cars on the island

If a jeep will work for your family. They are very practical on STX. There not to big like must SUVs. You need 4wheel drive if you want to go anywhere any time. The roads are narrow so wide SVUs can be a pain when you meet another one. I rented one, one time. For now I beat the crap out of there small cars. There is also mechanics for Jeeps. The upgrades that would normal be just for show might just do something on STX. Still not sure what island you were talking about. What we want to get, we will see, is Toyota Tacoma and Rave4. I love Jeeps have a 1970 CJ5 not going to bring it, just gave it to my dad.

As usual, it depends on lots of factors. If you don't already own a car you are very attached to, don't buy one, planning to ship it. If you want to ship a car, do a search on this board before you decide.

You can find an island car, be it Jeep or a little Hyundai, which will get you around, for a reasonable price, if just basic transportation is your thing. Pretty much any car is good enough to get you through the rainforest. A few off-roads might make you wish you had 4WD, but not an everyday issue.

The roads on STX are better than STT. If you are on STT, then 6 cyl. comes in handy much of the time, but still not necessary. You can go all the way up to Mountain Top in an "island beater", just easier in a Jeep!

Happy trails.

That might depend where you live, scenic drive can be rough. If it is raining hard forget about your beater. There are still big pot holes all over the island where if you want your vehicle to last, 4wd suspension would be nice. If there is a budget then get what ever to get to work.

Before we moved to STX from STT, we rented a little 4-door "something" . The lady at the Carambola gate advised us not to try the scenic route. We got lost and before you know it, we were spack dab in the middle of it. Not a pleasant trip in the little rental, but we made it. I don't advise it!

Just meant in my previous post, if you live here, and you are needing basic, (get to work and grocery, etc.) transportation, it's not worth all the expense of buying and shipping a jeep. After being here a while and deciding to stay, then you can look for something here. (Maybe a resale from someone who did ship and is now leaving.)

It used to be that shipping a car was a good way to transport your personal belongings, so it was a good deal. Now, you cannot pack your car full or housewares, etc., (Homeland Security issue), so it has lost it's added value.

Regarding fuel efficiency, we drive slower, so you don't get "highway mileage". As far as I know, you are still comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges. If a Jeep gets less mileage than a Honda in your hometown, then a Jeep will get less mileage than a Honda here.

By the way, Honda's are really hot here. If you want to ship a car, think about shipping something that is popular here, so, if you leave, you have a great resale value. Toyota pick up truck!!!!

Gas on STX has jumped up about .80 a gallon in the three months I have been here. We are at about $2.85 (ish) per gallon.

I agree with all of that Juanita. Especially the Toyota truck. It sounded like he was going to buy something to bring down. I did not know Honda's were so valuable there. What I saw at the dealers there, shipping does not look bad for new car. Maybe I just want a 4wd, I've always had one.