Guardian Auto Transport Review 2024

Bottom line: Guardian Auto Transport is a new player in the car shipping industry. While most companies have been around for nearly two decades, Guardian Auto Transport has only a couple of years under its belt.

In some cases, that’s a good thing. The company knows how important customer service is and provides a top-notch experience. It also has incredibly fast shipping.

But in other cases, Guardian Auto Transport falls short of what customers are looking for: its prices are pretty high, and it’s not always up front with customers about insurance coverage and instant quotes.

We’ll walk you through the pros and cons—including when the company has some of the lowest prices—in our Guardian Auto Transport review.

See how Guardian Auto Transport compares to the best car shipping companies. 

Guardian Auto Transport’s average cost of $770 is about 15% more expensive than the competition. The average cost per 100 miles to ship a car with Guardian Auto Transport is $100—although prices vary by transport type, vehicle condition, seasonality, and distance.

We asked Guardian Auto Transport to tell us how much it would cost to ship three different vehicles across five different routes via both open and enclosed transport.

The average open transport cost across all cars and distances is approximately $770.

Guardian Auto Transport is almost always more expensive than the average car shipping company. Its average price of $1,050 across all car sizes, distances, and transport types is about 15% more expensive than the average auto transport company.

But there are a couple of instances in which the company is one of your least expensive options.

Guardian Auto Transport is one of your cheapest options if you’re shipping your car about 550 miles. The company’s average cost of $660 per transport is almost $100 less than the competition—and it gets even better if you need to ship your car in an enclosed carrier.

Guardian Auto Transport is an affordable car shipping company for trips of 150 miles on an open carrier. The company’s average price of $300 is more than 20% below the industry average.

Want to save on a short trip?

Car shipping prices are like the weather: they vary from day to day.

Guardian Auto Transport says a lot of things go into its prices:

• Vehicle type
• Vehicle condition
• Vehicle modifications
• Type of transport
• Distance
• Seasonality
• Location (urban, metro, or rural)

Car shipping prices can also be affected by geographic region, individual routes, and the number of cars you ship.

Guardian Auto Transport uses only carriers that have insurance. The company says your vehicle is insured against negligent damage for up to $100,000 but warns that your personal car insurance is responsible for other damage such as scratches or cracked windshields that aren’t due to driver negligence.

Most car shipping companies talk about the types of vehicles they ship, but Guardian Auto Transport focuses mainly on the types of customers it serves:

• Auto dealers
• Classic car enthusiasts
• Relocation companies
• Expedited auto transport

Guardian Auto Transport crushes the competition when it comes to customer reviews. The average customer gives Guardian Auto Transport 4.9 out of 5 stars. A few themes come up repeatedly in customer reviews:

• No surprises
• No hidden fees
• No jerks on the phone

We were a bit skeptical of Guardian Auto Transport’s near-perfect rating and called posing as a customer. The reviews were right: the customer service was top-notch. Our rep was friendly, straightforward, and easy to understand.

The company's website states that it prioritizes quality and customer experience over everything else.

Mission accomplished.

Guardian Auto Transport may be more expensive than most car shipping companies, but it’s also faster. The company can ship your car up to 550 miles in less than two days. If you’re going across the country, it can get the job done in less than a week.

Overall, Guardian Auto Transport ships your car about two days faster than other auto transport companies.

That’s fast.

As we’ve shown above, Guardian Auto Transport is expensive. There are a few instances in which Guardian Auto Transport is cheaper than other companies. But in most cases, its prices are about 15% above average.

Depending on how far you’re traveling, that can add up to hundreds of dollars.

Guardian Auto Transport says it offers extra insurance that you can’t get with other car shipping companies, but that’s not really the case. Instead, Guardian Auto Transport markets the insurance its carriers have to provide as an extra perk.

The company also advertises instant online quotes but requires you to confirm your request via email after entering your info.

These might be marketing wins, but they feel a bit disingenuous to us.

It cost an average of $1,108 to ship a car in the US, but pricing may vary depending on a variety of factors. 

Guardian Auto Transport gets excellent customer reviews, but it isn’t one of our best car shipping companies because it’s expensive and isn’t always straight with customers on its website.

Yes. Guardian Auto Transport can ship a car from California to Florida and is available in all 48 continental states. 

Guardian Auto Transport is worth considering if you’re shipping a car 550 miles or less. The company’s prices are typically far pricier than most, but it’s 10% below average for these short trips. Add in the fact that the company is fast and gets excellent customer reviews, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better option.

Guardian Auto Transport’s prices are much higher for longer distances. In these cases, we recommend you look at our Best Car Shipping Companies list.

Shipping your car less than 550 miles?

It’s hard to find a car shipping company with better customer service than Guardian Auto Transport, but there are some better companies if you’re looking for a lower price:

• Sherpa Auto Transport
• AmeriFreight
• Easy Auto Ship
• American Auto Shipping