Car shipping in Hempstead is a different job than shipping a car out of Manhasset or Oyster Bay, and we plan it that way. Our office sits at 250 Fulton Ave #306, a few blocks from the Hempstead LIRR terminal and the Rosa Parks NICE bus hub, in the middle of the most densely built village in New York State. The streets around Main Street, Front Street and Jackson Street were laid out long before anyone imagined a 75-foot car hauler, so a Hempstead auto transport pickup usually starts with a short conversation about where the truck can actually stop.
From this office we cover the Town of Hempstead south of the Northern State: Uniondale, Garden City, West Hempstead, Franklin Square, Elmont and Valley Stream to the west; East Meadow and Levittown out Hempstead Turnpike; Rockville Centre, Baldwin, Freeport, Oceanside and Long Beach on the water. To ship a car from Hempstead NY to Florida, Texas, California or anywhere in between, call (516) 973-1277 or run an instant quote online. We are an FMCSA-licensed broker and only dispatch to carriers who already know the parkway rules out here.
Why car haulers avoid the Meadowbrook and come in on Hempstead Turnpike
The biggest factor in Hempstead car shipping is a rule most residents never think about: the Meadowbrook, Southern State, Wantagh and Northern State parkways all ban commercial trucks. Low stone overpasses from the Robert Moses era make it a physical limit, not just a sign, so a nine-car hauler has to find another way in.
In practice carriers come to us three ways. From the Long Island Expressway (I-495) they exit at Glen Cove Road or NY-135 and drop south to Old Country Road and Hempstead Turnpike (NY-24). From Queens they ride Hempstead Turnpike itself through Elmont and Franklin Square into the village, where it becomes Fulton Avenue. For the south shore, Sunrise Highway (NY-27) is the working corridor through Valley Stream, Rockville Centre, Baldwin and Freeport.
Peninsula Boulevard connects the village to Rockville Centre and the Five Towns and is wide enough for a loaded truck, as is Nassau Road toward Roosevelt and Freeport. Off those arterials, the Town of Hempstead is a grid of narrow residential blocks with tight turns and cars parked on both sides, which is why we settle the pickup spot before the truck is dispatched.
Where a hauler can realistically meet you in Hempstead and the south shore
Door-to-door in Hempstead means the driver gets as close as a 75-foot rig legally and safely can. Inside the village, on streets off Fulton Avenue, that often means meeting a block or two away on a wider road. Hempstead Turnpike east of the village has the best options: the big retail lots in East Meadow and Levittown have the turning room a loaded hauler needs.
- Uniondale and the Hub: the open lots around Nassau Coliseum and the Mitchel Field athletic fields give plenty of space on a weekday morning.
- Garden City and Roosevelt Field: we meet on Old Country Road or Stewart Avenue rather than inside the mall ring road, which has height and access limits.
- Freeport, Baldwin and Oceanside: Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road work; the canal streets south of Atlantic Avenue are not reachable by a full-size carrier.
- Long Beach: drivers come over the Long Beach Bridge or the Atlantic Beach Bridge, and most pickups happen on Park Avenue or at the LIRR lot.
- Valley Stream and Elmont: Sunrise Highway near Green Acres and Hempstead Turnpike near Belmont Park both handle larger trucks.
If you have a short driveway in West Hempstead or Franklin Square, say so when you book. A three-car truck can sometimes get in, but it costs more, and a five-minute drive to a lot is usually the better trade.
Hofstra, Nassau Community College and the semester rush
Two campuses sit within two miles of our office, and both drive a predictable wave of Hempstead auto transport bookings. Hofstra University, straddling Hempstead Turnpike between the village and Uniondale, pulls students from Florida, Texas and California who want a car on campus without driving it across the country twice a year. Nassau Community College, on the old Mitchel Field grounds in Garden City, has a large commuter population whose families move in and out of the area.
The busy windows are late August into early September and the two weeks after finals in mid-May. In those stretches more cars leave Nassau than arrive, so outbound to Florida gets slightly cheaper while inbound from the Southeast tightens up. If you are a Hofstra parent shipping a Honda from Boca Raton for move-in, booking two to three weeks ahead gets a better rate and a pickup date you can plan around.
Campus pickups work best at the Hofstra lots along Hempstead Turnpike or California Avenue, and we can time delivery for the day after you arrive so you are there to inspect it.
Snowbird season from Freeport to Fort Lauderdale
The south shore of the Town of Hempstead has one of the heaviest seasonal migrations on Long Island. Retirees in Freeport, Baldwin, Oceanside, Rockville Centre and Long Beach head to Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Naples from mid-October through Thanksgiving and come back in April. Most have done the I-95 drive enough times to be done with it.
Shipping a car from Hempstead to south Florida on an open carrier runs about $650 to $750 for a running sedan and takes two to four days once loaded. Prices rise in the last two weeks of October and again in early April when everyone wants the same week, so leaving a week earlier or later than the crowd lowers the quote. April northbound pricing is usually friendlier than November southbound because returning cars ride trucks that already came south with freight.
One local detail: many snowbirds want the car picked up from a condo in Long Beach or a canal-front street in Freeport that a hauler cannot reach, so we set a meeting point on Park Avenue or Sunrise Highway in advance.
Salt air, flood zones and when enclosed makes sense in Nassau
Open transport is right for most Hempstead car shipping and is what we book for the majority of commuter sedans and SUVs headed to Florida or the Carolinas. Two local conditions push some owners toward an enclosed trailer.
The first is salt. Long Beach, Point Lookout, Atlantic Beach and the bayfront blocks of Freeport and Oceanside live in constant salt air, and the owner of a Porsche in Garden City or a restored Corvette in Rockville Centre does not want one more dose of winter road brine on an open deck down I-95. Enclosed adds roughly 40 to 60 percent but keeps the car sealed from spray, salt and stone chips.
The second is storms. Superstorm Sandy in 2012 put several feet of water into Long Beach, Island Park, Freeport, Baldwin Harbor and parts of Oceanside, and thousands of cars were totaled in one night. People in the Nassau flood zones now treat a hurricane watch differently, and every late summer we get calls from south shore owners who want a second car moved inland ahead of a storm. If that is you, call early. Carriers stop loading on the barrier island once the Long Beach Bridge falls under evacuation restrictions, and the window closes faster than people expect.
Military moves, Mitchel Field and other reasons Hempstead cars go long distance
Nassau has a large veteran population and active-duty families cycling through the military housing that remains on the former Mitchel Field site next to Nassau Community College. Permanent change of station orders to Norfolk, San Diego or Texas are a regular part of our Hempstead work. We coordinate pickup around the household goods move and ship a second vehicle when the government covers only one.
Beyond that, families priced out of Garden City or Merrick move to Charlotte, Raleigh or Atlanta and ship one car while driving the other. Hempstead Turnpike also has one of the densest runs of dealerships on Long Island, from Elmont east through Levittown, and we move dealer trades and online sales off those lots every week.
Whatever the reason, give us the pickup address, destination and vehicle, and we will tell you what the market is paying on that lane this week.
Where we pick up around Hempstead
Door-to-door service covers these communities from the Hempstead office, along with the rest of Nassau County. If you do not see your town, the quote tool prices any ZIP code.
Popular routes from Hempstead
Typical prices for a running mid-size sedan on an open carrier, booked about a week ahead. Enclosed trailers, oversized vehicles and peak-season dates run higher; the quote tool gives you the exact number.
| Route | Transit | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Hempstead to Boca Raton, FL | 2–4 days | from$699 |
| Hempstead to Orlando, FL | 2–4 days | from$679 |
| Hempstead to Charlotte, NC | 2–3 days | from$599 |
| Hempstead to Atlanta, GA | 2–4 days | from$699 |
| Hempstead to Chicago, IL | 2–4 days | from$749 |
| Hempstead to Dallas, TX | 3–5 days | from$1,049 |
| Hempstead to Phoenix, AZ | 5–7 days | from$1,299 |
| Hempstead to Los Angeles, CA | 6–9 days | from$1,449 |
Questions from Hempstead customers
Can a car carrier get to my house in the Village of Hempstead or West Hempstead?
Often not all the way. Most village streets off Fulton Avenue and the blocks around Hempstead Lake in West Hempstead are too tight for a full-size hauler. The driver will call ahead and meet you on a wider road such as Peninsula Boulevard or Hempstead Turnpike, or at a nearby retail lot. It usually adds a five-minute drive, not a day.
Why does the driver say he cannot take the Southern State or Meadowbrook to reach me?
Those parkways, along with the Wantagh and Northern State, ban commercial vehicles and have low stone overpasses a car hauler cannot clear. Trucks reach Nassau on the Long Island Expressway, Hempstead Turnpike or Sunrise Highway and then use surface roads. That is normal here and does not change your price; it just shapes where the pickup happens.
I live in Long Beach. Should I ship my car enclosed?
For an everyday commuter, open transport is fine and saves money. For a newer luxury car, a convertible or anything you garage because of the salt air, enclosed is worth the premium of roughly 40 to 60 percent. Either way, pickups on the barrier island usually happen on Park Avenue or at the LIRR lot rather than on the side streets.
How far ahead should a Hofstra or Nassau Community College student book?
Two to three weeks before move-in or move-out is the sweet spot. Late August and mid-May are the busiest weeks for Hempstead auto transport, and last-minute bookings in those windows pay more and wait longer for a truck. Book early, pick a flexible three-day pickup window, and plan to be on campus when the car arrives so you can inspect it.
What does it cost to ship a car from Hempstead to Florida for the winter?
A running sedan on an open carrier typically costs $650 to $750 to south Florida and takes two to four days in transit. SUVs and non-running vehicles cost more. Prices peak in late October and early April when Freeport, Oceanside and Rockville Centre snowbirds all travel at once, so shifting your date by a week or two usually lowers the quote.