Montway Auto Transport Review: What Its Own Terms Say

Montway Auto Transport is a real, federally registered car-shipping broker with a record going back to 2007, and the questions worth asking are the ones its own contract answers: who pays if your car arrives damaged, when you pay, and what it costs to back out. On 7 October 2026 we read Montway’s Terms of Service, its website Terms of Use (updated 10 October 2024), its TruePrice Guarantee, how-it-works, cost, expedited and carrier-network pages, and 20 help-center answers, and set them against FMCSA’s public record and the federal rules the Terms cite. We requested no quote and entered no personal details, and this site has no commercial relationship with Montway or any other shipper. Montway’s website terms put conditions on links to its site, so we name its documents rather than linking them; all are on montway.com.

Montway is a broker, not a carrier: what that changes

The first definitions in Montway’s Terms of Service settle the question most reviews skip. Montway “is a transportation broker as defined at 49 U.S.C. § 13102(2), arranging for the transportation of freight through third party Carriers,” registered with FMCSA “under Docket No. MC-611862.” The sentence ends: “Montway is not a Carrier.” You accept that it “never takes custody or possession of, transports, or handles Customer’s Shipment, or assumes any liability for the Shipment,” and its services “are deemed completed when a Carrier has accepted Customer’s Order.” By the contract’s own terms, Montway’s job is done before the truck arrives.

Federal rules draw the same line. Under 49 CFR 371.2, a broker “arranges, or offers to arrange, the transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier,” and 49 CFR 371.7 says a broker “shall not, directly or indirectly, represent its operations to be that of a carrier.” Montway’s Terms and help center say broker; its how-it-works page heads step 2 “We pick up your vehicle,” while telling you to schedule the pickup “with your trucker.” The person who collects your car works for the carrier.

Three consequences run through the rest of this review:

• Your damage claim is against the carrier. The Terms name the carrier as “the party liable for all such claims.”
• The carrier’s paperwork binds you too. Its bill of lading “may constitute a contract of transportation as between Customer and Carrier,” and you may be subject to the carrier’s own terms and tariffs.
• You can see the broker’s record of your job. Under 49 CFR 371.3, a broker keeps a record of each transaction, including the carrier’s name and registration number and “the amount of compensation received by the broker,” for three years, and “each party to a brokered transaction has the right to review the record.”

For how brokers, carriers and lead sites differ across the industry, see our guide to car shipping companies.

Is Montway legit? What the FMCSA record shows

Yes, in the sense that matters most for a car shipper: Montway holds active federal broker authority and has the financial security a broker must file. We read FMCSA’s SAFER company snapshot (data as of 5 October 2026), the Motus account page, and FMCSA’s licensing and insurance datasets, which say they were last refreshed on 14 May 2026.

Under 49 CFR 387.307 (effective 16 January 2026), “a broker must have a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000 in effect,” on Form BMC-84 for a bond or BMC-85 for a trust fund, and FMCSA will not register a broker until it is. The money pays “shippers or motor carriers if the broker fails to carry out its contracts”: protection against a broker that fails to arrange the move, not cover for damage. Montway’s help center calls it “fully licensed and bonded”; strictly it holds the trust-fund version, which the rule treats as equivalent. The dataset’s amount field reads 0, which we do not take as the fund’s size.

The four revocation actions come with dates and nothing else: served 15 August 2013, discontinued 26 August 2013; served 11 December 2020, discontinued 18 December 2020; served and discontinued 24 December 2020; served 9 February 2023, discontinued 22 February 2023. FMCSA gives no reason, so we do not guess. A web search on 7 October 2026 found no FMCSA, FTC or state attorney-general action naming Montway LLC; that is a search result, not a clearance.

Quotes, the 2026 per-mile estimates and the TruePrice Guarantee

Montway prints no price for your shipment until you ask, and its pages say plainly that a quote “is an estimate” and “not a final price.” The how-it-works page recommends booking “within a few days of receiving your quote as the market and carrier availability changes quickly.” What Montway does print is a set of average per-mile estimates on its cost page, labelled “Car shipping costs in 2026” and qualified with “car shipping costs may vary.”

Montway’s examples match its rates. As illustrations only, our arithmetic on the 2,000-mile row gives $1,680 enclosed, and Montway’s statement that expedited shipping is “generally 15-35% more than standard shipments” puts the open trip at roughly $1,357 to $1,593. Distance, car size, whether it runs, open or enclosed, rural or urban and season all move the quote; a car with four inches of ground clearance or less needs an enclosed trailer with a lift gate. The help center says “neither the original purchase price nor the current value of the vehicle” affects the rate.

The TruePrice Guarantee answers a common complaint about car shipping, a low quote that rises after booking. Section 8 of the Terms says the booked price “will be locked-in for 30 calendar days,” that Montway “will not increase the price for any reason, including fluctuations in carrier costs, fuel prices, or market conditions,” and that it “will not request additional funds after booking.” The conditions sit in the same section:

• Operable, factory-standard cars only. Modified or inoperable cars get “customized quotes” instead. Montway’s help center calls a car operable if it can “drive in forward and reverse under its own power and steer.”
• The locked price is the reviewed one. “Confirmed booking price may differ from quote,” and after an online booking an agent calls to check the details; “if any details change during this review, it may affect the price.”
• A booking needs a payment method. A confirmed booking is placed “with a validated payment including credit card or full PayPal payment,” and quotes do not qualify.
• Wrong details or changes reopen it, and so does rescheduling “outside the 30-day window.”
• Exclusivity. “The True Price Guarantee is void if you work, or post, with another broker.”

The lock binds Montway, not the trucker. The Terms separately let the carrier “charge additional fees to transport such Shipment or refuse to transport the Shipment altogether” if the car is or becomes inoperable, is modified or is oversized. Describe the car exactly when you book.

When you pay, and how the driver gets paid

The help center offers a “Regular Price,” paid in full by card or PayPal with “no further funds” due at delivery, and a “Discounted Cash Price,” where you pay part up front and the rest to the driver because “truckers prefer cash and are willing to do the job for less.” On the cash option the Terms require payment to the carrier “on or before the delivery” in “cash, certified funds, cashier’s check or money order,” never a personal check or card, and “without any offsets, chargebacks or reductions” for damage. The help center is blunter: “the driver can legally hold the vehicle until all applicable fees are paid,” and “an insurance claim and payment of freight charges are two entirely different transactions.” Unpaid Montway invoices accrue 1.5% a month.

When the first money leaves your account is where Montway’s pages disagree most. The TruePrice and cost pages say “no payment is required until a carrier has been assigned to your order”; the how-it-works page says “until your shipment is scheduled for pickup.” The help center’s landing page asks cash-price customers for “a small partial payment of $199 or less (depending on the distance of your shipment) when you place your order,” one answer says “a partial payment is due at booking,” and another says “a partial deposit at the time of dispatch.” The Terms, which control, say payment is due “when a Carrier accepts an Order” and “you will be charged at time of dispatch to a carrier.” Ask which applies to your order and get the answer in writing.

Pickup windows, transit times and what “guaranteed” covers

Montway’s Terms say it “cannot and does not guarantee delivery dates or times” and is not liable for losses “caused by delays of any kind.” Pickup is counted from your “first available shipping date,” which the help center says is “not necessarily the exact pick up date”: pickup “should be within our usual pick up window of 1 to 5 business days.” Then come Montway’s transit estimates, marked “times are estimated”:

A coast-to-coast move can therefore mean up to 5 business days waiting for pickup and then 7 to 9 calendar days on the road. Rural pickups “may take longer,” inoperable cars may wait because “not all transport trucks can accommodate inoperable vehicles,” and the driver may ask to meet at “a large parking lot nearby such as a grocery store.”

“Guaranteed” covers pickup only. The paid expedited service lets you “arrange a guaranteed pickup date,” and the same page says “the auto transport industry cannot guarantee delivery dates.” The help center explains the mechanics: a local driver may collect the car on the date, then it “may be stored in a secured facility for 2-3 calendar days (on average) until a long-haul driver is available,” and only then does “your quoted transit time” begin. The cost page says expedited pickup can come “24 to 48 hours after placing an order”; the expedited page says “after the first available pickup date.” Ask which before paying the premium.

Damage, insurance and who pays a claim

This is where Montway’s marketing and its contract sound most different. The Terms say Montway, as “a property transportation broker,” “is not and will not be liable for any cargo loss and damage claims for any reason,” and that “it is Customer’s responsibility to file any claim directly with the Carrier who transported the Shipment.” The Terms point to the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. 14706, which makes carriers liable “for the actual loss or injury to the property” and bars them from allowing less than 9 months to file a claim or less than 2 years to sue. Montway’s own deadline is a notice to Montway, not the claim: you “must promptly report such claim to Montway, but in no event later than forty-eight (48) hours of the delivery,” so it can send you “relevant documents regarding the Carrier.”

The marketing describes two layers of insurance: the car “will be covered by the carrier’s cargo insurance,” and Montway’s own “contingent cargo insurance” covers it “for up to $250,000 should the trucker’s policy fail to fully cover a valid claim.” The help center describes only the first: “an Inland Marine Cargo Insurance policy of up to $100,000 is provided by the motor carrier,” “subject to some exclusions and limitations.” We could not see the contingent policy; it is not a federal filing, and the Terms do not mention it. The cost page also says carriers are “legally required to carry liability insurance and a minimal level of cargo insurance,” but the federal cargo-filing rule we read, 49 CFR 387.301(b), is written for household-goods carriers. So follow the help center’s advice to “request trucker Certificate of Insurance,” and do it before pickup.

Everything then turns on the bill of lading, the condition report the driver fills in at both ends. The Terms ask you to inspect with the driver, note “any pre-existing damage” at pickup and “any new damage as exception” at delivery, and keep copies. The help center adds: have the driver “record the current mileage of your vehicle’s odometer,” and “take several pictures of the vehicle at pickup and again at delivery.”

Some losses are excluded outright: damage from “hail, storm or other acts of God,” from “loose, worn, or broken parts,” and anything to do with “personal items in the Shipment.” You may leave “one suitcase OR one bag” of up to 100 lbs in the trunk at your own risk; personal items “are not covered by the carrier’s cargo insurance” and are “not inspected or inventoried.” Hand the car over “with no more than a quarter tank of fuel,” or for an electric car “between 45-65% charged battery,” with toll tags removed.

Cancelling and refunds

All of Montway’s documents agree that cancelling before a carrier takes the job is free: you “may cancel an Order at any time at no cost or cancellation fees as long as the Order has not yet been accepted by a Carrier.” Montway emails you when the order is dispatched, and from then on cancelling costs money. How much depends on which document you read:

• Terms, section 9: “a minimum of two hundred and forty nine dollars ($249.00) in cancellation fees,” plus possibly “a dry run fee imposed by a Carrier.” This also applies if “the Carrier is denied pick up of the Shipment for any reason when the Carrier arrives.”
• Terms, section 8: “the broker fee ($249 USD) is nonrefundable, but can be applied to a future order with Montway.”
• Help center: refundable “less a $249 service fee or the amount of your partial payment, whichever is less.”

For a cash-price customer whose deposit was the help center’s “$199 or less,” the help-center rule caps the loss at the deposit while the Terms set a floor of $249, a gap of at least $50 by our arithmetic. The Terms are the contract; the help center says so itself. Ask for the future-order credit if you cancel late. Cancellations must be “submitted in writing via email”; phone, text and chat “will not be accepted.”

Arbitration, the liability cap and the rest of the fine print

The Terms of Service send disputes to binding individual arbitration with National Arbitration Mediation, except claims that qualify for small claims court. You can choose a hearing “by telephone, based on written submissions, or in person in the county where Customer lives,” “all of the filing fees will be paid by the filing party,” and you must send Montway a signed letter at least 30 days before starting. Class actions are waived, and if a claim reaches court the parties “each waive any right to a jury trial.”

The website Terms of Use (updated 10 October 2024) contain a different clause: JAMS rules, any in-person hearing in Chicago, and an opt-out “within 30 days of registering an account.” They say they apply to “all disputes with Montway,” but also that conflicting “Additional Terms” control, and for a shipment the Terms of Service are those. Both documents point to the wrong section for arbitration: section 12 instead of 13, and section 16 instead of 19.

• Liability cap. Montway’s “total cumulative liability” cannot “exceed the total fees paid by Customer to Montway”: its fee, not your car’s value.
• Precedence. If the Terms conflict with “a motor carrier bill of lading, tariff or service guide,” the Terms “will supersede and control as between you and Montway.”
• Carriers. The Terms of Use disclaim warranties “concerning the performance of any of its carriers.”
• Presence. You or an agent “over the age of 18” must be there at pickup and delivery.

Montway reviews: what we could and could not check

Most people searching for Montway reviews want to know whether other customers’ cars arrived on time and undamaged. Ratings cannot answer that, and we could verify less than review sites imply.

Montway’s own figures. Its pages claim “over 1 million customers served,” “1,128,000+ Cars delivered nationwide” and “100,000+ customer reviews,” with “an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.” Rating badges show Google at 4.7 from 22,749 reviews, BBB at 4.5 from 4,440 and Transport Reviews at 4.8 from 11,838, beside a Trustpilot badge we leave out. The three counts add up to 39,027 by our arithmetic, so most of the claimed 100,000 reviews sit somewhere Montway does not name. None of these was checked on the platforms.

Testimonials. The TruePrice, cost and expedited pages show 26 different testimonials, and all 26 are rated 5.0: a selection, not a sample.

BBB. Our attempt to read Montway’s BBB profile met the BBB’s “You have been blocked” security page, and we did not work around it, so this page carries no BBB grade or complaint count of our own. Read the profile yourself, and look at recent complaints and Montway’s answers rather than the grade.

Government records. These we could check, and they are in the FMCSA section: active broker authority since 2007, financial security on file, and four revocation proceedings, each discontinued. Montway is a long-registered broker with its paperwork in order; how your shipment goes depends largely on the carrier it assigns.

Where Montway’s own documents disagree

Reading 28 of Montway’s pages side by side turned up 12 contradictions. Most are drift any large website accumulates. Where they touch money or liability, the Terms of Service are what bind you.

Two of these change what you should do: ask when your card will be charged, and ask for the carrier’s certificate of insurance and the terms of Montway’s contingent policy, both before pickup while cancelling is still free.

Before you book with Montway

If you are shipping a car you have just bought, the shipment is a separate contract from the sale. Our guides to buying a car out of state and buying a car online cover the tax, title and handover steps, the pre-purchase inspection guide covers checking the car before it is loaded, and auction buyers should add Copart fees to the shipping bill. For the dealer side of the purchase, the FTC’s used-car buying guide applies.

Common questions

Is Montway Auto Transport legit?

Yes. FMCSA lists Montway LLC, trading as Montway Auto Transport, as an active property broker under USDOT 2239816 and MC-611862, with authority granted in 2007 and the trust-fund security federal rules require of every broker. Four revocation proceedings in its history were each discontinued. Registration does not guarantee a good shipment; the assigned carrier does most of the work.

Is Montway a broker or a carrier?

A broker. Its Terms say “Montway is not a Carrier,” and FMCSA authorizes it only as a “Broker of Property (Except Household Goods).” An independent carrier collects, hauls and delivers the car.

Who pays if my car is damaged during shipping with Montway?

The carrier, under Montway’s Terms. Note the damage on the bill of lading at delivery, tell Montway within 48 hours, and file the claim with the carrier, whose liability is set by 49 U.S.C. 14706. Montway also advertises contingent cover of up to $250,000 if the carrier’s policy falls short; ask how to claim on it before you book.

How much does Montway charge to ship a car?

Only a quote for your route and car can say. Montway’s cost page prints 2026 averages for open transport of $1.85 a mile up to 500 miles, $.91 for 501 to 1,500 miles and $.59 beyond, with enclosed higher, and says costs “may vary.” A booked price is then locked for 30 days for operable, factory-standard cars.

Can I cancel a Montway order and get my money back?

Before a carrier accepts the order, yes, at no cost. After dispatch the Terms charge at least $249 plus any carrier dry-run fee, though the help center describes keeping only $249 or your partial payment, whichever is less. Cancel by email.

Does Montway guarantee delivery dates?

No. The Terms say Montway “cannot and does not guarantee delivery dates or times.” Its paid expedited service can guarantee a pickup date, after which the car may wait 2 to 3 days in storage before transit begins.