Thinking about shipping a car to Puerto Rico? Read this post before you do!
I recently moved to a Puerto Rico and it became quickly apparent that you need a car to get around. For a few months during hurricane season I managed to use rental cars, which were then at a low price of around $13/day. But then December rental rates skyrocketed to $100/day, putting pressure on me to secure a vehicle.
There are no car leases in Puerto Rico because the roads aren’t great and it’s unlikely you’d return the car in mint condition, so you have two options if you’re purchasing — buy a used car or buy a new car. The platform of choice for buying and selling on the internet is Clasificados Online, the island’s version of Craigslist.
In any case, you’re looking at a minimum of $5,000 for a decent vehicle. Much lower than that and you end up with a vehicle with an unknown history or unreported damage.
For me, the rental car price hike coincided perfectly with the end of my financing agreement on an old 2010 Chevy Malibu with Capital One. I wanted an upgrade but keeping my fully paid off car and shipping it to the island was my cheapest (albeit not easiest) option.
They are so many expenses associated with moving that I decided to go this route and try to save money.
If you’re thinking of doing the same, here’s everything you need to know.
Shipping locations
Cars ship to San Juan from two major shipping ports in the US — Philadelphia and Jacksonville. You can deliver your car to the port yourself or have the shipping company pick it up for an additional fee.
The car doesn’t arrive in San Juan immediately. The ship takes a few days and then the port needs to process your vehicle. Expect to wait anywhere from 10-14 days from the time you leave your car at the port, longer if it has to be transported to the port still.
Puerto Rico car shipping prices
Jacksonville is the cheapest port to ship your car from since it’s the closest. Once you drop off your car you can catch a direct flight to San Juan from Jacksonville International Airport.
I paid roughly $1,200 to ship my car from Jacksonville to San Juan.
I was given an estimate of $1,600 for shipping from Philadelphia and $2,100 for home pickup from Upstate New York. These prices will vary depending on the company you use, distance for pickup and model and age of your car.
Credit cards are accepted for payment of shipping costs, including American Express. You don’t pay until you drop the car off.
When you get to Puerto Rico you’ll need to pay taxes on your vehicle. On the island the tax collector’s office is called the Hacienda.
They have a page on their website where you can input your vehicle information and get an estimate of the taxes that will be due upon arrival. My estimate was $930. I ended up paying $850 and a $75 processing fee so that was pretty accurate.
You can skip the $75 processing fee by going to the Hacienda directly to pay versus using the express station located across from the building. Chances are, after seeing how involved of a process the pickup is, you’ll opt to pay the fee.
Puerto Rico Car Transport review
There are multiple shipping providers. I went with a Puerto Rico Car Transport because they were the first to appear in a Google search.
The booking process itself was relatively painless — I put in my vehicle information, got a quote via email and then the company followed up. Since this isn’t my first rodeo and I’d previously made TJ mistake of getting quotes from moving companies only to receive constant phone calls after, I entered in a fake number. This gave me time to mull over my options in peace.
Ultimately, I decided to book with them because they seemed to have a well developed system. Notably, they don’t actually ship the vehicles — for that, they contract Crowley Maritime Services.
This is problematic because you have to go to Crowley’s shipping docks and deal with Crowley’s staff on picking up your vehicle. They resent it if you don’t book with them directly and will often tell you to take any issues up with Puerto Rico Car Transport Directly.
For those reasons I would caution you in dealing with Crowley and reiterate that if you book with Puerto Rico Transport, they will be your sole contact in the event of a problem.
The good news is they have a responsive customer service team. I had the misfortune of picking up my car shortly after the earthquakes in Puerto Rico and was able to reach them over phone and email.
I found them to be a well run company, I just wish they handled their own shipping directly or had staff on the ground to assist in person when needed.
Preparing your car for shipping
If you’re going with Puerto Rico Car Transport or Crowley, your vehicle must be completely empty in order to ship it. You cannot use it to pack items. You are only allowed a spare tire and jack. Also, your gas needs to be at under a quarter tank or you’ll have to pay a fee for them to empty your tank.
When you drop off your car, make sure to have your title with you. If your car is financed, you will need special permission from the bank before shipping it.
How to pick up your car in San Juan
Pay close attention here, because this process is not explained anywhere else and it is convoluted.
Before you do anything, call ahead, ask for the “car division” and make sure the “tasación” is complete on your vehicle. This is an extra process whereby a government employee needs to inspect your car at the port and prepare papers for you to then take to pay.
Even if you’re given a set pick-up date and receive an email saying that your vehicle is ready, call to confirm as that may not actually be the case. You will need your booking number.
1) To pick up your car at the port, you need to head to Crowley’s offices at Calle Lindbergh, San Juan, 00904. There is a free parking lot there and you’ll have to provide your ID and sign in with the outdoor guard.
2) Depending on whether you park right in front of the building or in the lot across the street, you’ll pass a man with a chair set up on the sidewalk who’ll try to convince you to use the express tax payment service. He gets a commission for referring people. Thank him for the information and move on.
3) Walk into the Crowley building, a big yellow building. They open at 7am, then close from 10am-12pm, and then close again at 3:30pm which means they stop admitting people into the line at 2pm.
4) You will need to sign in again and provide your license to the indoor guard, who’ll write a name tag for you. Then you wait in line. For a while.
5) Once you get to the window, provide your booking number and hopefully they will hand you your paperwork provided the tasación is complete.
6) Then you take those papers and either go across the street or to the Hacienda in San Juan to pay the taxes on your vehicle. Note that the shop across the street charges $75 in addition to the taxes and you can only pay for the taxes with a Visa or Mastercard.
7) If you have more than one person in your party, send them back to the yellow building to make the first line again while you wait for your tax payment to be processed. This will expedite things for you as you will need to head back again and make the line once more when your tax payment confirmation comes through.
8) Make the line in the yellow building for the second time, show the person at the window that you paid your taxes and they will release your vehicle and give you a yellow slip.
9) Take that yellow slip to a third guard to the right of the yellow building, show him your yellow slip and put on an orange safety vest.
10) Once you’re granted access to Crowley’s parking lot, search hundreds of vehicles until you find your car. Your keys will be inside. You may need to find an attendant to help you move any other car which is blocking you in.
11) Drive your car out of the lot, presenting your yellow slip to one last guard on the way out.
But wait, there’s more!
It’s possible that the shipping company will take your license plates. Mine were gone, but I saw other cars with them still on. I tried to ask about this, and the only response I got was “I didn’t take your license plates” because everyone in Puerto Rico immediately tried to point a finger instead of solving an issue.
So what happened to my license plates? The world may never know. The point is you have 3 days to register your vehicle in Puerto Rico, a deadline that becomes doubly urgent when you’re driving around plate-less. I’ll write a whole other post on the registration process.
However, before you leave you really shouldn’t be driving without insurance, so you need to make one last stop…
12) Around the corner from the entrance to the yellow building is another small government office that will issue your temporary insurance, allowing you to drive legally for three days. It’s roughly $37 and you will be asked for proof of this when you’re registering the car so don’t neglect to buy it.
Some agents will tell you that you’re only “supposed” to buy it, implying you can leave without buying it. Don’t do that. It will add more time and visits to CESCO during car registration time and trust me, you don’t want any more hurdles.
Note that this office is closed from 12pm-1pm so if you manage to get your car out by 12:30 you’ll need to stick around a half hour before they leave.
Is it worth it to ship your car to Puerto Rico?
Whew! I know that was a lot guys. Trust me, I wish I wasn’t. It took me multiple visits on 3 separate days before I finally managed to get my car out of that hostage situation.
So, knowing all of this, when is it worth it to shop your car to Puerto Rico?
Basically, only when you’re in my exact situation — you have a car that’s paid off, several years old, not a high-end make or model and you wouldn’t mind if it gets dinged up on the road in Puerto Rico.
Shipping your car to Puerto Rico does not make sense if you have a new car, if your car is financed or if your car is really nice. The taxes alone on a 5 year-old Jeep Wrangler, for instance, will run you between $7,000-$8,000. For that, you’d be better off buying a car on the island.
Otherwise, if you’re in my shoes, you can get away with shipping your car for less. Since I drove my car to the cheapest port and it had a few dings on it already, my grand total came out to:
- $1,125 shipping costs
- $888.26 taxes
- $75 convenience fee
- $37.92 insurance
- $167.91 (registration fees not discussed in this post)
- $300 (approximate cost of gas and hotel for Jacksonville road trip)
________________
Grand total: $2,594.09 (not including the cost of gas to drive from Humacao to San Juan three time and a $133 car rental for 5 days to cover the unanticipated delay in getting my car out.
Given the choice, I would do it again and likely still book with Puerto Rico Car transport given that Crowley doesn’t offer any discernible difference in price and has subpar customer service.
If you have any questions about Puerto Rico Car Transport or the process in general, comment below and I’m happy to help. I know there’s a dearth of information out there and the agents aren’t exactly tripping over themselves to help. I got you, babe!
Till next time, safe travels.
What is tasacion?
That is a process where a government employee inspects your car at the port and prepare papers for you to then take to pay.Even if your car arrives and you are notified that it is at the port, if the “tasacion” has not been completed you will not be allowed to take the car.
@laure, tasacion is spanish for valuation
Great information!! I’m waiting for my car to arrive!! It’s an old car, paid off, very reliable. You gave me peace of mind!! Gracias!!!
Hi Jen,
We are moving to Puerto Rico… in THREE days! And our truck is probably there right now. We used a transport company that we requested use Crowley because we are going to use your notes to walk step by step through the process of picking up our vehicle. It cost $300 more for the request to use Crowley, but we felt your guided tour through the process was worth it! … like having someone there with us. We have it printed out and ready to use. Thank you!!
Can you please provide a link to your “Registering” post? I can’t find it. My next hurdle is what I need to do to register the truck.
Thanks again! Vicki (& Owen)
Hi Vicki! Oh my, I certainly wouldn’t advise anyone to pay more to use Crowley if they could avoid it haha the process wasn’t exactly seamless. I haven’t done the registration or license post yet but it’s on my list. Welcome to Puerto Rico!
Thanks, going next summer. Will print this out. My Spanish is so-so, will this be a problem?
Nope, most people speak English and Spanglish worse case scenario, particularly in the metro area.
Hi again Jen… We moved on November 3rd and have been busy busy. I just now saw your reply to my post about registration instructions. I’ll look for them here in case you’ve had time to do them. Thanks again for this amazing blog!
Great article, how can I find out how much in taxes I will need to pay for the vehicle before I even ship my car to PR? Can I find out that information if I’m still in Florida? Thank you very much.
You can get an estimate on the hacienda website based on make/model/estimated price, etc,: http://www.hacienda.gobierno.pr/sobre-hacienda/hacienda-virtual
@Jen on a Jet Plane, hi Jen is this where you also call to see if all the paperwork is done in order to pick up the vehicle?
Yes, correct.
thanks… very helpful
Thank you Jen, I’m taking my car to port in a few days and am using Puerto Rico car transport. This post has been very helpful. I will print out the post to take with me when picking up in San Juan. You have brought me some peace of mind. Thanks Again!
You’re welcome Christina, wishing you a smooth process!
good morning my name is Wanda Diaz i just read your post,very informatory,but i have a big question,i have an older golf cart i want to send to puerto rico.its older and was given to me by a friend it doesnt have any paper work,being thats and older model and was passed down to him,what do i do to get it there. thank you .
Should be a similar shipping process as long as you have all the paperwork! Otherwise would need to speak to the company about what they’d need to prove ownership and if they can treat it as freight versus a vehicle.
Hello Jen!
in the end, do you recomend Puerto Rico transport???
Hi Laura, at the time I was really annoyed and wouldn’t have recommended them about after living here for a while I don’t know if there’s a competitor doing it any better…
I just responded to another forum asking about car shipping and referenced this site. The instruction here is spot on, so I though it may help others who make it to the comments to add the same info.
We used the same company Puerto Rico Car Transport that Jen used. The process was fairly painless for what it is. Our car took about 6 weeks to arrive. We opted to pay the extra fees on site at one of the trailers in the parking lot. We used the one to the left of the white one she shows in the blog. The most confusing part was the last step #12 on buying the temporary insurance. This is office is in the same building, but on the back side. If you’re facing the front door go around the left side and it’s the first door right as you come around the corner. The office looks the same. Look for the piping on the wall in Jen’s picture and you should find it easily.
My Spanish is pretty basic and it was hard to explain what I needed. I believe it’s technically called “Comprobante de ACCA” or ACCA voucher. The guard wouldn’t let me in at first and I had to get someone from the first desk in the front to call back there and explain what I needed.
I was the first in line when the office opened and was able to drive the car out in about an hour. Driving out was pretty interesting. There are really no signs and I’m actually not certain I drove out the right exit. I was expecting someone to check my paperwork and take my orange safety vest. Once I found my car not a single person interacted with me on the way out. I had to go back to the little office to turn the orange vest in.
For “The point is you have 3 days to register your vehicle in Puerto Rico” and #12, were you able to drive the car without a license plate?
I was able to drive the car until I was registered. It had my Florida license plate still.
Good information. My concern is to transport my car from PR to Florida. Is it the same procedures.? Please let me know.
Yes, same process but in reverse 🙂
@Jen on a Jet Plane, Hi- what a great post! Thank you for the detailed and clear info. This was certainly our experience when we shipped our cars to PR and I wish we had seen this at the time.
Now we are trying to ship our cars OUT of PR but we are not there as we have had to be back in the States for a medical emergency. Do you or anyone you know happen to have a reliable company or a concierge service who can help us do this? I will appreciate any leads! Thanks
IIRC, you can also get 3 day insurance at a Banco Popular
Thank you for information it’s going to be very helpful in helping me make a decision regarding my future transportation especially since the rental are getting costly, appreciate you for taking the time to educate us .
Thank you for your information, I will be getting my car in the next 2 weeks hopefully! I will go through the same process so your information is very valuable!
Thanks awesome info.
Hi, My question is if you had to choose between transporting your car directly through Crowley or Puerto Rico Auto Transport which one would you choose? I’m debating after reading some of the reviews. Also did you keep your car insured with your company here in the US until you arrived in Puerto Rico, would you recommend paying to have the extra insurance offered by the transport company? Such a stressful process.
I did keep my insurance. I haven’t shipped with Crowley so unsure if their customer service would be distinct and/or different since the transport company used Crowley. The good news is once you get it on the island it’s over! Just a one-time process. Hope this helps!
Was their any sort of shuttle from this place to the airport or hotels? We are considering shipping our only vehicle to the states and back.
There’s Uber/Lyft, and there are rental car companies not too far away if you want to pick up a car for the day. Otherwise no shuttles run by the shipping companies.
Hello Jen,
Awesome information. My problem is I have a 2020 vehicle and writing what your indicated of the tax charges and the roads of PR I’m thinking of not taking it. However my question is if I am financing it what do I do? Do I return it? I know they still will charge me the amount of the finance or is it worth taking over there paying all that? If you can advice me. Thank you.
You can contact the bank and see if they’ll give you special permission to ship it over even though it’s still being financed. You could consider selling it where you are as well.
Hi Jen! Did you ever get around to writing your post about car registration?!?!?
Thanks 🙂
Do you have a PayPal,Venmo, or crypto account I can send money to? This was super useful and easier than dealing with “expediters”. Just got my car yesterday. Thanks!
Happy to hear that! And sure, my PayPal is paypal.me/jenruizwriter 🙂
Hi Jen, Thanks so much for your detailed post. My daughters are planning a temporary move to Puerto Rico and transporting two older cars. This has been a major stressor for them, but this will definitely help!
In your post you mentioned a registration post to come. Is this ready yet? I would love for them to have a step by step process for this as well.
I have read that you also get liability insurance when you pay your registration fees and wanted to know if this is true. Would you recommend getting additional coverage through a Puerto Rican company? Also, if the cars will be covered in Puerto Rico by our current insurance, is it necessary to get any insurance in Puerto Rico?
Is it necessary for them to obtain a Puerto Rican driver’s license or can they drive with a valid state license?
Thank you!
Hi Nikki, that is correct regarding insurance. If you have a nice car it would be wise to get additional insurance. If they’re planning to live in Puerto Rico they should get a driver’s license within 30 days. It also helps establish residency for tax purposes. Best of luck to them on the move!
Hello,
I’m planning to ship my car to PR but my car registration in the states expire this month. Did you need to have your car currently registered to ship your car and pick it up in PR?
Hi Jen, did you have to make a sole proprietor EIN number to finish your booking with Puerto Rico Car Transport?
I did not.
Wish I had come across this article before I shipped my newer car to PR. I ended up paying close to $3000 just in taxes alone to get my car out of the “hostage situation”. Now, after just 2 years of that nonsense, I’m moving back to the States. Shipping a car out of PR is cheaper, but the process is even harder.
Thanks for the sharing your experience.
Hi everyone Jen I am NJ need to ship a R4 to pr its hard to find a save transportation comp can you help me thank you
@Betty, Hi- I am trying to do this too. Do you have anyone you are using to help you with this in PR?
We have had to be back in the States for a medical emergency and need one of our cars back. I’d be grateful for any tips or leads of anyone who can help us do this for us.
@Jen- if you can provide any insight or leads, I will be so very grateful! Many thanks!
What will be the taxes for a Honda 2012 CR-Z in great condition?
Just to add a little bit to this article. A friend of mine just sent his car to the island. As far as insurance and registration goes, if you send the car with current insurance and registration from the states you can drive for three months before needing to register it in PR.
@Pedro Silvestry, Hi Pedro. I will be moving back to Puerto Rico from Orlando and had a question regarding this. What happens if my license plate is taken like she mentioned in the original post? If my car has the Florida license plate I am good to go for 3 months? But what if the license plate is taken during transport?
Do you know if a car with check engine will be allow? Or what the procedure would be?
I’m not sure, mine had the low tire pressure light on and there wasn’t an issue.
I would not use Puerto Rico car transport if you have a choice. They ran my vehicle out of diesel and fried the electrical system jumping it incorrectly. I had to replace the TIPM and ECM to get it running. Then they said after they waited 3 years to respond that it was because my vehicle was old and they had no way to check the parts. The odds of something like that randomly happening during the 24 days that they had the vehicle is unlikely. And if they hadn’t put over 200 miles on it. I would have been more inclined to believe it was not their fault.