Shipping car taxes

Jen,

I think you are going to have a tough time finding out exactly how much you will owe, to the penny, for the various taxes and fees on your car.

I don't know exactly what your plans are as far as moving, but chances are you will be arriving on island at least a week or two before your car.

Do you plan on setting up a bank account here (highly recommended)? If so, my advice would be to "ballpark" the taxes and fees based on the info you have, add 20% to this figure (just to give yourself a cushion), and deposit that amount into your new account. Once the car arrives on island, you will know exactly how much the taxes and fees are and you can take care of everything then.

Alternatively, if you can enlist the help of a moving company to take care of the processing of your car. We shipped two cars via Crowley and used The Viking Corporation (a local moving company) for the processing. When the cars arrived, they took care of everything (customs clearance, taxes, plates, etc., etc,) and we picked the cars up from their office. They charged us $150 per car for this service. They will take a credit card for the entire amount, and they were great. Their phone number is 340.776.1536.

Awesome advice, Mell. I will call them today. And I absolutely plan on setting up a bank account there. Thanks, again.

Jen,

We just shipped our SUV, to get it to the island wasn't bad however being able to drive it was crazy. You have to have insurance first, which the company we went through doesn't have month to month payment options it was the full years cost, then you have to pay road taxes which goes off the weight of your car, then you have to go to two different offices in customs, not cheap, then to the DMV which is about $100 for plates. I THINK we paid $2000 total. We bought our car in may, so decide if your car is worth it, not only that but due to the salt water and the drivers around here you may just want to get an Island car, which you can get for $2000.

Hope I helped

Thanks, Lena.
I figured out costs and it's about $1700 all together not including insurance. I am gonna go for it, because I know it's a good car. What insurance company did you go with?
Plus, I'll get more for the car when I sell it before I leave island. Does anyone know if my VIN # starts with a 1, if I will have to pay customs duty taxes? I can't seem to get an answer out of the DMV. It's a Honda so I assumed it was going to be considered foreign made even if it was produced in the states. Anyway, VIN starts with a 1 so I am hoping it's customs duty free.

Did you calculate the possible duty tax? thats whats KILLING me!! and making me think I will probably just buy on the island...

Hi Robert,

Yes, I calculated the duty tax. An approximate additional $600 after customs, registration, road and personal use tax. It still calculates to be well worth it compared to the prices of cars on island and not knowing how mechanically sound the car is. I know mine will be good to go for at least the year I am there. Plus, cars sell for a much higher amount on island than in the states. Selling it when I move back to the mainland will get me the $2000 back I spent and save me a headache in the long run. After much research, it's well worth it for me. Plus, I live in Florida, so I can drive it to the port myself instead of having to pay a company to pick it up. Let me know if you need any advice with this, I did a lot of research the last weeks.