Is MoneyBookers a scam?

Wow I wouldn't deal with that. Can't you wait to buy a car when you're here? Lots more available when you can shop in person.

I've never heard of MoneyBookers but that would definitely put me off!

Sounds like Rope-A-Dope to me.

It sounds like an easy way to lose 20% of a car purchase price.

Even if not a scam, I assume it's a used car, and who would buy a used car unseen, and then pay an extra $1500 to get it shipped here?

Wow. No way. I wouldn't have even given them my real email.

dont do it.

I have a question about coming to the island and purchasing a car.

I have been looking on CL and I see a lot of reasonably priced cars. I am very comfortable with buying one this way, are there any other ways to go about buying cars on the Island?

What is the average price of gas right now? Here in Chicago it's a little over $4, so I am used to paying a lot.

I'll be on island soon, and would never buy sight unseen. I was asking which island it was on to know if it was a contender, it was on the VI CL. His price supposedly includes shipping to either STT or STX. It does sound extremely fishy to me as well. Thanks.

I have a question about cars as well. I figured I'd buy one and ship it, thinking it would be a better deal in the states. I ssumed cars would be more expensive to purchase on the island. Is this the case? I know they tend to get beaten up and the islands aren't easy on them so I wasn't bringing anything too nice.

$4.48 - $4.58 and up for regular gas on STT.
If you buy a car in the states to ship here, you must be able to get a release from lender, have lenders paperwork to register if you owe money on it and are making payments. No problem if you have it paid off but you need the title in order to register it when it arrives.
Always take to a mechanic prior to purchasing an island car.
Good to have a not too low to the ground vehicle (to avoid potholes, speed bumps, dips in the road and driveways, etc.) that has good power and traction for climbing our steep hills and winding roads.

4WD doesn't hurt either, depending upon where you live. And the more "gadgets" there are, the more there are to break and sometimes harder to get parts to fix. And may I recommend you don't get a Jeep! Those seem to have the most trouble here on St. Croix and my friends that own them are constantly working on them. $$$

Uh oh. A Jeep Wrangler is exactly what I was looking into buying. An older model though....one that doesn't have anything fancy and already has a few scratches, etc. I was thinking a Jeep because of the 4wd and I figured it would do well with hills, potholes, etc. Have you noticed that certain cars are more popular there? Maybe the people that have been there for a while have figured out what holds up best to the island's...umm..personality 😉

I don't own a Jeep so can't talk from personal experience. We own a Ford 4WD about ten years old. Maybe some other folks here can comment on Jeeps. It is funny that just today we were talking with our mechanic friend and he said he doesn't understand why anyone owns a Jeep here. I have another friend who owns a Jeep pickup about 15 years old and it's been broken down for most of six months. But that's just my observations and talking! Again I have no first hand experience.

Jeeps seem to have lots of electrical problems, if you we're wondering what the trouble was.

JulieKay, thanks for the info! You might have saved me lots of headaches & dollars!

I have an older, high mileage Tundra with 4WD I've been thinking of shipping, still unsure of just selling it off here and buying something there. I haven't seen too much out there in my range with 4WD though, so I may end up shipping the Tundra. Side boards already rusted out, so no big deal, could get a full service here prior to shipping, and I've been the only owner.

CRV FTW.

It took me over a month to find a car on STT. I ended up with exactly what I wanted, a Honda CRV with low miles and not totally beat to crap - from a fellow board member on STJ. Worked out well and I love the car. Its 4WD and $40 lasts me like 2-3 weeks.. I don't drive every day thou.

Some may recall that I was kicking myself for not bringing my CRV from the states but now that I look back on it, it was a break even cost wise and stress wise. Not having a car for a month sucks thats for sure. They KEY is to have a reliable mechanic look at it before purchase - sooo important... unless you wanna throw your money away.

If you have a bunch of money to throw around then buy a CRV style car in the states, ship it down and pay to have someone do all the paperwork for you. I heard its a nightmare. If you want to possibly save a little, and avoid the headaches of transport, buy down here but have it checked out first.

I loved my Honda CRV. IMO, it's the perfect island car, at least for STX. When we moved last year we sold it to another board member who is also very happy with the car.

I have owned lots of Jeeps. I think 8. They are fun to drive around,not very comfortable and if it's anything that is not lockable, you can't keep anything in it. I have had a Honda CRV as well, actually two and they are great. Hondas are great. Having been in the auto business in a previous life, I highly recommend just buying something here but make you you get it checked out. Would not buy one from Craig's List. Too vague and way too many scams there. If you do want to pre buy and ship. Try eBay.
Lots of cars here for sale and there are several rental car companies that sell good cars. Have bought a few there as well. Good luck.
The Tundra will fit right in, and if you find it's not working for you, it's a popular truck, and should be able to sell quickly.

We've always referred to stx as the retirement home for our cars...when we decided to replace one in the states, I would drive it to Tropical in FL and ship it. We keep them forever though, so it worked for us. They do require more maintenance/repair per mile in stx, but that's true of any vehicle there.

We shipped a 2004 Jeep Liberty with us when we moved to STJ in 2005 and it's still going strong with no problems. The 4 door Jeep Wrangler (IMO) is not a great option (for us) on STJ as they have a turning radius of a truck and for some of the roads we need to drive are really tight

Pia

Toyota's seem to have a high resale value here. I have a 1997 Tacoma that looks and runs great after all these years and always have people stopping me and asking me if I want to sell it. A Tundra should do quite well here. Since you already know the condition of the truck
it should serve you quite well here.

Same with our Tacoma Alana33 - always people wanting to buy it - best investment e v e r (as far as a vehicle goes anyway 🙂 )

Pia

Sounds like I might be bringing a Tacoma....or two! Thanks everyone!