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Which is the better way to go, buy a car in the states and drive it to Costa Rica or wait and buy it in Costa Rica.
Buy in Costa Rica. There are many reasons.
1) You don’t really save anything. The extra cost of the local tax must be paid in either case.
2) There is a huge amount of paperwork (certified international emissions testing, Spanish translation) that must be processed. There are costs involved and you will likely have to pay for duplicate tests in CR.
3) If you purchase a vehical that is not available in CR how are you going to keep it maintained?
4) To drive to CR is almost 10 days through places that you will end up paying bribes to various officials just to pass. Add $1500 cash to the cost of the car plus fuel and your time.
5) Once there the vehical has to be “nationalized”, put into there system and pass all the tests listed above. You could spend weeks chasing paperwork.
If you are moving to CR then you should start supporting the local economy. One of the things required for you to stay is to convert so many dollars to colones and spend them in the local economy each year. An automobile is a good start.
What he said . . .
Just one caveat: In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the insurance companies “totaled” some 400,000 flooded vehicles. The companies are always willing to sell the remains to whomever wants to buy them, to recover part of their expenses. Some folks have bought those totaled cars, cleaned them up, and are said to be exporting them. So if you’re looking at a U.S.-source used vehicle, spend the $25 or so and do a CarFax search on it using its Vehicle Identification Number. Then decide if you want to buy something that’s been declared a total loss.
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