Buying a car in Costa Rica can be complicated or simple. I try to think of it as not too complicated. I recently had to purchase my second used car in Costa Rica and had an overall good experience.

I am the type of person that does not love car shopping. Nor do I have the time to go from dealer to dealer. The way I look at it is that if I can’t see a photo of the car and details online or in print beforehand, I am not interested. I found that this philosophy – especially in Costa Rica – saves you precious time.

My approach was to look in several online sites as well as La Nacion (Costa Rica’s main newspaper with a large automotive section). We looked at Craigslist, CRAutos.com, TicoCarros.com and La Nacion online

I also did take a look at some dealerships in San Jose, but this was not my primary focus. I did realize that buying from a private party would save me money, so my goal was to do just that.

I made sure to be narrow in my search, as I was pretty specific about having a larger SUV to accommodate my clients (and growing family)! I basically had 3 different models picked out. From there I narrowed it down to about 7 cars to look at.

I took a couple days and tried to schedule the viewings as close to one another as I could. (Since I reside in Guanacaste, this was more time effective). I’ve found that with my first car, buying in San Jose was ideal. I know that the car has been driven on better roads and typically the maintenance records are better in the central valley.

I viewed all of those cars over a period of two days. On the third day, I narrowed down the list to my ‘favorite’. I started the negotiations and when we agreed to a price, I decided to have a very trusted mechanic look the car over.

I ended up deciding on a 2005 Toyota Prado. The car only had one owner, who bought directly from Purdy Motors in San Jose, which I liked. The car was overall is good condition and I ended up getting the car for $3,000 less than comparable models!

During the inspection of the car, I found problems with the following items:

1. Front brake pads were worn
2. RTV was expired (inspection certificate)
3. There was a Freon leak in the A/C system
4. The car was due for an oil change

After the inspection, I negotiated that the seller repair/correct all of the above items. I had my attorney draft an agreement stating the purchase price agreed upon as well as the repairs that the seller would perform prior to the sale of the car. We negotiated that I, the buyer, would pay the traspaso (transfer of registration). It’s good to keep in mind that this charge, depending on the value of the car and attorney’s fees, can be significant.

It’s a good idea to check with your attorney to see what the approximate cost would be based on a car you are interested in. Your marchamo is another cost that should be taken into consideration. Some cars are very expensive and you don’t have a way around this annual registration cost.

Without a current marchamo, you can’t drive your vehicle on the Costa Rican roads. You can find the cost of marchamo online and it’s based on the value given to your car by the government.

One other snag we had was a title issue. It wasn’t a major issue, but there was a lien showing up from 2005 that was dismissed yet was still appearing on the registry. Without clear title, you can’t sell a car.

It took about 10 days to correct this issue and the seller’s attorney handled that situation. My attorney verified that the title was clear and handled the actual sale of the car. I couldn’t stick around in San Jose for over a week, so I decided to go back to the beach and come back after I had the ‘green light’ from my attorney.

We scheduled a time to meet to sign papers at the attorneys office and I flew out of Tamarindo on a commuter flight to pick up the car and drove it back in the same day.

I decided to buy the car in a corporation name and did the same with my last car. I personally like the idea of buying in a corporation for liability reasons. I also found out that you received a pretty decent discount through INS insurance if your car is owned by a corporation and not your personal name.

Just know that if you have a decent handle of Spanish, it will help you buy a car. If you don’t speak Spanish, then find a friend to help translate. ALWAYS try to be part of the car buying process if you can and NEVER buy sight unseen.

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.