Buying/selling a vehilcle on St. John

I sent you a PM with a contact name and number.

Insurance cost depends on the year of the vehicle and covers the car - you'll take out insurance for a second driver. The insurance company will also require a certified licensed mechanic to inspect the vehicle and fill out a questionnaire attesting to its condition. You'll also need t have the car registered in your name.

When you leave you could try and find someone who'll sign a Power of Attorney allowing them to sell the vehicle for you.

Frankly, if you're only staying for two months I don't think it's worth it. Find a place to live (if you haven't already done so) either in Cruz Bay or as close to a main road as possible. Hitchhiking is doable and you can take taxis when necessary. If you want to explore, rent a vehicle for a day here and there - April/May is the start of slow season so that may well be an option even though it's extremely difficult to find anything less than a week's rental during high season.

There's not a big market on STJ for vehicles and you could be sitting on the white elephant for months after your return home ...

I agree that buying and then selling a car within a two month time frame would be more trouble than it's worth. Do you have a place to stay yet? If it's close enough to town you wouldn't need a car. And hitchhiking on St. John is very common. It might take longer to get to where you want to go, but it can be done, and you can meet lots of people in the process which will be great for networking. And even though mid April is considered off season, we tend to see a surge in visitors because the rates on villas drop significantly. We really keep going strong until right after our Carnival, July 4th.

I'm going to be on St. John the months of April and May. Have been researching rental SUV's but the prices are crazy expensive. So now it's feeling like it makes more sense to buy something and then resell it. Which leads me to several questions:

I understand that insurance is relatively inexpensive. Wondering if my boyfriend and I would each need an insurance policy or if one works. We both have current auto insurance stateside.

2. Are there any other fees associated with buying a vehicle besides insurance?

3. If we end up having difficulty reselling it before we leave would it be possible to have someone there sell it for us?

Road tax. It's 16 cents per pound calculated by the GVW.

Thank you! We do have a place and a car will be needed.

We are still looking into rental options and hopeful something may work out but it seems silly to waste a the money if you can deal with a little work and end up breaking even with the car...at least I'm thinking we could break even.

So, if we bought a car, do you then go to the insurance office then get it registered all in the same day? I think I read somewhere that the seller needed to be with you when you registered it...is that true?

Road tax. It's 16 cents per pound calculated by the GVW.

I believe that's only applicable if you're importing a car into the USVI. I've never paid a separate road tax to re-register a vehicle.

So, if we bought a car, do you then go to the insurance office then get it registered all in the same day? I think I read somewhere that the seller needed to be with you when you registered it...is that true?

No, it doesn't have to be on the same day. And it's an easier process if the owner is with you when you register the vehicle.

3. If we end up having difficulty reselling it before we leave would it be possible to have someone there sell it for us?

Since no one has addressed this question yet: Yes, it is possible. But you don't want to have to do it.

You would have to assign power of attorney to the person you want to sell the vehicle for you. This document is pretty easy to draw up and notarize. The trickier part is finding a trustworthy person to act on your behalf.

Best case, you decide to make the move and already have a vehicle waiting for you (you will need to find a place to store it while you are off island, which may or may not be free). Worst case, you will be stuck with a vehicle you don't want to own and no one to help you sell it when you need to leave -- in which case your choices are to sell it at a big loss so it goes quickly or to abandon it. Those are the pros and the cons.

3. If we end up having difficulty reselling it before we leave would it be possible to have someone there sell it for us?

Since no one has addressed this question yet:

Addressed in post #3.

What kind of budget will you be working with?

On St. John, you can get the car insured at St. John Insurance (they seem really good) or PGU (who I have insurance with). PGU sends a worker from STT to man their office, so it's always good to give them a call and see what time they will be in the office before you make arrangements to meet the seller. St. John insurance has a notary on site which helps speed things along. For older cars, with liability only, it will be around $200 for a years worth of insurance. Getting the car registered will be about another $80. At the BMV, before you register the car, they will check for tickets on the car. Make sure the seller is the one who gets this done. They should be responsible for clearing the tickets off the title. I think they charge around $5 for checking for tickets. The last time I bought a car and had the seller with me, I think start to finish it took about 3 hours to get it done. And on a side note, the insurance companies will not refund any of your policy fee until you bring them a copy of the registration in someone else's name…. so you will have to not only sell the car, but also get a copy of the new owner's registration for your insurance company so they can refund you some of your insurance fee. Sorry this isn't a very organized post! But I hope it helps some 🙂

Considering the amount of money you will spend for a "beater" car and then repairs if it requires them, you'd be better off renting, IMO.
If something happens with the car, they replace it and no worries about insurance, registration/transfering registration cost of registration, repairs, trying to sell or having to depend on someone you don't know very well to do so for you.
Sometimes it's just not worth the effort to do it on the cheap.

Thanks to all who have offered assistance...very much so appreciated. No decisions have been made yet but I'll let you know how I make out!

WOULDNT IT BE CHEAPER JUST TO RENT A CAR FROM A CAR RENTAL AGENCY. sorry about the caps

Contact Budget on STT. I know they do monthly short term leases. This would be your best option is to lease from a rental company.

stjohnjulie...thank you for the post. We were thinking if we spent like 3,000 on a SUV got insurance/registration and then were able to turn around and sell it we wouldn't be out much in the end...but the thought of getting stuck with it is what has us hesitating.