Owning a Car in Costa Rica
If you are planning on moving to Costa Rica and are thinking about either buying a car here or bringing your own down there are a few things that you should know first that may help make your decision.
If you plan on bringing your car be prepared to pay import duties that are 45 to 70% of the retail value of the car. This can get quite spendy especially because the newer the car the more it will cost you. In addition, do not get confused with the word used, because if you own the car, it is used no matter if you bought it a week ago or 10 years ago. So if you do decide to bring it down here the shipping costs can be upwards of $1000 to one of the ports and then you must go pick it up. Once in Costa Rica, the car must be inspected to pay the marchamo or else the car is illegal, and although insurance is not mandatory it would be an excellent idea to have. Also keep in mind that cars in the US are not always the same as cars in Costa Rica therefore making it difficult to find parts and mechanics to fix them and if your car had a warranty it probably won’t hold any value here.
The marchamo is a mandatory liability insurance that every car must possess. To get one you must first obtain a current inspection certificate from a mechanic and pay off all parking and traffic tickets. The price of it will depend on the make, model, and year of your car, but without the decal your car is being driven illegally. It is a once a year price that needs to be paid in between November 1st and December 31st.
If you are going to be purchasing a car upon your arrival you are most likely to find the best prices quoted in Spanish in La Nacion newspaper. New or used cars can be purchased as long as they pass an inspection with a legit mechanic. Just like the states, be weary of who you are dealing with and what they are trying to sell you. If you do not speak Spanish well or have a strong English accent, you are at a complete disadvantage. To learn more about how not to get hustled and where to buy a car, check out this article from AM Costa Rica: http://www.amcostarica.com/morenews2.htm
Good Luck!
| Written by alanp |
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Filed under: Tico on September 12th, 2007
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DOESN’T SOUND LIKE FUN!
I don’t understand people… they want real estate to go up from $15 a sq. mtr to $650 a sq. mtr, but don’t want a taxi to go up ¢15 colones. Please people - it’s all relative.
My wife and I have had good luck buying used cars in the town of Grecia. There is an association of used car importers there that import used cars from the USA. Since most of the vehicles are of US origin we used CarFax.com to check the VIN numbers of the cars to see if the odometer had been rolled back or if the cars had been totaled or in any accidents.
Also, we only bought cars that have easy access to spare parts in Costa Rica. Check with a reputable Tico mechanic as to which cars are easiest to get spares for and have the best reliability. We bought a Honda CRV and Suzuki Sidekick and have had very good luck with spares.
US makes like Ford, Dodge, and Chevy are not recommended because the parts are hard to get, expensive, and the vehicles are too big for most Tico garages.
Cheers,
David