shipping car back to the states

We shipped our truck back last May, they didn't remove the plates. In fact we've been slow in putting the new ones on so they're still on there.

just old outdated information. it's always nice to stress out weeks before you move 4,000 miles....well no, not really.

I heard they used to do that but a friend moved back a couple years ago & they didn't. One thing he did say was that when he picked up the car, he went on the highway & nearly vibrated off the road. Make sure you get your wheels balanced & aligned ASAP after you pick up the car. You know what the roads do to cars here. Good luck!

Martin -

They left them on our vehicle, which caused great interest with the state troopers in Arkansas until we had time to have them changed....and Trade's advice about alignment is excellent - we were so used to shimmying up and down the road we didn't even realize we'd gotten off center. We saved our plates and donated them to the local bar (yes, "the" local bar - we're in a dry county, so it's a private club)....sort of like they did at Off the Wall, everyone donates their "last state" plates - the owner says he is questioned all the time about who in the world ever lived in the VI that is from Pope County, Arkansas....I guess we get our 15 minutes of fame once in a while!

I am glad to hear that we were not the only ones to have our tires feel like lead after shipping back to the states. Driving on the highway felt like driving over railroad tracks. We ended up buying new tires, getting it aligned, and buying new brake pads. We still drive the most dented vehicle in our neighborhood, but I just can't seem to fix my island vehicle's scars. I have scrapes on my rear bumper from some rebar that was at the end of my unfinished driveway wall, parking lot cement walls that were too tight for my Explorer have scraped every corner of my vehicle, door dings (just because the parking in STT is very narrow), and a couple of bumps on the side that we don't recall how or when they happened, and scratches down the side of our vehicle from narrow roads with the bush touching both sides of the truck. Ahhh, the island life. Not to mention the sand and grit stuck up in the oddest places in our underside of the vehicle. My poor truck has been thru it all. We still have our trunk bay vanity plates on the front of our vehicle as Georgia doesn't require front side license plates. We also still have our number sticker on the front windshield that no one understands. 🙂 I guess we are still attached to the island in our own way. You just don't know until you live there!

Teresa

What's really funny is to have a 9 year old car that's beat to blazes with less than 50,000 miles on it.

Teresa, I got back here in mid September, I think.....maybe August, my mind has gone blank (is blank, according to some)....at any rate, I was really busy and somehow or another it turned into winter.....and I refuse to even put gas in my own car, I just want to turn the key and go - but when I drove that car for the first time I was like "holy-moly, they killed my car inside a container"!

Since I refuse to do basic stuff, we still have whatever note the Dept. of Agriculture wrote on our back window in white greasy color crayon......I haven't quite made it to the car wash yet, I'm saving that for June.....I have an island beater with no island, LOL!

Becky,

You have to use a straight edge razor to get that white stuff off of the window. I scrubbed and washed and I thought it was permanent. When it dried I carefully scraped it off. They used real paint!

I hate to say it, but we have enough sand in the crevices of our truck to build our own beach. The island goes with us no matter what.

I think the funniest thing was when my daughter (who barely remembers life before island) saw a row of handicap parking places in the front of a parking lot and noticed that I avoided parking in them. She then pointed them out to me and said, "Look mommy, taxi parking". Only on island is taxi parking revered above all others. 🙂

Teresa

We have lots of scratches on our vehicles from the container. They left our plates on and we JUST put Missouri plates on them. Lots of questions of "WHY" we moved from "America's Carribean". The license plate was quite an ice breaker for awhile. 🙂
It was almost as fun as the question of "how did you get to the island?" HMMM? a plane?

We shipped our car here when we moved to the island and it had zero scratches/damage when it arrived. I hope it has the same skilled handlers as it did on its' last ocean voyage. Once my wife and I pick our car up in Miami we're driving it cross-country to our new home in Seattle. That should get us more than a few quizzical stares as we sail down the highways of the mainland. Oh, I forgot to mention we'll be doing this with two cats in the car as well. Yeah, we're a bit nuts...but how does someone just leave their pets?

-Chris

Happy travels! But do be sure & get your wheels balanced & aligned in Miami. Your cats travel well?

Chris -

Bravo for you - although my pets (which actually is a herd of Rottweilers) made our move more difficult both to the island and back, there was never any point for negotiation with us. Yes, people who are pet-less and kid-less and whatever-less probably have an easier transition, but if I'd absolutely found out I just couldn't live on island with 5 Rottweilers and a mutt ...... well, we wouldn't have gone. And if I'd had to leave them behind to return stateside.....well, I suppose we'd still be there!

Wow - we just made the same move about a year ago - complete with the 2 cats! We had a ball. The cats settled down pretty quickly and slept or watched out of the window most of the time. This left them up and "perky" every night!!!
We kept our VI plates on until we reached the NW. Then you have the usual 90 days to replace them. We gave ours to the local BBQ joint.
Our truck was trashed - all better now - and it took a bit of getting used to 80 mph again, but it was a great trip.

My wife and I are so excited about the trip. Our car loads on the ship tomorrow and we fly out next Wednesday and hopefully our car will be released by customs within a day or two after our arrival.

Did any of you have to wait for an extended period of time before your cars were released by customs?

We have several stops on the way out west and plan on having the car checked out when we stop to visit my parents in Pensacola before we get into the bulk of the driving. I guess it depends on how it handles when we pull out of Riviera Beach. How exactly was your vehicle trashed? Scratches? Dents? Or completely F.U.B.A.R.?

-Chris

usual Island stuff - scratches, dents, brakes, tires, alignment, sand!!!
We had the Ford dealer in Miami pick it up from customs etc and "fix" it. There was absolutely no delay and it was all raring to go when we arrived.