Cars, St. Croix

Hello Kate,

Having a car on St. Croix is a great idea. Almost a must depending on where you live and how much going and coming you plan to be doing.

Used cars in the islands sell for a lot more then in the states, and you must keep in mind also that in the islands they take more abuse - salt for the sea, hills.. ect. You can buy a used car on St. Croix from a dealer or from an owner who is trying to sell their car (if you take that route be sure to take the car to a mechanic before purchasing it to make sure its engine and stuff is good and strong) Rental Car companies also each year have a big sale of their cars when they are bringing in new ones - usually can get a good deal in that way, and they usually maintain a waranty for a short time - a year or so. It might be cheaper to buy the used car in Miami and ship it to St. Croix, you would more then likely be able to sell it for more then you paid for it - because as mentioned used cars sell for more. Give you an example a friend has a 88 Mazda Pickup and was offered 3500.... to me that sounds like a high price for a 14 year old pickup, but thats what you could get for it here. In any case yes you would be able to sell it locally if you choose to leave.

Yes leasing cars is an option as well.

Good Look - if you havent ordered a Settlers Handbook answers to questions like these and much more on jobs, roads, government, schools, telephones, transportation are covered there. You can order it from http://www.vitraders.com

--Islander

kate, my husband and i are permanently moving 2 stx in 2 weeks what we have discovered in talking to friends 30/25/ yrs on island for the hassle of shipping $,registration etc. we have decided to sell both our cars and buy a new one on island amazinging enough according 2 a lot of people we have talked on islaND ANd what we have observed there are ALOT OF CAR DEALOrships on island and although thneir prices may initially seem higher than the states they are extremely willing to0 bargain especially if you can offer cash, and if you take into consideration freight course rtc. we decidded 2 sells our 2 cars here and buy a new o0ne there again this is on the advice of people whoi hav e lived ther efor quite a long time MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL THERE IS A NEW CRUCIANS REUNION PLANNED FOR THE LAST FRI IN AUG/29 between 6/630 @ cheeseburgers in paradise PLEASE< PLEASE JOIN usd iwill be the blonde w/ my husband and chihuachua and linda and ric will be there he's described by his wife as a santa claus on xmass vacation sounds like perfect crucians to me please don't hesitate to email us god bless

Linda is correct, spoke to friend who was doing car sales on St. Croix. Said if you can pay for the car rather then needing a lot of financing then you are in a good place to bargain and get a good price.

But keep in mind if you are going to buy a used car - you will pay more for a used car here then what it would go for in the states. But factor in the shipping like Linda said and then you can way whether it works to buy there or ship.

--Islander

Thanks for the info, guys. I have a copy of the Settler's Handbook, and the section about getting your car off the docks does make it sound somewhat hellish!

One more question: in terms of leasing, is it the rental car companies or the regular car dealerships who offer that as an option? Is leasing more expensive than on the US mainland also?

Thanks again,
Kate

Kate, as far as I know, its only a few car dealerships that offer leasing. You might go to the yellow pages online www.viphonebook.com and search for auto sales, cars, dealerships... and call the car dealerships ask about leasing options??? and what they offer. Rental Car agencies from time to time have sales - where they sell their cars in order to buy new ones... you can get good deals on cars at that time - so you could look into that also if you want a used car.

--Islander