Home › Forums › Costa Rica Living Forum › Driving to Costa Rica from upstate New York
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April 15, 2008 at 12:00 am #190313jreillyMember
If myself and my wife drove from upstate NY to Costa Rica could we then keep our car down there and how much would it cost for any fees, etc. to do this?
April 15, 2008 at 1:30 pm #190314fredoMemberThis is a different idea. I plan a 3 month stay in CR Jun-Aug to test the waters for a permanent move from NY state. Anyway, I contacted Arden at ShipCostaRica and, at least in Nov, the cost for shipping my Jeep Grand Cherokee both ways was $2500, including a 90 day tourist permit. Slightly cheaper than renting a car. If I were to stay longer than 90 days I would have to “nationalize” my Jeep and that would cost a fair amount, figured with a formula based on the year and book value of the vehicle.
Fred
April 15, 2008 at 1:36 pm #190315sammysdreamMemberwhat year make and model is your car. we made the trip in january from IL. and left the car in Costa Rica after making it legal.
April 15, 2008 at 1:47 pm #190316fredoMemberIt’s a ’95 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited V8. Highly modified for off-road driving. See a picure at: http://www.4x4fred.com. (when I finish building the website there will be more pics, now there’s only one)
I would think it could get me anywhere a vehicle might go in CR, but actually from what I’ve heard, I think it’s tires and maybe other mods are too big for CR laws and would need to be changed if I were to keep it there.
April 15, 2008 at 2:04 pm #190317sammysdreamMemberduty on our 2002 isuzu trooper was $7800. dollars and 5 hours at the border
April 15, 2008 at 2:22 pm #190318fredoMemberwhew… $7800 for an ’02 Trooper. If I decide to move to CR, I’d need to figure out some expenses. One thing is my Jeep is a bit older, so that may bring the cost down some.
I also need to see how possible it is to get things repaired down there. Most of the parts are special order anyway, but will anybody know how to replace them? And, will the duty on those special order parts be prohibitive?
April 15, 2008 at 2:37 pm #190319tomtwoshoeMemberCurious, where in upstate NY do you live? i live in Schenectady but will be spending winters down there starting next Jan.
April 15, 2008 at 2:43 pm #190320fredoMemberI don’t know where jreilly is located.
I’m in Croton Falls, near Brewster, only called “upstate” by those who live in NYC.
April 15, 2008 at 7:05 pm #190321jreillyMemberI live in Auburn, NY
April 16, 2008 at 11:49 am #190322jamesgoshen4MemberDoes anyone know how Costa Rica calculates the duty for bringing in a vehicle? I am planning on sending a 97 Jeep Wrangler with 163,000 miles that is in good condition. I just bought it for $4,800.00.
April 16, 2008 at 5:17 pm #190323DavidCMurrayParticipantWhat you paid for the vehicle is not considered in arriving at a duty cost.
Costa Rican Customs bases the import duty on a “Black Book” value. It’s my understanding that that value takes no account of the condition of the vehicle, the mileage, or accessories. To that Black Book value, they add the cost of freight and insurance (if any) to arrive at a taxable value.
Cars from one to three years old are taxed at a rate of some 52% of the taxable value. Cars four to seven years old are taxed at some 65%. And cars older than seven years are taxed at about 79% of the taxable value.
Clearly, Costa Rica is not encouraging the importation of older vehicles.
To these costs, you must also add the costs of “nationalizing” the car — getting it registered in the National Registry, having it safety-checked and emission-checked, etc.
April 21, 2008 at 1:53 am #190324soflodougMemberDid I hear safety checked? You gotta hear this, I was once driving in santa ana and to the amazement of my eyes I looked to my left and saw an old car with and I repeat no doors on it! The car was completely open and exposed yet being driven by someone. Those guys in safety inspection are really doing a great job. I must admit it saves on airconditioning. Dont worry about anything,but I would call a custom broker to confirm the value of your car before entering to see if it is worth buying or driving your car down.
sofloApril 23, 2008 at 7:40 pm #190325albertoBMemberIf the law doesn’t specify that you need doors, then there is nothing they can do about it. That would include hood, trunk, bumpers and windshield. You must have working wipers though.
Alberto -
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