Car ownership

[vanessa]

Anyone here have a car? Did you buy it here or bring it from another country? I heard that you can bring one in tax free one time with your DNI as long as you keep it a year or more (all they check I was told). It is part of moving here that you are allowed to bring your stuff. Does this have any truth? How hard would it be/expansive to buy one in the US and bring it down? We want to get a Honda CRV and it costs over $12k more here for the model we want.

We have been here now for 5 years and decided that it is time to get another one (after moving from Los Angeles, not having a car was such a charm, but now it seems like we are stuck in the city a lot since we prefer to travel with our dogs and camp and stay in cabins).

Any guidance? This isnt about getting a license or what not. Just about the car.

Also how much is insurance?

 

[Sleuth]

I have been looking into doing the same, and I do not believe that you can bring a car in without paying 80% tax. Here is what I found:

ARGENTINE CUSTOMS REGULATIONS FOR IMPORTATION OF VEHICLES

DIPLOMATS are able to import used or new cars with a Diplomatic Franchise issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affaires.

RETURNING ARGENTINE CITIZENS may import used vehicles only (one car and one motorcycle for each adult member of the family).

PERSONS WITH PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS may import used vehicles only, under the same rules that apply to Argentine citizens returning.

PERSONS WITH TEMPORARY VISA may import used vehicles under temporary admission. The car is only allowed temporary admission for the same period the client has the Visa and can be renewed if the client renews the Visa. Before the visa expires, the vehicle must be removed from Argentina. VEHICLE MUST KEEP THE ORIGINAL PLATES.

General Requirements:

1) Vehicle must enter Argentina within (6) six months after shipper/owner arrival.

2) Vehicle and its documentation must be under shipper's name.

3) Importation of new vehicles is subject to Ministry of Commerce regulations and is limited to certain types of vehicles. New vehicles can not be imported as part of the move.

Documentation Required for Argentine Citizens and Foreign Citizens with Permanent Residence:

1) Owner's original passport.

2) Original B/L's.

3) Complete car documentation including the property title under the name of the shipper.

4) Original purchase invoice.

5) Certificate of Residence issued by the Argentine Consulate at origin country ( for Argentine citizens returning only)

Note: All documents that are not issued in Spanish must be translated by an official Translator and certified by the Argentine College of Translators.

Duties / Taxes: Approximately 80% of car CIF value for normal cars , 100% for diesel cars and 65% for motorcycles. The CIF Price Includes the Vehicle Price + Shipping freight + Insurance Cost.

Argentine citizens returning can use this franchise (always paying taxes and duties) only once per lifetime and Customs will authorize just one for each adult member of the family.

That pretty much meant looking for a car here, and also pretty much meant we were looking at the Ford Ecosport, which is by far the cheapest small SUV here.

Check out http://www.demotores.com.ar. They can give you a good idea about car costs, etc.

 

[Gringoboy]

One of the good things about buying a car here is that it is well regulated in terms of verification of the car's status (stolen, rebuilt etc) which is carried out by the Police.
The actual tramite is a pain and I've done it three of four times, but never through a dealer.
You should be able to find a bargain on demotores and it's usually a good idea to take a mechanic to check the car over, as is the case anywhere.
Good luck!

 

[jjsto]

For what it is worth, I too have long thought about importing a car from the US, and I also have looked into getting a CR-V or Rav4 type vehicle. There is just no way I can bring myself to pay the insane prices here for a used CR-V. After doing some research I concluded the following:

1) The best value for a compact SUV here in my opinion is the Chery Tiggo. It is a Chinese car company that established a plant in Uruguay, builds the car with local parts, and then does not have to pay taxes on the sales in Argentina. The car is built on a 2002 Toyota Rav4 frame and has a 2.0 mitsubishi motor. The body looks like a cross between a Rav4 and CR-V. I went to the dealership and you can get a new one, 0 km, for about $21,000 USD after taxes and fees. Plus, you dont have to wait months like other cars, they have them in stock at the dealership. Only trouble is, there is no way to know how reliable it is (since it is new), and getting parts could be difficult.

2) As for bringing in a car, I also thought about bringing my family's old 2001 BMW X5. It has about 80k miles and is in great condition. In the states I think it is worth $12-$14k. Here they all seem to be listed over $40k. So, if you bought a used X5 for around $13k in the US, paid $1500 to ship it on a roll-on/roll-off boat, you could have the car here for around $15k. Then after local import taxes your total is about 15 + .8(15) = $27k. (unless they charge more?) So, it seems like, if you pick a high end used car, there might be enough of a difference to justify going through the hassle.

As for now, I plan on continuing to drive my locally purchased 1996 VW Golf. It is starting to grow on me..

 

[vanessa]

Thanks for all the excellent replies. We have a lot to consider...

 

[Sleuth]

1) The best value for a compact SUV here in my opinion is the Chery Tiggo. It is a Chinese car company that established a plant in Uruguay, builds the car with local parts, and then does not have to pay taxes on the sales in Argentina. The car is built on a 2002 Toyota Rav4 frame and has a 2.0 mitsubishi motor. The body looks like a cross between a Rav4 and CR-V. I went to the dealership and you can get a new one, 0 km, for about $21,000 USD after taxes and fees. Plus, you dont have to wait months like other cars, they have them in stock at the dealership. Only trouble is, there is no way to know how reliable it is (since it is new), and getting parts could be difficult.

Thanks for pointing this one out. Their 4x4 model is actually less than the Ford Ecosport 4x4 model. I'm going to check them both out.

Do you know what the taxes and fees amount to?

 

[katti]

We brought in our car from belgium, we didn't pay taxes, but we have "temporary permission" to keep it here. In the beginning (we didn't live here yet) we left the country every (I don't remember, 3 or 6 months). Now that we have a 1 year visa it goes together with our visa, the company that brought our furniture in (Argenmove) does the paperwork now and we don't have to leave the country anymore : last time it was renewed for 8 months, now it is valid until the day our visa expires again.

We still drive under our Belgian licence plate. We don't pay taxes on the car here. Only in Belgium. We have an Argentine insurance.

 

[ghost]

We brought in our car from belgium, we didn't pay taxes, but we have "temporary permission" to keep it here. In the beginning (we didn't live here yet) we left the country every (I don't remember, 3 or 6 months). Now that we have a 1 year visa it goes together with our visa, the company that brought our furniture in (Argenmove) does the paperwork now and we don't have to leave the country anymore : last time it was renewed for 8 months, now it is valid until the day our visa expires again.

We still drive under our Belgian licence plate. We don't pay taxes on the car here. Only in Belgium. We have an Argentine insurance.

Yes but you will have to take the car out when you exit Argentina. And I doubt if your Belgian insurance company is going to cover you in Argentina????? Unless you are with an embassy.

 

[katti]

Yes but you will have to take the car out when you exit Argentina. And I doubt if your Belgian insurance company is going to cover you in Argentina????? Unless you are with an embassy.

That is correct, we have to take it out to sell it (but it will probably last another 10 years or more), the Belgian insurance company does not cover the car, but the Argentine insurance is a lot cheaper anyway.

 

[jjsto]

Thanks for pointing this one out. Their 4x4 model is actually less than the Ford Ecosport 4x4 model. I'm going to check them both out.

Do you know what the taxes and fees amount to?

No, I dont remember what the taxes and fees amounted to. I searched around for the paper with the official quote they gave me that itemized everything, but I cant find it. As, I recall the 4x4 model came fully loaded with leather and a sunroof. To hold down costs, the only option you could choose was the exterior color. The 4x2 was in stock, but the 4x4 had a 3-5 week wait. I believe the 4x4 final price was around $26,000.

The 4x2 model they quoted me was listed at $20,800 (i think), but then they subtracted a little and added back a delivery fee, patente, and paperwork. The most important fee is the patente which you have to pay each year based on the book value of the car. Also, bear in mind, this was a year ago when the peso was around 3.8, so they both might be more expensive now.

As for the Ecosport, I looked into that a little. I dont remember if they sell it with the 1.6 liter motor here, but there is no way I would buy it with less than the 2.0. My neighbor has a 2006 one, and he has not been too happy with it. Ford has supposedly improved dramatically in quality the last few years, but I am not sure if that applies to their brazilian plant. I guess I just cant get over an SUV being built on the frame of a ford fiesta.

I feel like the Tiggo offers a roomier, higher clearance, and overall better SUV experience than the Ecosport. That being said, the Tiggo comes with a higher "uncertainty factor" since it is difficult to gauge the long term durability. There is the 2 year warranty to help mitigate that problem though. But, selling it after 2 years would probably be tricky since not many people know what it is.

Anyway, if you do decide to buy something let me know how it works out, since I will probably be looking to upgrade one of these days...

Tiggo forum with some info:
http://cherytiggo.ning.com/forum/categories/chery-tiggo/listForCategory