Buying new car in US for export to VI

No way around getting title in the states and paying state tax.  The dealers aren't allowed to sell to an individual without titling.  And the ocean transport will not accept a vehicle without title.  Went through the same thing last year.  NC has one of the lowest state taxes so if you can title there that may be your best bet.  You get a 30day tag to drive with out registering.  You don't need to register unless driving after 30days.  It will take a few weeks to receive the title.  For a few hundred you can have it trucked from NC to Jacksonville.  Insurance is still a good idea for the new vehicle while traveling to port.

If you call around some you may be able to find a dealer that will export and has done it before.  The problem with Toyota specifically is that there is a dealer on STT and technically they would have to get permission from them to do it.  I have been through this with Ford but have also been granted special permission to do it because of how poorly the local Ford dealership has treated us.  If you can find a used car that suits your needs that tends to make it a little easier for the dealers on export.  They will usually require you to send them a copy of the VI title just so they have it for their audit records on why you weren’t charged tax.  

NC has 3% tax on cars. Extra 1000 for state tax is a good deal. Shipping to JAX is no problem. Who is the shipper out of JAX? Is it Blue Ocean? Is there anybody else who does freight?

My problem is I need a car ASAP. Who is the best person (dealer) to turn to here on STT and is there a way to bypass sales people and deal with manager direct?

@STTsailor

Is there one for sale by owner in south Florida that you like? They should have the title in hand and it shouldn't cost much to get it driven to the port in Miami.

Just a thought.

Visited local Toyota shop and it made a better sense to buy locally a new car as opposed to getting used from mainland. 

one word of caution that locals do not disclose Toyota to dealer incentives so I could and should have done $700 better. I found out about it after transactions was completed that my great negotiation skills were essentially factory to dealer incentives. 

I have always dealt with three major German brands as far as buying new and all transactions were done with full and advanced disclosure of my discounts. Ethics here have totally different face. Anyway, I’m venting here but it’s not really about the money but some degree of disappointment. Hopefully this is my last car on the rock. 

When I was stationed in Texas, seems I remember TX did not require sales tax on my newly purchased car because I was leaving the state within 90 days (and going to a state with no sales tax). I could be wrong but thats my recollection from some years ago. Hope this helps!

Posted by: @STTsailor

my other thought is to buy in NC and register to my daughter and once titled have the car title signed off to me and I will fly and drive the car to Miami and drop it on the barge for STT.

There are states that don’t have any sales tax, NH for example.  If you know someone there maybe you can do the same thing you’re suggesting.  Unfortunately now is a horrible time to be buying a car as prices for new and used are inflated because of the semiconductor shortage and supply chain issues.  If you can wait a year or two you’re likely to save a lot of money.

Thanks for all the great info. I bought a new car here and it was a break even proposition comparing to the mainland. 
And it is nice to have a car right here right now as opposed to enduring customs, excise taxes, import taxes and BMV. My quality of life is through the roof now. Until the warranty runs out. Onething I noticed that a lot of other people seem to try to hit me while on the road. In the last 3 weeks I had to pull off the road at least 4 times as some yahoo was charging downhill in the middle of the road. This never happened to me before. 

@STTsailor Just curious how it was break even? Just wondering as I just went to the Toyota dealer here and they have an almost base model Tacoma for 48k and is a 2021.  Approx. 5k is their market adjustment, but the price of the vehicle is about 5-7k higher than in the states on top of that.  I found numerous 2022's available back home with the better trim package for 38-39k.   Honestly can't see how they are marking it up so much.  I've contacted the dealer to see if they are willing to sell it without registering it.  In NY the vehicles are received with a NY title if my memory serves me right, so I can get a better vehicle for about $7500 less.  It would be easier to buy here, but I can't see paying that much more.

Likely that quote from the local Toyota includes road tax and registration feeds and handling.  So about $1250 there.  If you were sending a vehicle from NY Toto FL for ocean freight that wasn’t registered that would be $1000 or so.   Then ocean freight another $2300 (all rough numbers) and it would take weeks.  There are also rules about exporting when there is already an authorized dealer on island and finding dealers in the states that know how and are willing to do export can be a little tricky.  So I could see how buying local would be a wash.  We buy our Toyota’s locally and import our commercial vehicles. 

@stjohnjulie Honestly I wouldn't have a problem with the market price mark up, but it also seems that they have inflated the sticker price as well.  Like I said the Tacoma I looked at here on island was a 2021, base model, and with the market adjustment was 10k more than the upgraded model I was looking at, so it's probably 13k more than a base model in NY.  I would pay for the convenience, but I'm not paying for a 5-6k mark up on top of it.

Tacoma is a very popular truck in VI. Less so on mainland. At least there is more competition on mainland as far as small truck. The other factor is sales tax in NY. I doubt NY will let you buy a new truck without paying a sales tax. If you have to pay a sales tax on the mainland NC is a better place to buy. In any case buying a new car from the dealer for cash without face to face contact makes them very suspicious. Factor in travel costs too. 

@daveb722 

in my case it boiled down to buying 2 years old/20k miles RAV for 30K on mainland and paying for transport, import, travel or buying new here for 33K titled and registered. I am glad I went with the new car here. Mainland MSRP on the car I bought was $27K. 

I understand what you are saying, but because there is already an authorized dealer here in the USVI any authorized dealer in the US would have to get permission from them to export you a truck here.  The only way around that is to buy and title it in the state you bought it from.  So that would include all the taxes and fees and all that good stuff.  So that could add up.  Then the time to get it here.  Tacomas are very popular here and the resale on a truck of any kind here is solid.  At the end of the day, if you buy here, you are going to pay a little more but you will save yourself a world of headache and time.  If you do decide to export a new Toyota here, you want to be positive that the warranty is honored here too if you want warranty work.  We have an exception with Ford for our new exports but our warranty work is not honored at the local Ford.  

Toyota warranty in the VI is no problem.  I had checked with Toyota before I bought my new Tacoma in NC and shipped it to STX in 2020.  After some back and forth Island Toyota even honored the first service for free covered by Toyota.  Got a great price break on MSRP (at the start of COVID) but no way around paying NC tax and getting NC title according to dealer.  Shipping was no big deal.

Warranty should never be an issue if you have it titled and registered in the states first.  It only becomes an issue when you do a dealer export when there is an authorized dealer here.  

I may change my philosophy and look for a 2021 or 2022 dealer demo unit, so it would be considered used, but have the warranty still.  I'm in no rush.  Used Tacoma's are just as expensive as new, but I think there may be a little more wiggle room.

As for registering it in NY, the 8.75% tax would eat up any savings I could achieve.  

I will speak with the dealer here and see if I can order one and determine what their best price is prior to any decision, even if I have to order it and wait as they only had 3-4 on the lot when I was there, I'm in no rush.