Booking & Shipping Information
Everything that happens between the day you book and the day you get your keys back — drop-off times, what is included, what costs extra, which documents we need, and how to prepare the vehicle. The same information we send our booked customers, in one place.
Written for the 2026/27 season. Southbound loading began Friday, September 18, 2026.
- Company-owned and operated carrier
- Licensed and bonded customs clearance — both sides of the border
- Real people answer every call
Southbound vehicles are dropped at our Vaughan depot on Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., or collected from your door — included in your rate from Ottawa, Kingston and across Québec, and $150 in Toronto and the surrounding area. Trucks load and leave over the weekend, with the first southbound run of the 2026/27 season on Friday, September 18, 2026. Allow up to one week in transit, counted from the day the truck leaves our yard. In Florida a smaller flatbed delivers to your door, or you can collect at one of our four partner terminals and save $50. Coming home in the spring, vehicles are collected in Florida on Tuesdays and a $100 customs brokerage fee applies. Questions about any of it — call 416-638-0001.
Updated September 2026 · Fall 2026 / Spring 2027 season rates and schedule
When the Trucks Run
The Florida run is our only fixed-schedule service. Every other lane runs on availability, with your departure window confirmed at booking.
Southbound
Every Friday from our Vaughan terminal, starting Friday, September 18, 2026. Trucks load and leave over the weekend.
Holiday Weeks
Christmas Day and New Year’s Day both fall on a Friday this season, so those two loads go a day early — Thursday, December 24 and Thursday, December 31. Drop-off those weeks is 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Northbound
Vehicles are collected in Florida on Tuesdays so the larger trucks can load midweek. In high-volume weeks collection may spread across Monday to Wednesday, and the terminal calls you the day before after 3:00 p.m. with your window.
Book the return at the same time
Space is limited and the Passover and Easter rush fills quickly. Most of our customers reserve the spring return when they book the fall trip — it is very difficult to fit a vehicle in at the last minute. If your plans change, call us right away on 416-638-0001 and we will move your reservation.
Getting Your Vehicle to the Truck
Our depot sits in Vaughan, so how your vehicle reaches it depends on where you are starting from.
Toronto and the GTA
Drop your vehicle at 450 Bowes Rd, Units 9 and 10, Concord (Vaughan) on the Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The closest intersection is Keele Street and Highway 7.
Prefer not to drive outOur city flatbed collects from your door for $150, including Oakville and Burlington. The schedule is set by location, so please give us at least one week's notice. Local pickups run Thursday or Friday.
Ottawa, Kingston and Québec
You do not come to us. A feeder truck collects at your door, brings the vehicle back to our Vaughan depot, and it loads onto the Friday carrier with everyone else’s.
Already includedDoor collection is built into your rate — there is nothing extra to pay. Ottawa and Kingston pickups run Wednesday or Thursday. You part with the car a little earlier than a Toronto customer, and it still leaves Vaughan on the same Friday departure.
Elsewhere in Ontario
Out-of-town collection runs Tuesday through Thursday, and the routing depends on where you are.
Call for a rateTell us your address and we will give you the cost and the day. We go to a lot of places other carriers decline — ask before you assume you are outside the area.
Everything that is not the Florida run
Cross-border one-offs, moves within Canada, corporate and dealer work, military postings, remote and northern destinations.
Door to door, inside the quoteThese are individually quoted jobs rather than a seat on a scheduled truck, so collection at your door is part of the number you are given. Nothing to drop off, nothing extra to pay.
How Long It Takes
Up to one week, and where that clock starts
Allow up to one week in a normal week. Weather, a mechanical delay or a slow day at the border can add to that, and in the busiest weeks — the last week of March and the run-up to Passover and Easter — allow up to 10 days.
Transit is counted from the day the truck leaves our Vaughan yard, not from the day we collect your vehicle. If you ask us to pick your vehicle up earlier than your load date for your own convenience, that is no problem, but it does not leave earlier. Every vehicle leaves on its official load date.
These times describe the Florida run from Toronto, the GTA, Ontario, Ottawa and Kingston. Other lanes have their own timelines, confirmed at booking.
Delivery, and How to Save $50
A smaller flatbed from the terminal nearest you delivers your vehicle to your door, or as close as trucks are permitted to get. We make every effort to deliver on the day your vehicle arrives, or within the next few days depending on volume and location.
Four Partner Terminals in Florida
Fort Lauderdale and Vero Beach on the east coast; Naples and St. Petersburg on the west — run by transport partners we have worked with for years. Drop off or collect at a terminal instead of taking door service and you save $50. We give you the address when you book.
Communities That Ban Trucks
Some areas do not allow transport trucks in at all — Palm Beach Island and Longboat Key among them. Where that applies we arrange a meeting point with you in advance.
Distance From a Terminal
The further your address sits from the nearest terminal, the more likely a delivery surcharge applies. The full list by city is below, and collecting at a terminal avoids it entirely.
What Is Included, and What Is Not
In your rate
- Transport on our own trucks, driven by our own employees
- The fuel surcharge in force when you book
- A written and photographic inspection at loading, and again at delivery
- Full customs clearance on both sides of the border
- Proactive email updates at each key milestone
- Door collection from Ottawa, Kingston and Québec
- Door delivery in Florida, outside the surcharge cities listed below
Priced separately
- $150 — door collection or delivery in Toronto and the immediate surrounding area
- $100 — Canada customs brokerage, northbound only
- $200 — additional customs preparation for US-plated vehicles
- 3% — handling fee on credit card payments
- $400 — cancellation inside five days of departure
- Florida delivery surcharges in the cities listed below
Whatever applies to your booking is in your quote before you commit. Nothing is added at delivery.
By City — Published in Full
These surcharges apply to door delivery and door collection in the cities below. You can avoid the surcharge, and save a further $50, by dropping off or collecting at one of our four partner terminals in Florida. Surcharges generally begin north of West Palm Beach, south of Miami, north of Estero, south of Bradenton, and north of New Port Richey.
| City | Surcharge |
|---|---|
| Brickell | $50 |
| Cape Coral | $50 |
| Coral Gables | $100 |
| Davenport | $150 |
| Englewood | $100 |
| Fisher Island | $100 |
| Fort Pierce | $100 |
| Ft. Myers & North Ft. Myers | $50 |
| Jensen Beach | $100 |
| Key Biscayne | $50 |
| Key Largo | $300 |
| Key West | $500 |
| Lehigh Acres | $150 |
| Longboat Key | $50 |
| New Port Richey | $50 |
| City | Surcharge |
|---|---|
| Ocala | $150 |
| Palm Beach | $50 |
| Palm Beach Gardens | $50 |
| Palm Beach Islands | $50 |
| Port Charlotte | $150 |
| Punta Gorda | $150 |
| Riviera Beach | $100 |
| Rotunda West | $200 |
| Sarasota | $50 |
| Sebring | $150 |
| Siesta Key | $100 |
| Singer Island | $150 |
| Stuart | $100 |
| Venice | $100 |
| Vero Beach | $100 |
All amounts in Canadian dollars. If your city is not listed, or you are not sure which applies to you, call 416-638-0001 and we will tell you straight away.
Payment
When It Is Due
Payment for the one-way trip is due the week of your scheduled departure date.
How to Pay
Our published rates are e-transfer, debit, cash and cheque rates. Credit card payments are welcome — please add a 3% handling fee to your total.
Currency
All rates and fees on this site are in Canadian dollars.
About the fuel surcharge
The fuel surcharge tracks the price of diesel, and we show it as its own line rather than burying it in the price. It sits at 20% today and moves only when diesel does. If it ever needs to change after you have booked, we contact you in advance, explain exactly why and by how much, and you may cancel at no charge. It is never applied without notice. Published rates for the Toronto and Ottawa runs are on the Toronto to Florida and Ottawa to Florida pages; every other lane is quoted individually.
Documents We Need
Send these to us ahead of time, along with your payment. Copies must be full-size and legible, with no dark backgrounds — they go to customs officials.
Every vehicle
Always requiredA full-size, legible copy of your ownership, and a copy of the passport of whoever owns the vehicle. The name on the ownership and the name on the passport should match.
Leased or financed
Authorisation letterA written letter from the leasing or financing company permitting the vehicle to be transported and to remain in the US for up to six months. These are date-specific, so you need a new one every season.
Company-owned
Two documentsYour Articles of Incorporation, plus a permission letter on company letterhead allowing you to transport the vehicle.
Coming home
Nothing to carryYour Canada customs documents are prepared in the fall and kept in your file. You do not need any paperwork with you in Florida for the return.
Coming Home: Customs and Fees
The $100 customs brokerage fee
Bringing a vehicle back into Canada is a customs import event. A licensed and bonded customs broker acts as your representative at the border so your vehicle can return to our depot, and that costs $100. It applies to every vehicle entering Canada, it is included in your northbound quote upfront, and it never changes at delivery. It does not apply southbound. This is the process CBSA describes for vehicles transported back to Canada by a commercial carrier: the carrier reports the vehicle, and a broker clears it on your behalf.
If your vehicle is US-plated
US-plated vehicles are cleared at the Canada Customs Bond Shed in Mississauga rather than coming straight to our depot. A further $200 covers the customs broker preparing that paperwork. You collect the vehicle at the Bond Shed and pay them directly for any release and storage fees — those are theirs, not ours, and are not included in the $200.
Before You Hand Over the Keys
Take What You Need
Medication and anything you cannot do without travels with you, not in the car — in case of a delay.
Keep It Light
A quarter tank of fuel or less. Personal items in the trunk only, up to 100 lbs, plus one set of golf clubs on the floor of the back seat. We are governed by US and Canadian weight limits. Anything you pack must be declared to us beforehand, properly labelled, and compliant with customs requirements and all applicable laws. A vehicle packed beyond 100 lbs of personal items is liable to a $400 fee.
Toll Transponders
Deactivate or remove every SunPass, E-ZPass and similar transponder. We cannot control what a toll gantry reads as the truck passes under it.
Paperwork and Payment
Signed, completed and returned ahead of time, with your payment. If you are paying by credit card, remember the 3% handling fee.
Tracking Alerts
Alerts about an open door or window are normal in transit, and some systems do not register location changes or report incidents that never happened — often because the wheels are not turning while the vehicle moves on the truck. If something genuinely concerns you, call us.
Batteries
We handle every vehicle with care, but we are not responsible for dead or faulty batteries, including hybrid and electric vehicle batteries — these are pre-existing conditions or the vehicle’s own systems draining the charge. If a vehicle will not start at loading or unloading we may need to boost it.
Cancellations, Changes and Damage
Changing or cancelling
Plans move. Tell us as early as you can and we will do our best to move your reservation rather than lose it.
The policyCancellation fees are waived up to five days before your departure. After that a $400 cancellation fee may be charged at our discretion.
If something is not right at delivery
Look the vehicle over before the driver leaves and note anything you see on the delivery form before you sign it.
Report within 24 hoursWhere a vehicle is delivered without a signature, tell us within 24 hours of receiving it. Any repair work must be approved by us first. Call 416-638-0001 and we will take it from there — the full process is on our Damage Claims page.
Booking & Shipping FAQ
Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at our depot, 450 Bowes Rd, Units 9 and 10, Concord (Vaughan), Ontario — closest intersection Keele Street and Highway 7. The trucks load and leave for Florida over the weekend.
Yes. In Toronto and the immediate surrounding areas, including Oakville and Burlington, our city flatbed collects from your door for $150 with at least one week’s notice. Local pickups run Thursday or Friday. From Ottawa, Kingston and across Québec, door collection is already included in your rate. Other Ontario regions are collected Tuesday through Thursday — call and we will quote it.
The day the truck leaves our Vaughan yard — not the day we collect your vehicle. If you ask us to pick your vehicle up early for your own convenience, that is fine, but it does not leave early. Every vehicle leaves on its official load date.
Allow up to one week in a normal week. Weather, a mechanical delay or a slow day at the border can add to that, and in the busiest weeks — the last week of March and the run-up to Passover and Easter — allow up to 10 days.
Collect your vehicle at the terminal nearest you instead of taking door delivery. That saves you $50 and avoids any city surcharge that would otherwise apply. We give you the terminal address when you book.
Bringing a vehicle into Canada is a customs import event and needs a licensed customs broker to act as your representative at the border. That is the $100, it applies only northbound, and it is included in your quote upfront — it never changes at delivery.
Yes. US-plated vehicles clear at the Canada Customs Bond Shed in Mississauga rather than coming straight to our depot. A further $200 covers the customs broker preparing that paperwork. You collect the vehicle at the Bond Shed and pay them directly for any release or storage fees, which are not included in the $200.
Personal items in the trunk only, up to 100 lbs, plus one set of golf clubs on the floor of the back seat. Keep the vehicle as light as you can and leave a quarter tank of fuel or less. We are governed by US and Canadian weight limits. Anything you pack must be declared to us beforehand, properly labelled, and compliant with customs requirements and all applicable laws. A vehicle packed beyond 100 lbs of personal items is liable to a $400 fee.
Cancellation fees are waived up to five days before your departure. After that a $400 cancellation fee may be charged at our discretion.
No. Alerts about an open door or window are normal and necessary in transit, and some systems do not register a change in location or report an incident that has not happened — often because the wheels are not turning even though the vehicle is moving on the truck. Tesla, Mercedes and Land Rover systems are the most talkative. If anything genuinely concerns you, call us.
Still Have a Question?
If anything here does not cover your situation, call us. A real person answers, and we would far rather sort it out before your vehicle moves than after.
Snowbirds Auto Connection · 450 Bowes Rd, Units 9–10, Concord, ON L4K 1K3 · Family-owned and operated since 1993