Island Car Advice

Toyota Rav4

Ah sorry, I meant 4Runner not Rav4!- just edited it. 

My vote goes for best American car manufacturer TOYOTA. 

Exact model depends on your mission but it seems like SUVs can handle cargo quite well and that comes so handy here. My pick would be 4-Runner if Vin starts with 1, 4 or 5.

Shipping unreliable car to STT doesn’t make sense at all. All the part have to be imported and local mechanics are not capable of the same what mainland dealership can do for your car. 

Getting car on STT from Budget is reasonable but rentals get sold to public mostly in the spring. These cars are 1-2 years old and are under warranty. Expect to spend $20-24K. 

@STTsailor

That's super helpful, thanks. I had never heard of the VIN number thing!

I discovered the Jeep Cherokee has the highest American made content of any vehicle made.  We shipped down our 2019 Cherokee Trailhawk about a year ago.  It’s been great so far and has reasonable off road capability if needed. We will also be shipping down our 2018 JLU Wrangler Rubicon at the end of next month.  There are a lot of Jeep’s on the island so it should be possible to find someone who know how to fix them if something goes wrong.  That said it would be hard to go wrong with a Toyota. 

I don't know if STT is different, but on STX I haven't heard of a dealer that would service a vehicle over 10 model years old. If the vehicle is in good shape, some of the independent shops are willing to talk to you, but whether they'll work on it is often dependent on the condition of the vehicle (rust, salt damage, etc.)

I just thought I'd mention it in case you bring down an older car.

Hopefully someone on STT can clarify whether that's the case there.

@jaldeborgh That's good to know, we have loved our Grand Cherokee. We had a Liberty as our second car and loved that as well. I have always thought it would be fun to have a Wrangler. 

@rewired Ugh such a pain. I know my families favorite mechanic on STT passed away. My mom does take her older Rav4 somewhere, I think near sub base? But I am really trying to do whatever is easiest. Things are inconvenient enough without an old car to deal with! 

Maybe we will look at 4Runners and Wranglers that are a few years old and see what it will cost to purchase in TN or FL and have shipped. 

We are planning to being furniture as well, maybe it can ship together? 

@scout77 make sure your furniture is solid wood and I don't think you can ship your car any longer in the same container, I could be wrong though, check with your shipping company.

@daveb722 Good call, I will double check the dressers and shelves. We were going sell more of our stuff, but with Covid everything is more difficult. 

@scout77

As @daveb722 said, check with your shipping company, but I think the car and home goods can be in the same container, BUT nothing except the keys and a copy of the title are allowed to be in the vehicle (DON'T try to save shipping by loading it up with stuff). 

Depending on where you'll be on the island and whether you would use it, 4 wheel drive is popular and 4WD suspensions are usually much stronger so they last longer (pot holes seem to multiply).

4Runners, RAV4s and Tacomas are all popular as well as Wranglers and trucks. You'll find a pretty good amount of information on shipping cars in this forum.

Best of luck with the move!

Love this forum, I've learned quite a bit from reading comments and suggestion over the past two years while we plan our move. Wife and I are relocating to STX next spring from St Petersburg, FL. We did our PMV last summer and loved it. We are buying a RAV4 to move with. Do I need 4WD or AWD? I drove a small Hyundai there for one week and did not have any difficulty navigating the roads, but we did not go off the main roads. Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks.  

@rewired Thanks! I will check with the shipping company!