Road Tax Sucker

We shipped our cars through Tropical Shipping at a time when you could fill your car, or in our case van, up to the windows. We loaded the van with our TV, several boxes of household goods, pictures, etc. We locked our computer printer into the trunk of the small car. It all made it down exactly as we left it -- right down to the bag of trash we forgot to take to the dumpster.

Tropical was great to work with. We drove the cars down to Florida, dropped them off on Monday, they left FL on Thursday and we picked them up in STX the following Monday. Do remember -- less than 1/4 tank of gas.

Hi Jen
Which shipping company did you use? Sorry to hear of your bad luck but glad to hear it was all worth it!

Hi Jen,

Very helpful post but you forgot to mention here that your car went through Puerto Rico, which is notorious for having these problems with cars.

When we shipped our cars in February, they went non-stop from FLL to STT and everything arrived safe and sound.

Best :)!
Mell

Hey Jen -

Thanks for the post!

Curious what kind of car you have?

You may be looking at the wrong information on the door sticker as they have info on Gross Vehicle Weight, Net Weight, etc. My husband wants to know because 1750 is really light for a car.

It's possible they didn't cheat you, which might make you feel better about the shipping company you used.

JH

Hey everyone,

I used SeaStar. Sorry forgot to mention my car went through Puerto Rico. Thanks, mell! I WAS told my things would get stolen, so I took out obvious stuff like faceplates, radar detector, etc. It was advised to use Crowley or Tropical because of this factor, but it was not doable as I would have had to leave my car a week prior to shipping plus it was more expensive.

I also want to note that my roommate used SeaStar and had no problems at all.

JH- I have a 1998 Honda Civic.

JeN,
I checked on line and found that the 1998 Civic 's weight is listed at 2342 lbs. for a stripped manual trans. up to 2551 for the loaded EX auto trans. These wts. are usually "dry wts.", no fluids in the car. You may have been charged for the actual weight of your car.

It should noted that several years ago all vehicles that were moved into the state of Florida, during the late 1980's were imposed with a "road tax". It was several hundred dollars a vehicle. Same as the Virgin Islands. It was later rulled unconstitutional and that the state had to refund all the collected dollars plus interest!
Reason is that if an area or location of the country imposed such a "road tax", they would no longer be elibible for USDOT funds for highway repair and other cash supplied from the US Governement.
Maybe somebody should look into the VI's "road tax" because it should fall under the same DOT reasoning. Of course the VI goverment would never be able to return the monies, they went into the black hole called the general fund!

No, because I was charged before they even got my car. The paperwork was generated prior to shipping and having my vehicle on the lot. I have a DX so it's not fully loaded. Just wanted to note it to everyone to take a look at the paperwork and make sure you are clear when you speak with the shipping company. Don't let them tell you they "have the weight in the computer" because it wasn't correct.

grrrrr! good to know!
I also heard if your vin # started with a 1, you wouldn't be charged and mine does although it is a Honda and technically foreign made.

Some Hondas are made in the US.

So maybe I shouldn't have been charged at all?!

I sure could use that extra $414.24!

Anyone volunteering to help me get this money back? I'll give you a cut!

The road tax is a different tax. If your car wouldn't have had a 1 in the first number of the serial number, then they would have charged yoy an import tax on top of the other taxes.

Your title contains the correct weight. That is the document that should be used. Unless the car is weighed officially somewhere. I don't know why they didn't use that.

RL

You mean the excise tax? Because that was a separate charge of $361.20.

They didn't have the title. It's with the bank, they just told me to get a letter from my lienholder stating it was OK to ship the car.

Jen
If you had a homeowners or tenants policy in force when the things were stolen they would be covered, less the deductible. It is a good idea to keep a policy in force until it is replaced to handle situations like this.Just call your agent and place a claim.

I appreciate the advice.

I heeded it and removed the items of value, like I said only trivial things I hadn't thought of like extra lightbulbs, ear phones, etc were taken and a tool box I forgot was in my trunk. They only stole two tools. I guess the rest couldn't quite fit in their grubby pockets. I was forewarned and these were items I either forgot about or couldn't imagine someone stealing. Even Mardi Gras beads I had in the door panel were taken!

All the more reason to NOT ship a car here but buy something once you reach...