car shipping

I got a quote from Crowley shipping a honda accord out of NJ for about $1700 a month ago. The problem was that we have household goods to and needed a full service moving company.
We decided to just ship everything in a 20 foot container with International Sea and Air (in New Jersey) including our household goods and the car - since they offer full service. They are actually using Crowley for the steamship service though.
I'm sitting here waiting for them to pick up my stuff right now, so I will let you know how it goes!
On a side note, I got a quote from Managed Freight for the car alone as well, it was about $1900.
PS- dont' forget to budget for the road tax that you will have to pay to pick your car up...
Happy moving =)

Tropical Shipping is $1450 for a small car............then you have road tax to pay.
Also you'll need to purchase insurance, stateside coverage is null & void here.

i am shipping a honda suv in october and my quote is approximately $2500 with managed freight - this includes the $500 road tax, customs duty/inspection but does not include tags, registration etc. they will do that for you for a fee or you can do it yourself. i am also driving to jacksonville to save quite a bit but they will of course come and pick up from anywhere if you want to pay for it. i believe they also have a port in nj but it will take a little bit longer to get there.
i hung out at the beach with the girl who handled all this for me and she if very nice and very helpful. i can give her your email address if you want me to pass it along (send in a pm).
good luck!

Thanks trueblue I sent you a pm. Have you been able to get managed freight on the phone? They never answer the phone but i have gotten email responses from them. They gave me a quote of $1368 with logistics fee of $170 for a total of $1538. I never received a quote with the total for taxes and everything, probably about the same as you are paying. Tropical said theres a 3 day holding for inspections and then if theres room it will be on the next cargo out and if not it will be the following week. Do any of them guarantee that it will go out on the week you leave it?

i actually never tried to call since i was able to talk in person and via email. sent you a pm and sent your email to jenny.
i have no idea about it going out that week. i would imagine you are at their mercy as with most things i find moving here - just keep your fingers crossed and enjoy the weather while you are waiting - got to start getting in the mind set of "island time" right?

Get a price quote from these folks---its a clearing house and a friend of mine got some amazing quotes:

http://www.automobileshippingquotes.com/

I believe they used : http://www.magiccarpetautotransport.com/auto-transport/us-virgin-islands-auto-transport.php

A friend of mine used Managed Freight and got his SUV down here for 1800 and i believe with them taking care of tags, registration etc it was only 2200... im in the process of looking into shipping my vehicle down as well. Let me know if you find something cheaper and I will do the same.

Does anyone know the cheapest place to ship from? Next year we plan to drive the car to the shipper and fly from there.

i am shipping with managed freight. it was cheaper for me to drive to jacksonville, fl b/c it was a little bit closer than the other port they use in new jersey. also the vehicle will get there sooner than if i took it to nj.
if you need a contact from managed freight send me a pm with your email address and i will pass on the info.
good luck!

don't they ship from miami too and wouldn't that be cheaper?

Tropical Shipping is out of Riviera Beach, FL for Vehicles....LTL is in Medley, FL. (Miami).

Tippi

how can one tell if there car is american made? someone told me that if your vin number starts with a 1 then it is?? I have a pontaic G6 convertable any help??

G6 Pontiacs are built in Lake Orion, Michigan.

if its made by the big 3 ............ GM Ford & Chrysler, then its American made.

Not necessarily correct. Certain Big 3 vehicles are assembled in Canada and elsewhere. Just as Toyota makes some of their vehicles in the US.

Jim

True, but I think.......which could be both dangerous & wrong, shipping here American made will consist of the Big 3 & import taxed accordingly.

Toyota Camrys are made in Georgetown KY -- totally American made.

If your car is made in Mexico or Canada you will get hit with the 6% tax.

This is what I've found & I stand corrected on Big 3..............read & note bolded

Shipping your Car

Shipping barges for cargo will transport cars from ports generally on the east coast of the US mainland to St. Thomas and St. Croix. Contact shipping companies for more information and quotes.

Registering your Car in the Virgin Islands

Your mainland license plates will not work here. Your car must be registered in the US Virgin Islands. Motorcycles go through the same registration and tax processes as cars.

Note: Offices are in different areas; not all in the same building so allow several hours to a day and patience to get it all completed.

Personal Use Tax: You will be responsible for Personal Use Tax on the vehicle. This tax is equivalent to the Value of the Car minus $1000 times 4%. The value of the car is determined by the Blue Book Value if the car is older or the purchase price for new cars. Certified check or money order are accepted for paying this tax which is collected at the Excise Tax office.

Customs: You have to clear your car through Customs at an office close to the shipping dock usually. If your car is totally made in the US, it may enter duty free. You will pay 3.5% of the Book Value or the Bill of Sale which ever is greater on cars made outside the U.S. or cars that contain foreign made parts. The U.S. customs office will accept personal checks, cash, certified checks and money order.

Road Tax:

1. You must get a Bill of Lading from the shipping agent when the car arrives in the USVI.

2. Take the Bill of Landing to the Internal Revenue Office, and pay the 16 cents per pound road tax. This fee is accessed when you bring a car into the territory. You can use cash, certified check or money order to pay this tax.

Insurance:

3. Insurance is required in the US Virgin Islands. You must get your vehicle insured before requesting a moving permit.

Moving Permit:

DMV St. Thomas 20044. Go to the Department of Motored Vehicles (DMV) to get a permit to move your vehicle from the dock. Moving permits are $5. The permit allows you to move a non-registered vehicle from one point to another and only between those two points. Usually the dock to the DMV. St. John residents would need to secure a moving permit to move their vehicle from the dock on St. Thomas to the car barge in Red Hook and then to the DMV on St. John to complete the inspection and registration process.

Inspection:

5. Take your vehicle to DMV to get your vehicle inspected. Bring with you, receipt that you paid the road tax, title or notarized letter indicating why you don't have the title, proof of insurance and driver's license. You do not need a Virgin Islands driver's license, you can use your stateside driver's license. A new resident has a 90 day grace period to get their Virgin Islands driver's license. You may be asked to show your moving permit. There is a $10 inspection fee.

Inspection Process: The driver stays seated in the drivers seat unless asked to get out to open the trunk and show the spare tire. They will check windshield wipers, horn, lights, spare tire, turn signals, brake lights, breaks, tires, exhaust and muffler, mirrors, general condition of the car... If you don’t pass inspection, the inspector will tell you why and give you a form showing what part you failed. You have to fix the problem and come back for inspection with the paper they gave you. If you fail inspection on a car that just entered the territory you will have to get a moving permit to get it to a garage to repair it and then another to bring it back to the DMV to complete inspection and registration.

Registration/New Plates:

6. Necessary paperwork for first time registrants are inspection form, receipt that you paid the road tax, title or notarized letter indicating why you don't have the title, proof of insurance and driver's license. You may be asked to show your moving permit. The cost of registration is based on the weight of the car. It can vary from $34 to $91 approximately. At the end of registration you will be given VI plates, a registration sticker for your windshield and a registration form. Plates and windshield sticker must be visible at all times.

Note: Inspection and updating registration must be done annually. Annual inspection is required, you must present driver's license, proof of insurance and registration during annual inspection.

Islandtyme,
The info you posted is from elsewhere on this website. And it is outdated and vague to boot. Not your fault but the fault of whoever owns this website.
The Personal Use Tax (4%) was ruled unconstitutional in Sept 2007.
And the " 3.5% of the Book Value or the Bill of Sale which ever is greater on cars made outside the U.S. or cars that contain foreign made parts. can't be correct either.
As there are foreign made parts in virtually every car made in the U.S.

So me thnks it goes back to the Big 3 thing then????
Out dated information ............. HA! Not on this sight, nor any other..........I tried & now respectfully bow outta this one!

anyone ship a car recently and can verify that the personal tax is no longer????

Hi,
We shipped a Ford Explorer in June from NJ via Crowley, it was $1400 to ship. They no longer charged the personal use tax. Once the vehicle arrived (a week late) I had to pick up the paperwork 1st, then I paid for the car insurance (they needed proof it was on island), then paid my road tax, stopped by DMV to get a temporary moving permit, went back and cleared customs and picked up the vehicle and went back to DMV for inspection & registration. Overall it took me a 1/2 day and everyone was very helpful.