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Dear friends: Does anyone in Costa Rica have experience with the availability of repairs for Honda automobiles? I am thinking of shipping my very nice Honda Element and am wondering about the availability of service and/or parts….thanks!
I see Honda parts for sale most places in the central valley. I don’t think you will have a problem. Just know that the parts will be quite expensive…
I am also considering shipping a Honda Civic, and and Toyota 4Runner. During our last visit to CR last week, I talked with local Ticos who owned both vehicles. Their responses were, parts were available for both the Honda and Toyota. They recommended that parts were available in Liberia; approximately a 25 minute drive from our home. They also advised that part prices were not extremely expenses, as opposed to non-japanese makes.
The Honda agency here is FACO. I just bought a new CRV – EX. I would suggest the agency doing the repairs because:
1) You get the experts. Local mechanics will use low quailty fluids and parts and then show you a recite for high quality ones and then return the high quality parts to make up the difference in price. Also local mechanics will trade out expensive parts on your vehicle or snatch inteior items. I am not being paranoid.
2) With the dealer you also document the actual milage and have a service record which is huge when it comes to selling your car because the majority of importaed cars have had the odometer rolled back. Yes it is easy to roll back a digital odometer. It cost like $20 in Limon.
Also newer cars require less maintainece so doing things right the first time in Costa Rica costs less when it comes to car maintainence – and everything else really. That’s why I always use a third party consultant to oversee all my transactions, contracts and major purchases. When sellers know that you have someone who knows what is going on, it prevents mistakes before they occur. If you are shipping a car you will save money by talking with an expert other than the shipper.
Shippers say they charge a nominal fee and then they add a ton of money onto the taxes. They clip you on the registration by charging you the full years marchamos when, lets say your car entered April 1, you would only need to pay the last 7 months of the year, but they will charge a full 12 months and pocket the first 5 month. Import duties are another way they tack on fees. Write me a mail and I will hook you up with the guy who oversaw my last importation of a used 07 vw rabbit. He saved me almost $2,000 over what the local shipping companies quoted.
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