Buying a Car, er "CYAAR...."

Buying a car in the Cayman Islands is an incredible pain in the ass. Importers have to pay the cost of shipping (usually around $1,000 to $1,500,) plus the duty to bring it in to the country (a percentage of the assessed value that the Govt declares between 27.5% and 32.5%.)

If you decide to pay the outrageous shipping to bring your own car, you never know how much they'll say your vehicle is worth until they're looking at it, so it's very stressful trying to decide the best course of action.

These costs are tacked onto to the inflated selling price of the car, making it RIDICULOUSLY expensive when compared with the American market. PLUS, many of the cars on the island were there during hurricane Ivan, were completely submerged with salty sea water, which may affect their future performance. And their smell.

Looking at 1996 Ford Mustangs with rust, stained interiors, and $8,000 price tags.... hard to keep a straight face.

Anyway... after a lot of fussin' an' cussin' we decided on a Toyota Corsa, which is the right-hand-drive, Japanese release of what we call the Toyota Tercel. Not to brag... but, we did get a free air freshener in the deal.



SO, the roads of Grand Cayman have just become significantly less safe... look both ways, children.