Buying car island side... Insurance first?

I'd ship the CRV, perfect got the islands. Here is the process, 1. Decide on a car. 2. Have the title and reg signed over to you in the presence of a notary. 3. Get insurance 4.take the car and the paper work to D MV, in STX go to window 5 then wait, they call your name and pay then get your new title and reg. If it needs inspection then get in line and then after the inspection take the papers to window 5, get called, pay then go you are done for a year. Check with your stateside ins co for VI coverage, probably not. It you have a loan on the CRV you will probably have pay it off before shipping, then look for a ratta. Good luck

marshall & sterling is the recommended insurance on stx

We really thought about bring the crv. 2k to ship to port and since its not a US made it's going to run an additional $600 in road taxes and customs and permits. It's a 2000 with 175k and only blue books for about $3500. I was thinking that it was not worth it considering its kinda a cheapie as is.

Bombi- so VI insurance isn't needed to actually buy it and drive off with it?

We did decide to use marshal and sterling per board users Recommendations.

I had a CRV for 5 years and LOVED it. It was the perfect island car, not too big, but big enough and with enough power to get around easily.

I would contact MPH to have them check out any car you want to purchase. Sorry - don't have the # handy.

When you purchase the car you will need to secure insurance before registering it in your name. If you ship the car in you will need to as well. You will also need a permit to move it from the port to the DMV. You could hire and expediter that will take the pain out of the process.

I don't know if this is the same on every island... but I do know that all of the insurance companies on St. John and St. Thomas that I have encountered will not let you cancel your insurance once it is paid for and the card has been issued UNLESS you bring in a canceled registration or copy of the title in someone else name (proof of sale) that vehicle. So I think you can buy and drive away, because the car is still going to have the seller's insurance on it for a minute. But it wouldn't hurt to ask an insurance agent about all of this 🙂

If you are buying an older car, most insurance companies require a mechanic's report for the car, as well as your driver's license and copy of the title to get insurance. Once you have insurance you can get the car registered in your name. And if you are going to be here more than 90 days, you might as well go ahead and get your VI Driver's license. You will need a copy of your driving record from the state your license is currently issued. I think you also need your social security card.

MPH at 5 corners 340-513-7427

i did not get insurance on my car until after it arrived here, after a month. i made sure my insurance was paid up in the states.
That was about 8 years ago-not sure if its the same now.
Also almost all american cars have foreign parts.

Many have no car insurance here.

I second MPH , good people.
Expeditor charges $45 plus the regular fees to transfer car over. For me , totally worth not sittting at DMV for hours.Expeditor is also the notary so everything but insurance is done right there. I use the lady across from frame up. She is available after 4:00. she is very efficient and easy to work with.

for the first time, use an expiditor but after that it is not too long to wait. and getting my drivers license was only about 20-30 minutes

Made a few calls this morning and I think we've decided to sell them both here. The CRV would be a great island car but the cost because its older and not US made, it just outweighs the cost of the bringing it with customs and road tax fees. We are HOPING that we will be able to find at least one $5k car within the first couple weeks and a second as it comes. I think our game plan is get on island - hit up EAT for a couple "lime in the coconut" and start working on the insurance pieces and finding a car..... maybe some snorkeling in there somewhere too 😉 Cant WAIT to get out of the desert!!!!!!!!

MPH at 5 corners 340-513-7427

Thanks!!

I would reconsider selling the CRV.
Bought a 2001 CRV for $5000 on island. Love it. HOWEVER I knew the history and previous owner was a friend who had to leave the island. Once you are here it is easier to find a good car. But moving there without a network of friends you may regret what you get. A good mechanic, MPH is good, can only see so much without tearing the car down.
Both cars that I have bought on island were from friends and they came about when they left island. If I had to find one in a short period I would have not been so lucky.
A friend of mine bought a used Jeep from a dealer. Worst mistake she made. Spent thousands of dollars trying to keep it running and finally sold it at a huge loss!

We bought a car when we moved to STX....didn't ship our own cars. Price was good.

You can’t NOT have insurance. That said, if you’re worried about high costs, I’d suggest shopping around with at least 3 or 4 companies for good rates. You need to find out about the different kinds of discounts these companies offer young drivers. I’d suggest asking an auto insurance company about discounts such as the good student discount, low-mileage discount (since you only plan on driving it to school), defensive driver discount etc. These discounts could help reduce costs to a great extent. Good luck!

I have to get a new car myself. Mine is such a POS I might fix a couple things on it to get it to pass. Needs about 800 worth of parts I think, don't know if it's worth it, but its been a year and it's still going some how. I think if I just get stickers and don't at least fix the windshield after a year I'll get pinched.

Car insurance is dirt cheap here. I was paying two thousand for six months in Jersey. Now, if I was paying it would cost two hundred a year. crazy cheap.

Of course you can't NOT have insurance.

Just like talking on your cell phone while driving and running stop signs is illegal.

Yet people still do those things all the time right?

Car insurance is dirt cheap here. I was paying two thousand for six months in Jersey. Now, if I was paying it would cost two hundred a year. crazy cheap.

Not a direct comparison. The local companies use very low minimum coverage (ex: 25/50/25) while in the states the standard is 100/300/100. Watch for that when shopping for insurance.

I think my initial question got lost... I'm not worried about cost and not talking about not having insurance.

It will likely take a few days (or month) to get insurance and with a 1 month temporary rental in STX I may not even have the necessary documents the first month on island. (Wapa and everything is included and wont be in our name). I was wondering if my stateside insurance is accepted in the interm until I can get VI insurance. My stateside insurance dude says I'm covered for 30 days on my end, but if I get pulled over and only have stateside insurance am I in for a big ticket?

Still debating on bringing the CRV. I've planned for this move for a year now and getting a bit frustrated that some plans are still in the air and out of my control. We're 3 weeks away and so far were landing on STX and may end up moving to STT after all in Feb. Frustrating.

Carefully check into the manufacturing history of your CRV. Although Honda is a foreign manufacturer, amy of the vehicles are built in the states. If this is the case, there is a lower rate of tax than a fully foreign car. As others have said, something in the compact SUV class makes an excellent island car, and commands a premium here..