Depending on where you live, a car can be more of a necessity than a luxury. Buying and maintaining a car is expensive. If you don't live on the bus line, a car will probably be very important to you. In addition, a car offers much more freedom and makes everyday chores such as grocery shopping and laundry easier.

If you choose to buy a car, consider buying from a sudent who is leaving the island. If this is not possible, get a referral from a student who bought and has had good luck with their purchase. The road here are hard on cars and some repair work will probably be necessary while you are here. You will want to have a mechanic inspect the car before you purchase it.

When you buy a car in Grenada, the car is brought to you for convenience. You get to test drive it and can take it to a mechanic (a lot of the students rely on a local man, named Mr. Lords) and have it looked at. If you decide you like the car, depending on if it is a student or local, the car could be yours in a matter of days. Some of the students here put up For Sale flyers around campus to sell their cars. Some students put a condition on the purchase meaning you may buy it right away but have to wait to get possession until the end of the term so that they can get full use out of their car. However, this is not always the case, some students once they find a buyer, will gladly hand over the car once the proper procedures have been met (ie. paper work - Insurance documents have been changed over).

There are quite a few insurance dealers on the island. Most of the agencies are located in downtown St. George's. The previous owner will accompany you to the insurance agency here. They will sign over the car to you in your name. One thing I can not stress enough down here is, although life is very relaxed here, Grenadians are sticklers for their documents. So make sure that when you purchase a car that the previous owner has proper documentation for the car. You would hate to get in an accident here and not have insurance - I am sure you could imagine your own nightmare for this situation.

To obtain a license here is quite easy. You go to one of the police stations on the island (the most convenient one is located just around the corner from Grand Anse campus) and purchase a local license. This is assuming you already have a valid US, Canadian, UK, etc. licence. You show the police officer your driver's license and he writes you up a paper slip which then becomes your valid license while you are driving in Grenada. For those of you renting a car, I believe the car rental office will issue you a license. The only hassel to local licensing is the fact that you can only get one issued for up to three months - how does that work, most students are on the island for 4 months. Some students forego renewing their licenses for the remainder of the term but again I will warn you, if you don't have a valid local license and you get in an accident, the insurance company will not vouche for you. Which means instead of paying another $30 EC to renew your license for another 3 months (one or two of those months you will be absent from the island), you may have to pay a heck of a lot of money to pay for damages to your car or to another's. You way the odds!

The school does have parking for students. Although due to all the construction right now, the parking is limited. In order to be permitted on campus with a car, you must have two things - a student sticker and an inspection sticker. The student sticker may be obtained from the Chancellory office barring that you have paid your car insurance for the year. When you go to get the student sticker for your car make sure to bring your up-to-date insurance papers. The school is very strict about vehicles on campus - like getting your yearly physical, your car must undergo a yearly physical to be allowed on campus. Once a year, your car must go for an inspection. This is done at the police garage on the Dusty Highway. This procedure is a bit of a headache but believe me getting it done will prevent future headaches with the school and the local police. In order to receive an inspection sticker you must go down town to St. George's with your insurance papers. There is a building located at the end of the carnage on your right hand side (ask another student the name of the building), it's not hard to miss. Go to the second floor and you will wait in line for about an hour along with all the locals while they wait to pay (I think it's $60EC) a man located at the ticket booth where the man will issue you a document (this is the apparaisal for the police to fill out at the garage). You take the appraisal document to the police garage located on the Dusty Highway (yes you have to drive all the way back from St. George's). You wait in a line of cars until it's your turn (there is a lot of waiting on this island, best get used to it). The police officer will direct you - usually you just have to beep your horn, flash your highbeams, use your left and right indicator, put your car in reverse, step on the break and that's about it. Hint - check your car before going to do all of this, if you have a burnt out tail light or something like that, get it fixed before getting your car inspected, it will save you time. If everything checks out okay, then you take the appraisal back to the building in St. George's and go to the second floor and pass the ticket booth and hand the sheet into a police officer at the counter. They will then issue you a sticker. Hallaleuh! This sticker is valid for one year from the date of issue. Don't bother trying to be ahead of the game - the police garage will not appraise cars until their due date (check your sticker for the month of inspection).

One final message - the roads here are somewhat bumpy and in poor shape (the main roads are great but the side roads tend to be rough so having to purchase new tires isn't unusua1). A lot of the students just buy retreaded tires which costs about half the price of a new tire. They work just as well - just something to think about. Again, if you are renting a car, check the policies for replacing tires, the car rental agency may do this for you.

Renting a car is another option. This works well if a number of students share the care and cost, as renting is expensive. Rates are usually between $350 and $500 US per month. Some rental companies replace your car if it is damaged and they also take care of tune-ups. As with buying, check with other students who have rented and have them steer you toward a reliable company.

Shipping a car from anywhere off the island is not recommended, due to the astronomical duty charged.

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