00-£3.20 a mile, reflecting the fact that a transporter still has to cover its fixed costs, loading time and driver time regardless of distance. On longer routes, the per-mile rate commonly drops to roughly £0.90-£1.45 a mile, since the fixed costs are spread across a much greater distance. Almost every operator applies a minimum charge as well, commonly somewhere around £100-£150, so even a very short move rarely comes in below that figure regardless of how the per-mile maths works out.

The type of transport used also affects price. Open transport, where the vehicle travels exposed on a trailer or the back of a truck in the same way a delivery of new cars often does, is the cheaper option, commonly costing around £1.20-£2.00 a mile. Enclosed transport, where the vehicle travels inside a covered trailer protected from weather, road debris and general view, costs more, typically £2.00-£3.50 a mile, and is generally chosen for higher-value, classic or particularly vulnerable vehicles rather than for an everyday runabout.

Non-runners are a distinct category and cost more to move than a car that can be driven on and off a transporter under its own power. A vehicle that won't start, won't steer, or has seized brakes needs to be loaded using a winch onto a trailer or flatbed rather than simply driven up a ramp, which takes longer and needs different equipment. This specialist handling commonly adds a surcharge of roughly 20-30% over a comparable move for a running vehicle, and it's important to declare a car's non-runner condition honestly when getting a quote, since turning up to find a vehicle can't move under its own power, when the booking assumed it could, is one of the most common reasons a job gets delayed, re-quoted, or refused on the day.

There are a few situations where this kind of transport comes up particularly often. Buying a car through an online auction or marketplace listing some distance from home is one of the most common, since the buyer often has no easy way to collect the vehicle themselves, and arranging transport in advance, once the purchase is confirmed, tends to be more straightforward than trying to organise it after the fact. Moving house with a second vehicle that isn't being driven on the trip, perhaps because only one person is making the drive, is another common case. And non-runner moves come up whenever a car has broken down badly enough, or been off the road long enough, that it genuinely cannot be driven, distinct from a straightforward roadside breakdown recovery which is typically a shorter, more local, and more urgent job.

When getting quotes for any of these moves, it is worth being upfront about a few specific things: the exact collection and delivery addresses, since rural or hard-to-access locations can add time and sometimes cost; whether the vehicle runs, steers and brakes normally, since this determines whether standard loading or a winch and specialist handling is needed; whether you want open or enclosed transport; and how flexible the timing is, since a fixed, urgent delivery date is generally more expensive than a flexible one the operator can fit around other jobs on a similar route. Being accurate about the vehicle's condition from the outset is the single most reliable way to avoid a quote changing once the transporter actually arrives.

Frequently asked questions