I saw this late, but thought I'd make a comment.
I live out in Pilar and bought a car to make life easier. When I bought the car, I had not even started my residency process. As Attorney posted, all you need is a CDI, which is the only identification a tourist is allowed to get as far as I know. You can get your CDI pretty quickly - it took me a couple of hours. you have to have copies of your passport (don't remember how many) and get them stamped at an escribania.
IF you decide to buy a car (and there are a lot of reasons not to), I would suggest going to a car dealership that sells used cars. They will handle all of the red tape required to get your cedula verde (which is your car's registration) and deliver it to you in about 10 days usually. If you do it with an individual, it will take longer because the dealership will have already done the checks required to make sure the cedula verde can be transferred.
Traffic tickets here are attached to the car, not the driver. Of course, only "authorized" drivers can be driving a car - as an aside, if you don't have a cedula verde in your name and you are driving, you better have some kind of authorization from the owner to be driving the car, or you might have some problems if stopped at a traffic check. If a car has fines against it, it cannot be sold until the fines have been taken care of. Make sure you do everything above-board if buying a car directly from an owner to make sure the car has a clear title and all issues are taken care of. You could end up in a case where the CV was not transferred because of problems, and you don't really own the car even though you've paid for it. Then YOU will have to take care of whatever fines or issues are against the car.
Car insurance is required. I own a 1999 Megane 5-door. Insurance costs me about 2,000 pesos per year. Find an insurance company before you buy the car. You're supposed to have insurance when you drive off the lot. The Renault dealership where I bought my car sent me to a company (Caja de Ahorro) that they suggested to get insurance. You have to get the car inspected so that the insurers know exactly what condition it's in - no pre-existing conditions! After waiting for an hour to get the car inspected (on arrival at the Caja de Ahorro facility), it took about 20 minutes for the inspector to look it over. He gave me the results and directed me inside to sit down with an agent and get the policy written.
At which point I was told that it was impossible for me to get insurance from them, because their clients must have a DNI or a diplomatic passport! The lesson being that there are companies that offer insurance without a DNI, but don't depend on the dealsership you go to to know that and steer you correctly.
Used cars here hold their value FOREVER it seems. Be prepared to spend more than you might think. The good news is, the difference in price for comparable cars between individuals selling and dealerships is almost non-existent unless you might get lucky and find someone who is truly desperate to sell, but Argentinos are rarely desperate to sell if they own something.
Driving is a trip and a half here.
In the city, no one understands what a lane is for. It can so aggravating to be behind someone going along slowly down Libertador in heavy traffic, taking up two lanes because he or she is oblivious to the rest of the world.
Traffic lights are very hit or miss outside of the city. Be prepared to muscle your way through busy intersections because NO ONE will just "let" you in. Many intersections inside the city don't have lights either. Makes for an interesting feeling of Russian Roulette as you approach an intersection wondering if someone is coming from the left or right at high speed, expecting anyone else to get out of their way.
The general rule of the road is that anyone behind you MUST look out for you, not vice versa. In fact, drivers in front don't need to look in their rearview mirrors to see if it's clear to change lanes - the assumption is always that the person behind must make way no matter what.
If you park your car in the city somewhere temporarily, always use an official parking lot/garage. If you try to park on the street somewhere, you will surely get your car towed at some point, even when you're sure where you parked that it is permitted to do so. Even if 10 other cars are parked there.
On the freeways outside of town, the left lane is for people moving fast (actually, each lanes has a different speed limit going slowest from right to fastest on left, the fastest supposed to be 130). It's not uncommon to see someone in a luxury car blasting away at about 170/180 or so - best get out of their way. Don't worry, you'll know they're coming up on you for some time - they'll flash their lights like crazy to let you know you are in their way.
I've seen someone slam right into the back of another car that was stopped, going at full speed, completely oblivious to what was going on around them. I've seen trucks and cars upside down all along the freeway, in the middle of it, over the railings, etc. They drive like they don't believe in death.
I've driven to Paraguay (Asuncion, all the way to the north), through a lot of the "breadbasket" of the country to the north, which is fairly prosperous. I've never driven down south to Patagonia, so I don't know what it's like. But the 4 lane highway to Santa Fe, through Rosario, is not a very good road. There are places where the macadam has been pushed out to the side from the weight of trucks, causing "waves" of pavement. Big potholes. Large stretches of cracked, uneven pavement.
The four lane highway ends and turns into two lane highway to the north of Santa Fe. It's decent road for the most part, but it's small. They are tollroads. If you want to go more than 50-80 kph, you have to play the passing game, getting around slow cars, trucks, and farm equipment. This probably won't be a problem going south, but in the north and west, you would have problems if the farmers are striking with roadblocks all over the place.
I wouldn't suggest buying a car unless you are going to use it alot. People own parking spaces - there's a pretty good market for them. You have to find one to lease first (may not be too hard). I lived in the city previously, and had a car there for about a month. I found a place in an apartment building across the street and paid 450 pesos a month. This was in Barrio Norte (Juncal between Ayucucho and Riobamba). Monthly rent probably runs between 300 and 800, depending on where you are.
Getting work performed on cars is about like most things here. You can spend an awfully lot of time and money sometimes trying to find a place that knows how to work on your car. I've had problems even at the Renault dealership getting things fixed.
I live out in Pilar and bought a car to make life easier. When I bought the car, I had not even started my residency process. As Attorney posted, all you need is a CDI, which is the only identification a tourist is allowed to get as far as I know. You can get your CDI pretty quickly - it took me a couple of hours. you have to have copies of your passport (don't remember how many) and get them stamped at an escribania.
IF you decide to buy a car (and there are a lot of reasons not to), I would suggest going to a car dealership that sells used cars. They will handle all of the red tape required to get your cedula verde (which is your car's registration) and deliver it to you in about 10 days usually. If you do it with an individual, it will take longer because the dealership will have already done the checks required to make sure the cedula verde can be transferred.
Traffic tickets here are attached to the car, not the driver. Of course, only "authorized" drivers can be driving a car - as an aside, if you don't have a cedula verde in your name and you are driving, you better have some kind of authorization from the owner to be driving the car, or you might have some problems if stopped at a traffic check. If a car has fines against it, it cannot be sold until the fines have been taken care of. Make sure you do everything above-board if buying a car directly from an owner to make sure the car has a clear title and all issues are taken care of. You could end up in a case where the CV was not transferred because of problems, and you don't really own the car even though you've paid for it. Then YOU will have to take care of whatever fines or issues are against the car.
Car insurance is required. I own a 1999 Megane 5-door. Insurance costs me about 2,000 pesos per year. Find an insurance company before you buy the car. You're supposed to have insurance when you drive off the lot. The Renault dealership where I bought my car sent me to a company (Caja de Ahorro) that they suggested to get insurance. You have to get the car inspected so that the insurers know exactly what condition it's in - no pre-existing conditions! After waiting for an hour to get the car inspected (on arrival at the Caja de Ahorro facility), it took about 20 minutes for the inspector to look it over. He gave me the results and directed me inside to sit down with an agent and get the policy written.
At which point I was told that it was impossible for me to get insurance from them, because their clients must have a DNI or a diplomatic passport! The lesson being that there are companies that offer insurance without a DNI, but don't depend on the dealsership you go to to know that and steer you correctly.
Used cars here hold their value FOREVER it seems. Be prepared to spend more than you might think. The good news is, the difference in price for comparable cars between individuals selling and dealerships is almost non-existent unless you might get lucky and find someone who is truly desperate to sell, but Argentinos are rarely desperate to sell if they own something.
Driving is a trip and a half here.
In the city, no one understands what a lane is for. It can so aggravating to be behind someone going along slowly down Libertador in heavy traffic, taking up two lanes because he or she is oblivious to the rest of the world.
Traffic lights are very hit or miss outside of the city. Be prepared to muscle your way through busy intersections because NO ONE will just "let" you in. Many intersections inside the city don't have lights either. Makes for an interesting feeling of Russian Roulette as you approach an intersection wondering if someone is coming from the left or right at high speed, expecting anyone else to get out of their way.
The general rule of the road is that anyone behind you MUST look out for you, not vice versa. In fact, drivers in front don't need to look in their rearview mirrors to see if it's clear to change lanes - the assumption is always that the person behind must make way no matter what.
If you park your car in the city somewhere temporarily, always use an official parking lot/garage. If you try to park on the street somewhere, you will surely get your car towed at some point, even when you're sure where you parked that it is permitted to do so. Even if 10 other cars are parked there.
On the freeways outside of town, the left lane is for people moving fast (actually, each lanes has a different speed limit going slowest from right to fastest on left, the fastest supposed to be 130). It's not uncommon to see someone in a luxury car blasting away at about 170/180 or so - best get out of their way. Don't worry, you'll know they're coming up on you for some time - they'll flash their lights like crazy to let you know you are in their way.
I've seen someone slam right into the back of another car that was stopped, going at full speed, completely oblivious to what was going on around them. I've seen trucks and cars upside down all along the freeway, in the middle of it, over the railings, etc. They drive like they don't believe in death.
I've driven to Paraguay (Asuncion, all the way to the north), through a lot of the "breadbasket" of the country to the north, which is fairly prosperous. I've never driven down south to Patagonia, so I don't know what it's like. But the 4 lane highway to Santa Fe, through Rosario, is not a very good road. There are places where the macadam has been pushed out to the side from the weight of trucks, causing "waves" of pavement. Big potholes. Large stretches of cracked, uneven pavement.
The four lane highway ends and turns into two lane highway to the north of Santa Fe. It's decent road for the most part, but it's small. They are tollroads. If you want to go more than 50-80 kph, you have to play the passing game, getting around slow cars, trucks, and farm equipment. This probably won't be a problem going south, but in the north and west, you would have problems if the farmers are striking with roadblocks all over the place.
I wouldn't suggest buying a car unless you are going to use it alot. People own parking spaces - there's a pretty good market for them. You have to find one to lease first (may not be too hard). I lived in the city previously, and had a car there for about a month. I found a place in an apartment building across the street and paid 450 pesos a month. This was in Barrio Norte (Juncal between Ayucucho and Riobamba). Monthly rent probably runs between 300 and 800, depending on where you are.
Getting work performed on cars is about like most things here. You can spend an awfully lot of time and money sometimes trying to find a place that knows how to work on your car. I've had problems even at the Renault dealership getting things fixed.
I am going to the capital this morning to pick up my Car history document,what a pain in the ass to get a car here...on the positive side,I bought my Fiat Palio weekender 4yrs ago for 33,000 pesos and sold ¡t last week for 38,000-My new one(zero km)cost me 49,000,,,and I will be without a car for 3 days until the process is complete
