Sell car, buy truck/jeep???

I'm not familiar with the Hyundai.
As long as it's not low to the ground to be damaged by potholes, you should be okay.
I'm not fond of jeeps depending on model as I find them a bit claustrophobic and uncomfortable but I do love a good truck but I'm always lugging stuff so you may not find a truck necessary.
Not sure you'll need 4WD in STX as much flatter terrain than STT.
I have 4WD on my pick up and can count the times (on one hand)
that I've found it necessary over the last decade.

If you're importing a vehicle there is customs duty on foreign made vehicles.
The VIN # will indicate the percentage amount of duty you'll need to pay, if any.

Good luck.

Yes,.....I'm aware of the import duty, hence my interest in getting an American manufactured vehicle to ship. In my current life, I would never consider a 4x4 pickup but an island life may make it a wise decision. I'm weighing the options.

i think if your vehicle is in good shape it might be better to bring a known and trusted vehicle. you might be able to buy one for less than the shipping charges??

You may want to check out where the Ford Ranger is built.

"My question is, should I buy a used Jeep Wrangler or Ford Ranger Pickup and have it shipped. Or should I just keep my paid for Hyundai Elantra with 45k miles and have it shipped?

Yes,.....I'm aware of the import duty, hence my interest in getting an American manufactured vehicle to ship."

Ford Motor Co. wants to resurrect its once-popular Ranger truck in North America and build the midsize pickup at the Michigan Assembly Plant, according to sources with knowledge of Ford’s plans. The Dearborn automaker has entered contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers with plans to bring the Ranger to the plant in Wayne in 2018.

Ford now builds the Ranger in South Africa, Argentina, Thailand and Nigeria for 180 overseas markets. Ford hasn’t imported the small trucks to the U.S. in part because of a 25-percent tariff on foreign-built pickups, known as the “chicken tax.” The tax got its name because it was imposed in the 1960s as payback for a German tariff on chicken.

The last North America-built Ranger was part of a fleet order for Orkin Pest Control and rolled off the assembly line in December 2011 at Ford’s now-shuttered Twin Cities Assembly Plant in Minnesota.

Yes. Check the VIN. I brought down a Ford F150. Got hit by the tariff because it was made in Canada.

http://www.vindecoder.net/

The 1st character in a car's vehicle identification number indicates the country in which it was manufactured.

Some of the country codes include:
•1, 4, 5: United States
•2: Canada
•3A-37: Mexico
•J: Japan
•VF-VR: France
•9: Brazil
•WA-W0: West Germany
•S: Great Britain

Just out of curiosity, how much IS the import duty? Are we talking thousands of dollars or a couple of hundred?

The duty collected is based on country of origin on the car and is calculated using the book value or Bill of Sale, whichever is greater.
The VIN number is used to determine origin: if the first digit is 1, 4 or 5 it is a U.S. car and there is a no duty owed. Vin's starting with 2 or 3, there is a 6% duty. Vin's starting with 6 or with a letter it is 3.5% duty.

See this link:
Scroll down.

https://www.vimovingcenter.com/car/

The way they explained it to me. The VI is not a NAFTA location, cars made in Canada and Mexico were imported into the US duty free. So they get taxed the full 6%. Cars made in other countries were taxed when brought into the US, so only the difference between the tax rate coming into the US and 6% is charged when importing to the VI.

so only the difference between the tax rate coming into the US and 6% is charged when importing to the VI.

That is correct.

I recently shipped to the island a 2002 Ford Ranger, 4 cylinder. In hindsight, I should have gone for the 6 cylinder because the difference in gas mileage is moot with these hills. Whichever way you go, make sure that you have a limited slip differential (posi-traction, both rear wheels turn). I didn't, and quickly found out that when it rains it can be tough to get up these steep hills. Luckily, I found a cheap rear end and had it installed here for an inexpensive price. Love it now.

You can add a couple bags of cement in the back of a pick up to increase weight in back of bed. Works fine.

I tried 2 bags of sand (50 lbs each) but still wasn't happy with it.

I used 2 60 lb. bags of cement.
I put them in garbage bags and they hardened before the bags deteriorated so no mess. Put a 2X4 in the back of truck bed liner where it's indented so the hardened cement blocks stay in the back where needed and don't slide around.
Works fine for me.
Maybe you need just a little more weight?

How easy or difficult is it to have Hyundai serviced on STX?

I used 2 60 lb. bags of cement.
I put them in garbage bags and they hardened before the bags deteriorated so no mess. Put a 2X4 in the back of truck bed liner where it's indented so the hardened cement blocks stay in the back where needed and don't slide around.
Works fine for me.
Maybe you need just a little more weight?

Why do you bother with that when you have 4WD?

How easy or difficult is it to have Hyundai serviced on STX?

I believe that both the Honda and Toyota dealers service Hyundai cars.

I used 2 60 lb. bags of cement.
I put them in garbage bags and they hardened before the bags deteriorated so no mess. Put a 2X4 in the back of truck bed liner where it's indented so the hardened cement blocks stay in the back where needed and don't slide around.
Works fine for me.
Maybe you need just a little more weight?

Why do you bother with that when you have 4WD?

Why do you care to comment what I bother with since it is none of your concern?

Why do you care to comment what I bother with since it is none of your concern?

There is a simple way to keep people from commenting on things that are none of their concern. Keep it to yourself.

Things posted on a public forum are open for "public" discussion.

I used 2 60 lb. bags of cement.
I put them in garbage bags and they hardened before the bags deteriorated so no mess. Put a 2X4 in the back of truck bed liner where it's indented so the hardened cement blocks stay in the back where needed and don't slide around.
Works fine for me.
Maybe you need just a little more weight?

Why do you bother with that when you have 4WD?

Why do you care to comment what I bother with since it is none of your concern?

It's a very simple question to answer and may be of interest to others. I've also done the "heavy in the back" routine with a non 4WD pick-up truck but don't see why one would do it when one has a 4WD vehicle so am interested. I simply don't know everything and am always open to picking up new information.

Picking is right.

And you're right Rotor.
I'll try to limit my helpfulness in the future since OT feels obligated to comment on everything I post.

There are a couple of different reasons for this practice. First let's clear up one misconception. Most people call a vehicle a 4x4 when it actually is not. Newer vehicles can be all wheel drive (AWD) and the power is transferred from front to back differently. Some are computer controlled while others are controlled by a viscous coupling delivering power where and when needed.
A 4x4 has a transfer case which divides the power according to how the driver selects either through a shifter or a knob on the console or dash. For the most part the power is divided evenly. If the truck has a manual transmission, starting on an incline with loose gravel, sand etc. can be difficult with a lot of wheel spin. It gets worse if the rear differential is "open" or non-posi. So one wheel spins while the other does nothing. (Remember My Cousin Vinny?) This can still happen even with the transfer case in four wheel drive mode. It's better with an automatic transmission because you can add power more gradually instead of the jolt a clutch can give the drive train especially while on a hill. So that is how weight in the bed can help a 4x4 get better traction.

Many thanks for the education and explanation - appreciate it and even understand most of it! 😀

The weight in the back routine didn't work too well for my purposes at the time and we ended up buying a much more practical 4WD which worked beautifully.

Picking is right.

And you're right Rotor.
I'll try to limit my helpfulness in the future since OT feels obligated to comment on everything I post.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WJ6FbcWYRU

.....one tire spins and the other one does nothin'.

I think she explains posi traction way better. She's really cute too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFdJza0AbeA