Jeep shop

I would venture to guess the niche market is very tied up. I can only speak for St Thomas with any modicum of authority but there are hundreds of Jeeps on the roads here both very old workhorses and newer models, and nobody of the many I know who own them has any problem finding someone to work on them from the dealer shops to the backyard mechanics.

Thanks for the info. Maybe my husband could find work with one of the shops there? Any suggestions? We have some income but will need to work.

Requirements for being a Jeep mechanic on STX:

1. A tree with a lot of shade.

2. A house. Preferably down by the place that burned down 5 years ago.

2. A telephone number.

Who knows what will happen "in the next 3 years"!

I don't know whether or not you've read all the information here on the drop-down menus top of the forum page but they're an invaluable source of information. If you haven't been to the islands before then a PMV (pre move visit) should be on your agenda before you decide to make a final decision and especially so given your particular circumstances with a special needs child.

Moving interstate is difficult enough when you don't have contacts in the new place and have to fumble your way around the differences - multiply those hugely when thinking of moving to a US territory.

Good luck!

Good advice We have visited a few times and are considering doing a 1 month stay next fall or spring and then a longer one the next year. We are doing lots of research for obvious reasons. We live in a very snowy place (when I say snowy I mean it's snowing today May 19!) and have known we wanted to move somewhere warm for many years. We'll keep doing research and welcome other ideas, thoughts.

Requirements for being a Jeep mechanic on STX:

1. A tree with a lot of shade.

2. A house. Preferably down by the place that burned down 5 years ago.

2. A telephone number.

This is 100% accurate.

I was just talking about this with a friend of mine yesterday.

Getting parts is the hardest thing. Nobody gives up parts, so forget about used parts, unless you can spend a little to start parting out some jeeps you can horde.

There is a huge market for this though. There are a couple of us who have begun hording jeeps and fixing/selling them.

If I had the scratch and time, I would buy a couple acres and just start buying every junker on island and have my own junkyard.

Huge market for reputable mechanic here, but on your own, not in someone elses shop. Just be prepared to be beaten to death over the price and have conversations like "you changed my brakes two weeks ago and now my AC doesn't work as well". I kid you not.

there are a lot of Jeeps ( and suv's that are not jeeps ) on stx. we have a company here that does jeep tours but i believe they do their own work on their jeeps.

Anyone can be successful in the VI with a well considered business plan. There are so many opportunities here and a specialty Jeep or off-road shop could be very successful. Don't be afraid.

Thanks for the info. Maybe my husband could find work with one of the shops there? Any suggestions? We have some income but will need to work.

Yes. Stay as far away from Caribbean Auto Mart as possible.

How feasible/expensive would it be to ship junkers over for parts?

How feasible/expensive would it be to ship junkers over for parts?

With the ongoing problems we have with junkers being dumped in the bush I can only begin to imagine the hue and cry over such a proposal. I can't imagine it ever being allowed.

do not bring junkers for parts- we can order from rock auto

We have hundreds of tons of junkers, literally.
That's one thing that's in great supply.

You may not be able to ship a non running vehicle. Not to mention it will cost as much as a running one. So how many parts would you have to harvest from a junk to justify the shipping cost?

there are several junk yards on stx

Wow, lots of great info here. We run a Jeep/accessory/snowplow shop in the mountains of Colorado. We wondered if a specialty shop would be feasible there with the difficulty of getting parts, would love to drop the "snowplow" sales from what we do:) We've been dreaming of making a change like this for years. Just looking for the right time and opportunity.

With your experience you could easily start a Jeep-Centric shop here - I am sure your established connections will serve you well on shipping any needed parts unavailable here but it will be the service aspect that will distinguish your store and honest, good, reliable service will guarantee a successful future in the Islands.

Advance Auto Parts will price match or beat Rock Auto. Pick up or delivered.

But Rock Auto uses USPS and ships right to my door.

And even cheaper with E-bay. Just bought parts with free USPS shipping on e-bay for $69.99. Rock Auto for identical part is $98.23

But Rock Auto uses USPS and ships right to my door.

I bought a pair of complete lower control arms for my car from Advance. I found the part number on Rock Auto and called the Advance customer service number and gave them the price. Not only did they match it they beat it at 60% off. I'll drive anywhere for those savings. If they don't have it in the store they'll ship it directly to you.