Moving to STX - Should I buy a car or ship my own?

Did you check the STX Facebook pages for cars? Dozens are listed regularly.

I've had a lot of trouble finding cars for sale that I trust. Most of the ads on craigslist seem to be scams.

How on earth can you "trust a sale" when you're not even here to look at the advertised vehicle? Before you buy a used car anywhere you look it over, drive it and then have a good mechanic check it before handing over a penny. There are plenty of used cars here for sale - and tons of threads here on this forum on the subject.

Thank you OT, exactly what I was thinking. Also, how can you claim most listings on Craigslist are scams unless you are there to check each one of them out. I whole heartedly disagree. I find Craigslist an indispensable tool when searching for all kinds of things as well as selling things and it's FREE. But like anything else, you must do your homework and be cautious with any deal.

But to answer your question, if you have a reliable car that is paid off and worth the fees of shipping, which could run you $1200.00 easily and you want to take a drive to the coast to have it shipped, then I would say bring your own. If not, there are plenty of decent vehicles on Island, but make sure and have a reliable mechanic check it out thoroughly for you. It would be well worth the couple hundred bucks to do so.

mike

i always suggest you bring your car with you as opposed to buying one you know nothing about. as long as you have clear title or can ship it still owing money. it is usually the same or cheaper ( for me anyhow ) to bring your own

mathisJl indicated in another thread there is still a car payment. That changes everything. Need to check with your lender to see if you can ship it....probably not.

If you are only going to be here for 1 year you may also have to consider the cost of shipping your car back home - buying a good car on STX and selling it after 1 year might be much cheaper even with the price differential being less when you sell it.

Plus being only planning on living on STX for only 1 year, I don't think it is financially smart to ship it here. Also still having payments will be a problem.

I think the original plan of letting the sister use it for the year is the responsible choice or store it and when you arrive on island, look for a decent car that will last a year, that won't suck your wallet dry then sell it.

Just my opinion.

I see Exit Zero wrote good advice before me.
As I'm on my phone.

I'm sorry - I didn't mean to step on any toes. I felt like the ads that responded to my inquiry on Craigslist were scams because the responses I've received all appear to be form messages that followed the exact same pattern: (1) I/my child/spouse has a life altering/threatening disease so I'm stuck in a hospital in X city and have to sell my car; (2) I will have to car shipped to you from VI so you can test drive it (for some reason, they all assume that I am out-of-state and can't travel to the car even though I specify that I am moving to VI in a couple weeks in my first message); and (3) don't worry, the title is totes clear. They may very well be legit, but it feels off. So I apologize if I offended anyone. That was not my intent.

Of course I will test drive any car before purchasing it. I am just trying to pick a few to look at when I arrive so I don't waste time.

Thank you all for your input and advice.

If the car price is cheap, it's most likely a scam. Be prepared to pay $1,000.00 more than the equivalent in the states.

Juanita, thank you-in that case you can find a car to buy for a fairish price on island and sell it when you leave.

If your car is new and you're still making payments, you may wish to leave it home. Our roads are "hell on wheels," literally.

Plus, your lender may not allow it out of the US.

I'd also suggest to have a legal contract with your sister regarding her
payments, use and maintenance of the car in your absence as you don't want misunderstandings and to end up in front of Judge Judy!

Always best to have everything in writing.

Good luck to you.

I felt like the ads that responded to my inquiry on Craigslist were scams

My experience over the last few months was exactly the same. Eventually you get really good at picking out the scams. I found Google Reverse Image Search was really helpful for seeing which car pictures were taken/stolen from legitimate ads.

Unless you buy new or want to spend ~$20k, the quality of cars on island is below poor. When you have the natural elements conspriring against you, people tend to care less about the condition of their belongings. I test drove over 12 cars and every single one was in need of an alignment, new tires, body work, etc. It all comes down to expectations. And if you have none you'll do just fine!

My rental car experience extended out 3 weeks which cost me the same as it would have to just ship something here. If I could do it all over, I would bring a car here and then try to sell on-island before I left.

If you do decide to wait until you are on-island and buy something here, check the various Facebook St-Croix buy/sell groups. The quality, variety and prices are better than CR.