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December 7, 2009 at 1:11 pm #162597costaricafincaParticipant
We lost two dogs that were poisoned by thieves who broke into our home. We now, lock them inside at night.
December 7, 2009 at 5:39 pm #162598sueandchrisMemberI am perfectly aware of the systemic problems with petty theft and dog poisoning in Costa Rica. Are we then all assuming that these problems cover all “Latinos” or even all Costa Ricans? How are these kind of blanket comments acceptable, useful or further the kind of dialogue we all enjoy on this forum?
December 7, 2009 at 5:49 pm #162599costaricafincaParticipantDefinitely not, which is why I added my response [i]”Sure a lot of inappropriate comments being posted recently…
but some are ignored and others removed”.[/i] And you will notice, that the original/offending post is still there…December 7, 2009 at 7:36 pm #162600opabhMemberLet’s get on to a better subject, as this site is for sharing info, Has any one in the last 6 months Shipped a 40 foot container from California to San Jose (C/R) with the interior contents of a 3 bedroom home and a Car, Personal items only, Like Furniture /stuff/ tools/Truck.
And if so what was your cost and time frame and any other info
Like hazels from any body/ Broken things.
WillemDecember 7, 2009 at 11:15 pm #162601DavidCMurrayParticipantI haven’t done such a shipment, Willem, but let me help simplify your question. Weight doesn’t matter. So what you’re paying for is the use of the container and not whatever the contents weigh. Fill it with marshmallows or bowling balls, the cost will be the same.
December 7, 2009 at 11:52 pm #162602costaricafincaParticipantWeight [i]does enter[/i] into the price quote Not just the container size. Information gathered on another forum, tells that some companies are charging ‘extra’.
Quote:”One ‘extra charge’ was for the company that packed the household. As with any of us, the packing company only gives an estimate. In this case the (packing) company charged by the weight and the bill reflected that it was more than they’d estimated. Interesting that a moving company looks at your stuff and estimates, then later decides “oh, we were wrong… pay up…” ‘Of course, ‘extras’ will also include duty, plus other stuff…
I’m sure that the shipper who posts on this forum, will inform us correctly.December 8, 2009 at 1:06 pm #162603DavidCMurrayParticipantcrfinca, are you saying that the household’s goods were [u]packed[/u] on a weight basis and that the estimate was wrong? If yes, then that didn’t affect the charge for shipping the packed container to Costa Rica, did it?
We did all our own packing — every box. And we hired a local moving company’s crew to put those boxes into the shipping container. So our cost for shipping that container from the U.S. to Costa Rica was a fixed cost that was unrelated to the costs of either packing our stuff or filling the container.
As it was, we used about twenty-two feet of a forty foot container, but we got no discount for either low volume or low weight. We could have filled the container to the brim for the same shipping cost.
December 8, 2009 at 4:39 pm #162604costaricafincaParticipantI probably didn’t write my response properly, but I was saying that other charges have appeared after being given a price quote.
I do [i]know[/i] that weight does enter into the equation, as price were given before and after additional heavy appliances were added to the container load. Companies policies may differ.
As I mentioned, I hope that Arden Brink can give us her take on the question, since she deals with these every day.December 9, 2009 at 4:05 am #162605ardenbrinkMember[quote=”costaricafinca”]
I do [i]know[/i] that weight does enter into the equation…
As I mentioned, I hope that Arden Brink can give us her take on the question, since she deals with these every day.[/quote]Hello all — Arden here. Weight DOES NOT MATTER when shipping a container to Costa Rica from North America, although “the big guys” when they provide a quote will try to tell you that it does. Our quote is, for example, NOT affected by weight other than the extremely unusual situation when something is SO unusually heavy that it’s simply a matter of providing proper people and equipment to safely handle it. It NEVER affects the actual shipping charge.
Within the U.S. it is true that tariffs for trucking CAN be affected by weight, so there’s a mindset in domestic moving that’s all about the weight. They’ll actually “measure” your household goods by weight and quote accordingly. But this is simply NOT the case with shipping to Costa Rica and any shipper who tries to tell you otherwise should be immediately suspect!
I believe I can safely say that — contrary to some folks’ experiences with other shippers — that we have NEVER come back at a client with additional charges for WEIGHT of the shipment.
As always, anyone is free to contact me directly for quote information or a wealth of other answers to questions about moving.
December 9, 2009 at 12:52 pm #162606costaricafincaParticipantThanks Arden, for your clarification.
December 12, 2009 at 12:05 am #162607opabhMemberYes, Thanks Arden for clearing this up, I will contact you after speaking with the local movers.
WillemDecember 12, 2009 at 7:56 pm #162608nomad3MemberWhat a lively group, thanks for all the responses, at least somebody is listening.
It almost sounds like I would be better off buying a used car in CR, that dose not look so desirable, except that when traveling alone one needs to be able to rely on their transportation. I have had rentals break down and was stranded for hours, thank God is has not been in bad areas but what if???
Somebody out there must have a success story I still am between that rock not knowing how old of a car or where to purchase it???
December 12, 2009 at 9:26 pm #162609sueandchrisMemberWe are shipping our auto down. But just a note, we sold our Lexus and found a 1984 Toyota Landcruiser in just excellent condition. Only 87K miles, only three owners, a great Carfax report and it was very, very inexpensive. This baby will practically go up the side of our house in four-wheel. Our import tax will be under $3K and we have had the stuff double-checked where we expect the most scrunity from the Costa Rican inspection.
So our choice was to buy here, use our trusted mechanic and the really helpful advice from Arden at Ship Costa Rica. We talked to her before we purchased which was a really big help! Now we just have to get its wheels on the Pan American!
December 28, 2009 at 10:49 pm #162610mr.diMember[quote=”sammysdream”]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[/quote]
Sammysdream–your “dream” drive to CR is something that I have considered and am considering doing in the next 1-2 years. I would love more details on the route, problems at border crossings, costs of fuel and hotels, and of course any other issues you may have experienced. I would welcome info directly to my email or shared publicly for the rest of the forum. At present, I am looking to purchase a vehicle similar to “yours” (2001 pathfinder) to bring down. We are not “ready” to retire, and so the “car” would be parked for most of the year. Honestly, I am still struggling with all the pros and cons of shipping it down, driving down or simply buying one in CR and would love to start a new thread on “driving down to CR”.
joe
mr.di@rogers.comDecember 29, 2009 at 12:15 pm #162611DavidCMurrayParticipantDriving from North America to Costa Rica has been discussed a couple of times before in this forum. You might try a search for some background.
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