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Any advise on the safest SUV and import tax.
I am considering the purchase of a 2009 Kia Sportage..
Any idea of what the import tax may be. Is it better to drive the Kia into CR or ship from Miami?
It has good safety ratings, my dilema is buy used with a great deal, or buy new for dependability. I realize there is 50% import tax but how is the value determined?
Is it better to buy an older but cheaper car thus paying less import tax?
Any suggestions are appreciated.
First off, you must be willing to put up with a lot to drive a car here from the U.S. This has been discussed elsewhere in this forum at great length. Suffice it to say, you will not save any money. It’ll cost you more in gas, hotels, meals, etc.
Putting your car into the hands of a professional car importer is the surest way to get it here in one piece. Cars that are one to three years old pay the lowest [u]rate[/u] on import duty. The rate goes up for cars four to six years old and up again for older cars. Yes, you could import an older, less valuable car, but due to the higher rate you could end up paying a higher duty due to the higher rate.
The value of your car is determined by Costa Rican Customs based upon the Black Book. My understanding is that mileage, condition, trim level, and accessories are not considered.
The Kia Sportages I’ve been exposed to have been fine cars and you see a lot of them, so parts and service should be no problem. If you can get a good deal on an ’09 model, grab it. The duty rate will be the lowest and the car will already have taken a substantial hit on depreciation.
While David is on target with the customs import rates being the lowest for newer cars there are a few points you might want to think about. A new car will have the HIGHEST purchase price. This in most situations will offset the higher customs fees for a 4 year old car. A NEW car will have you taking the biggest hit on depreciation and value once you turn the key. A NEW car’s price includes a built in manufacture’s warranty cost which I’m pretty sure will be useless here in Costa Rica unless you’re close to a dealer (if there is one). A new car might not have the repairs parts supply network in place yet if it’s a newly designed model. A new car is a much more attractive target for the bad guys. A new car will let everyone know you’re the new Gringo on the block with money. Not something you might want to do, even with a Kia.
You might want to think about the balance of getting a new car as compared to something a few years old. Just my two cents.
What would the Tax rate be if i brought my 1964 El Camino with me , Instead of selling it. I am sure there Black book will not show it, I also have a 1979 BMW 528I, ( Sell /Bring ?? )
WillemTheir ‘Black Book’ shows nearly everything! If it doesn’t you can’t bring it in, unless on a tourist visa’!
What benefit would it do you to bring both the vehicles? They would need to pass ‘RITIVE’ to be able to drive them but if only for a collector value, you will need additional storage space which may not be available, unless you use a storage company.Opabh
You are going to get the treatment on “collector” cars hat old paying the highest % of taxes at 50% of black book vale I beleve. That would be a costly endeavor.
It is true, as mentioned previously on this forum that cars imported to CR are NOT the same models as US. A CR Toyota Land Cruiser is NOT a US Land Cruiser. There are many cars you can easily get in CR that you cannot in the US, such Pugeot, Renault and numerous Chinese brand cars and Toyota, Nissan, Isuzu, Hyundai and Kia diesel trucks and SUV’s.
The taxation on bringing a car in is set up such that a new car with the least % is equivalent to a slightly older car with higher taxation.
Can anyone give credence to the rumor that the taxation rates are about to be changed again to further the pain and hassel of purchasing a used vehicle with the goal of phasing out anything more than 10 years old?We drove our 2002 Isuzu Trooper from Illinois to Costa Rica on January 2 arived in Costa Rica on January 11 enjoyed every mile. Duty on our car was about $7800. value in U.S.A. was $9500 hope this helps
[b]sammysdream[/b], it is nice to see someone post a positive experience after driving down. Many time people ask for info saying they intend to do this, but we never hear whether or not they did.
sammysdream / Thanks, I will be selling both vehicles before i move, and buy new there or 1 year old.
Thank you for all the suggestions. I will indeed import using
the gentleman this sight has mentioned. I will purchase something about 2 years old, not brand new. Everyone seems to share in the fact that US auto’s are built to higher safety standards which is why I prefer to purchase a car in the US.
I have communicated with dealerships in CR and the prices are much higher there and used vehicles come with problems like mileage being turned back and unknown history. It seems one pays one way or the other but safety is paramount to me so that really closes the deal. Getting a bar for the steeringwheel, wheel locks should help deter the thieves. Seems no simple or cheap solution so I will stick with safety.I don’t know what’s available in the U.S., but here in Costa Rica you can get a “MultiLock” device that locks your transmission shift lever in place when you park. Some say they’re impossible to defeat; others claim that competent thieves can get past them easily. I dunno . . .
Steering wheel locks (aka, The Klub) are not difficult to defeat. You just cut the steering wheel. Those with two “legs” on each end are more difficult to overcome but hardly impossible.
We use both on our car which also has a remote door lock that disables the ignition.
There is also LoJack car locator service available here. If you’re insuring your car against theft, the discount that INS gives you for the LoJack almost pays the annual subscription fee.
Seems to me that the more obstacles a car thief has to overcome the less likely he’ll choose your car to target, so even if these things aren’t foolproof if they just deter it’s enough.
Unfortunately the MultiLock and the Klub can both be defeated in under a minute by a thief with basic tools. The good news is it only takes about 30 seconds to disable most car alarms so those items add a bit more time. LoJacks are good but if the thief knows they are there they can be defeated pretty quick as well.
The key with LoJack though is knowing they are installed which many low tech thieves probably won’t. The downside is paying for the service but if you get big savings through INS as David mentioned it’s probably worth it. Just as an FYI though the LoJack will help you recover the car but if its been stripped (which takes about 6-10 minutes) then you are out of luck and will only have a shell. The best time to find a vehicle with LoJack is the first couple days due to the likelihood of the thieves letting it cool off somewhere. The question is how fast do they respond to missing cars in CR?
The best thing I have researched is called a Ravelco theft deterrent system but it’s unfortunately not available in CR and would have to be installed in the US or Canada prior to shipping. I’ll probably get one on my ’99 4Runner that I’m shipping in April. This system coupled with my factory immobilizer/alarm should make the car very hard to steal. They are not cheap but you save money with an AAA card (amongst other things) and the price ends up around $350 or so.
Other bits of advice would be to add some locking lug nuts to the wheels to deter wanna be tire thieves (they will not stop a real thief) and of course to leave nothing of value in the car ever. Nothing will stop a thief from grabbing your stereo, iPod, fancy sun glasses and cell phones!
When in doubt, get as much as possible and use them in tandem like David said. Thieves like easy! Unless you have a very desirable vehicle.
I should add to the above that 3M and Johnson both make transparent window films that render glass virtually unbreakable. A would-be thief could waste a lot of time trying to break a side window with this stuff installed.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]I should add to the above that 3M and Johnson both make transparent window films that render glass virtually unbreakable. A would-be thief could waste a lot of time trying to break a side window with this stuff installed.[/quote]
I need to check that film out!
As far as the dog, why not get two so you can work ’em in shifts. 😉
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