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Hi Jessica,
There are many good 4X4s you can buy which will work well here. As far as recommending a particular model, you didn’t mention what size vehicle you want, or whether you want to buy new or used. I do recommend used, mainly because a big part of the price of a new vehicle is for the warranty. A new vehicle bought in the US will not have a warranty here, so why pay for it?
Between now and December 31, your best value is a 2004 model. The lowest duty is on cars 3 years old or less. If you think you may not get here by the end of the year, look at 2005 models (assuming that age is within your budget). 4 and 5 year old cars are the next best duty rate, while anything over 5 years will have the highest (78%, I think) import duty. They also have lower values, so they may still cost you less in real dollars.
Definitely stick with Japanese or Korean brands. American (Ford, GM and Chrysler) brands are less plentiful here, so parts will be more of an issue. A used Mitsubishi can usually be bought for less money than other comparable imports in the US, there are a lot of them here and they make some very good vehicles. Among the imports, Honda seems to be the most expensive to repair here, but they don’t break very often. Parts won’t be a big problem with almost any import unless you have a problem with an option that is not common here.
Hi.
I think I responded to Jessica instead of you just awhile ago! I have two questions if you don’t mind. I would value your opinion and expertise in this area seeing your experience in selling cars and the fact that you are living in CR.
1) I assume it would be to our best interest to buy a car 1 to 3 years old to save duty…or save on the front end on the price of the car and buy one a bit older. We are a family of 4 and would need a 4×4 vehicle that seats 6 to transport teenagers. What would you recommend? I would be most interested in a vehicle that gets good gas mileage. I’m a bit shy of diesel as the price is higher here in the US. No guarantees that it won’t go higher in CR, I would guess.
2) Is it true that you can purchase unclaimed vehicles at the port for the duty?
Thanks so much for your help. We are planning on moving maybe as early as next December (2010) and should begin our car search. Thanks!
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