I'm moving to Puerto Rico for grad school (4 years) and need advice on what to do with my car.
I bought a 2017 Hyundai Tucson Limited (99,000 miles) earlier this year for $12,000 cash. Shipping it to PR would cost around $5,000 all-in, including excise tax.
My priorities are reliability and affordability — I'm a student and not looking to spend more than I need to. I see three options:
- Sell now, buy in PR — Avoid the $5,000 shipping cost and just buy something on the island when I arrive.
- Ship it — Keep the car I already know and trust, but pay the $5k freight/tax hit.
- Lease in PR — Since I'll only be there ~4 years, a lease might make sense. Curious if anyone has done this in PR specifically.
What would you do in my situation? Is the shipping cost ever worth it, or is buying locally almost always the better move?
Moving to Puerto Rico for grad school — should I ship my car ($5k), sell it and buy there, or lease?
byu/onedaynoday inpersonalfinance
Posted by onedaynoday
3 Comments
I would think you sell it and then buy one there. Seems ordealish to do otherwise.
Sell and buy something while you’re there. $5k is almost half what you paid and you won’t get it back by sending it to PR. Then what would you do, pay another $5k to ship it back? They have reliable cars to buy in PR (if you even need one)
There’s absolutely zero chance I’d spend $5k to ship a car there. Especially a Hyundai.
Go to PR. If you even need a car, you might not, you can find a shitbox for less than 5K.
I’ve never been to PR but I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t even need a car.