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I’ve seen this topic addressed before, but I’m curious if the stricter banking policies and immigration laws have an effect:
How easy is it for a non-resident U.S. citizen to buy a vehicle, without a CR bank account?
I guess that’s really a 2-part question…
(#1) I know the initial purchase/title/plates can be handled by a broker/relocation “assistant”, but
(#2) what about the marchamo / inspection / addt’l insurance, etc…. how easy is it to obtain these without a cedula or CR bank account?
Still easy. But if you don’t have a CR license you will need to keep leaving every 90 days or so to ‘reset’ your home license.
All of the car expenses you have named can be paid for with cash. Of course, without a bank account you will need to be able to access cash using an ATM card from a bank account in the US. There will be fees to access your cash. It is not as convenient as having a bank account in Costa Rica but it is doable. Having a friend in Costa Rica that you trust will go a long way to keep fees paid when they are due unless you come and go often. The Marchamo is due before the end of the year and the RTIVE (inspection) may be due in a different month and requires a physical inspection of the vehicle. If there are deficiencies found in the vehicle, there will be expenses to repair or correct the deficiencies. Once I had to buy 4 new tires for my car to pass the RTIVE. Not having a bank account may require having more cash on hand than you might otherwise.
Lets not forget – there is no law against rolling back the odometer in CR; the seller doesn’t have to disclose that the car was in a flood in the US and that’s why its here; cars are cut into pieces in the US and shipped as scrap to CR then welded back together and sold; a new car in CR may not have all the features that it should have (might be missing airbags). Anyone have other pitfalls to avoid?
There was an article last week in La Nacion, reporting that many changes and fines ‘were in the works’ regarding ‘rolling back the odometer’, not fully reporting previous damage, removing VIN numbers on imported vehicles, etc so maybe things will get better.
[quote=”VictoriaLST”]Lets not forget – there is no law against rolling back the odometer in CR; the seller doesn’t have to disclose that the car was in a flood in the US and that’s why its here; cars are cut into pieces in the US and shipped as scrap to CR then welded back together and sold; a new car in CR may not have all the features that it should have (might be missing airbags). Anyone have other pitfalls to avoid?[/quote]
It’s important to understand, too, that a car purchased in Costa Rica, whether new or used, will be no cheaper than a car that someone (anyone) imports. Aside from those “reconstituted” from scrap, all cars imported to Costa Rica are charged the same import duties and other expenses regardless who imports them. No car importer is going to give money away, so in the end, it’s the final owner who pays all the costs. And those costs are passed on when the vehicle is resold.
If you shop for a car in the U.S., you’ll have a far greater selection to choose among, and you can know the car’s history including true mileage, wreck or flood status, etc.
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