Cars for Sale

Anything you see on Craigslist with price that seems low is probably a scam, especially used cars. Pictures are lifted from stateside dealer sites or classified ads, if they have pictures. Leafless oak or birch trees in the background, snow on the ground, things like that are quite common.

Look for cars that have the USVI license plates -- I see the majority of the car deals on Craigslist are not local ads and the cars are not on island.

Don't go by Craigslist if you do, you will get ripped off. I would check out the vehicle first to make sure it exists and titled, then I would have a mechanic check it out thoroughly even if it cost you a couple hundred dollars. Better to know ahead of time before getting stuck with a piece of crap, which the Islands are full of.

mike

used cars here are exorbitantly expensive... I've seen stuff go for 6,000 that I wouldn't normally pay 1,500 for elsewhere; but it's hard to get them here so I suppose that accounts for it.

I do my car shopping in FL 😉

The most a mechanic will charge you here to check out a vehicle you're interested in is $100 and that's a wise investment whenever you buy any used car anywhere without a warranty - not just here but stateside too. As others have pointed out there are really easy dead giveaways on many of those craigslist scam ads. If you don't spot them right away then you'd have to be really daft if the response to your enquiry doesn't send up a string of red flags. Unless, of course, you're one who believes that buying a vehicle sight unseen is something anyone would do, "'cause the guy sounds SO nice"! 😀

used cars here are exorbitantly expensive... I've seen stuff go for 6,000 that I wouldn't normally pay 1,500 for elsewhere; but it's hard to get them here so I suppose that accounts for it.

I do my car shopping in FL 😉

DUUUDE did you see that truck on STX buy/sell that literally looked like it was crushed in a junk yard for $3+K and that 89 corvette that was 80% rust and that the rats ate the inside out for $4k! OMG I was dying!

Seriously used cars here are insanely priced and usually totally full of problems.
Do yourself a favor and ship a car to STX and a SUV for STT.

used cars here are exorbitantly expensive... I've seen stuff go for 6,000 that I wouldn't normally pay 1,500 for elsewhere; but it's hard to get them here so I suppose that accounts for it.

I do my car shopping in FL 😉

hahahaha, I agree. But with the cost of shipping a vehicle at close to $2000.00 by the time you add the freight cost and insurance charges, it makes it more understandable why vehicles on the Islands can bring the prices they do. I just checked with Blue Ocean Transport, who wanted like $1650 to ship my Honda CRV to St. Thomas and that didn't include shipping insurance.

mike

with the cost of shipping a vehicle at close to $2000.00 by the time you add the freight cost and insurance charges, it makes it more understandable why vehicles on the Islands can bring the prices they do. I just checked with Blue Ocean Transport, who wanted like $1650 to ship my Honda CRV to St. Thomas and that didn't include shipping insurance.

mike

I'm shipping a truck and trailer down here... it's going to run me 6,500 in JUST shipping for the two to STX from FL.

But you know what? I'll pay that in a heartbeat, I had the truck fully checked over by a mechanic and several parts are being installed before it ships.. it's exactly what I want, no suprises...

I've had two island cars, one was backyardmechanic'd to run for about a month longer than it took to sell it & the other has been gracing my yard; I think it considers itself some sort of scarecrow now because it won't run anymore; or possibly mosquito breeding area, it's always FILLED with them due to a window that's stuck down....

as always, YMMV...

I agree, if you get what you want then the cost isn't that important especially when you live on an island.

mike

Hello all,

Just thought I may share with you some resources should you be interested in buying a vehicle from the Mainland to ship to the USVI.

http://www.carfax.com/ - check car history

http://www.aimmobileinspections.com/ - mechanic services that can check the vehicle on site

http://www.kbb.com/ - check vehicles market value

www.cargurus.com - check cars for sale in U.S. mainland

For transportation from the U.S., we can offer you pickup and shipping services from any State on the U.S. Mainland to the USVI. We can also refer you to local brokers on the island that can do the clearance for a you.

Please feel free to email us or call us for your quotation and service information.

Sincerely,

Blue Ocean Transport

Tel: 1-888-428-2735 Tel
Email: sales@ShipBlueOcean.com
Website: www.ShipBlueOcean.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/shipblueocean

Wish we could all afford to pa $6500 just for shipping.. Lucky you

I've had lots of advice for all kinds of different options, buying new or used. I've just ordered a new Ford over at Metro Motors. Got an SE trim level (least expensive model with least amount of electronics).
-In NY I would have paid an 8.87% sales tax.
-Here I pay Gross receipt tax, Customs fees and a Highway Maintenance fee on new cars.
Both places have destination and shipping + registration and tags fees.

In the end I end up paying about $1000 more here. Well worth it i think, considering the added distance to ship (land & sea).
I'm now covered with a new vehicle warrantee and best of all, there is no history of abuse or poor maintenance.
Considering the high prices of a decent used vehicle on island, personally, I think this was the best option.

Wish we could all afford to pa $6500 just for shipping.. Lucky you

Start a business, those numbers become less intimidating after.

on average we pay ~3,500-5,500 a month to feed our rescue animals (mostly horses, number varies wildly depending on the weather), in light of that 6,500 shipping isn't terrible (especially when we can stuff what we are shipping full of horse feed & save money on future shipping)... it's a simply complex business transaction that I tried to distill into a few words which may have made it seem less than it is.

used cars here are exorbitantly expensive... I've seen stuff go for 6,000 that I wouldn't normally pay 1,500 for elsewhere; but it's hard to get them here so I suppose that accounts for it.

I do my car shopping in FL 😉

hahahaha, I agree. But with the cost of shipping a vehicle at close to $2000.00 by the time you add the freight cost and insurance charges, it makes it more understandable why vehicles on the Islands can bring the prices they do. I just checked with Blue Ocean Transport, who wanted like $1650 to ship my Honda CRV to St. Thomas and that didn't include shipping insurance.

mike

$1600 seems pretty high. It was like just over $1K when I looked.. from FL for a 2000 CRV. I had to get to FL from AZ and logistics were just to much for me at the time, I regret that. I feel unless you buy new that you'll be putting this amount of money into any island car you buy in its first year. I know I have. Even my Jeep which hasn't given me one problem in the year I've owned it recently had the AC go out which requires the entire dash to be pulled off and at will be about $1500 in repair and labor.

I lost count on money I put into my 97 CRV I bought here - great little car but all F-ed up suspension wise.

The only "wish I would have" from moving here is wish I would have brought a car.