Hello From Panama!

I would recommend just bringing only the things you can fit into your luggage. I wouldn't bring a car since you would have the cost of shipping it plus all the tariffs and other fees associated with it once it gets here. The more valuable the auto the more you'd need to pay. Plus it's gonna take 3-5 months before they'll release it. That's what I've heard anyway. I guess they probably want you to buy one here is the reason for the cost and the wait time.
If you're filing for a Pensionado Visa like me make sure to get a copy of your police record. Also make sure you get what they call an APPOSEAL on it. It needs to have the stamp from the facility where you get it plus the apposeal. An apposeal is just a stamp that says it's a verified statement from whichever country you're coming from. I brought the record from Knoxville signed, stamped and dated-Buy no apposeal. And the embassy won't do it here so now I need to try to get it done some other way.
Bring at least 2 years tax statements from wherever you filed.
Also bring statements from 2 banks stating what type of customer you are. (Not a bank statement)
The biggest thing you need to do though is to learn some spanish. Most Panamanians know quite a bit of english but won't talk to you using english. They want you to try to talk in spanish and when they see that you're trying to speak their native language they'll start opening up and speak a little english but you NEED the spanish.
Also a taxi here will cost you more if you're from the states. I'm always with my wife when we go out and when we get a taxi I never say a word because they'll charge us more. We can go all the way across town for about 3 dollars but if I did it alone it'd probably cost me more than 10 dollars.(Maybe more).
I'd try to open a bank account b4 I came to Panama because until you get a cedula (Panamanian ID card) they won't let you put an account in your name. We use HSBC and they do have those in the states. Took me over a week to get added to my wife's account.
Hopefully I'll be getting a car here in the next few months and maybe we can meet somewhere.
We used the Radisson Summit Hotel & Golf Club in Paraiso for a little over a week when we first arrived. It's a nice hotel but a couple miles away form anything. They do give you a pretty nice breakfast though. Complimentary too! If you have any more questions send me a pm and I'll give you my phone number.

Almost forgot-I had Vonage telephone service in the states and when I called to cancel my service since I was moving to Panama they told me I could still use the service here also, So it might be a good idea to get Vonage b4 you come. I still have the same number I had in the states but the service is cheaper and I can call the states and doesn't cost me anything.