Cars

[systemthinker]

I am moving to ba next several months. How expensive are cars?

 

[PhilipDT]

~2x the price in the US

 

[jez]

http://www.volkswagen.com.ar/ar/es/purchase_finance/precios_vigentes.html

VW's most economical car Gol Power 3dr AR$ 42,557 (u$s 10,700)
The same car, second hand, 2 years old with 40,000 kms would be about AR$38,000

With Innflation buy the time you get to BA it will be AR$ 44,259

 

[fred mertz]

The #1 reason whyI moved to BA is that there is no need to own a car. Walking, public transportation and taxis are fine. Bicycles seem to be gaining popularity. If you really need car; rent a car. I and probably most expats have never thought of having a car in BA.

 

[mmoon]

I LOVE having a car in BA to get out of town whenever I want. I use public transport and my own feet when I'm in the city, but I love the freedom of the car. We have taken road trips all over Argentina and Uruguay that we never would have taken if we had to rent a car. The main issue is parking, so before you buy I would consider closely where you will be living. We park on the street and have never had a problem with theft or damage. But, if you want to protect your baby as most Argentines do, expect to pay at least 500 pesos per month to park your car in a garage.
Renting a car here is expensive, unreliable and a pain.

 

[BA Barrio Busquador]

Renting a car here is expensive, unreliable and a pain.

Can you tell me any more about this? We will be hiring a car to travel from BsAs around the country and are freakin' out over the expense!!! Any recommendations / what to avoid?

Thanks!

 

[Gisel]

It is better if you don't use a car here. Streets are full of them, driving is crazy and dangerous. To buy a car and mantain it is expensive. Actually, you don't need a car in a city like this. Subte lines, colectivos (buses) taxis, remises. all of them can get you everywhere. From downtown to a far neighbourhood , eg Catedral station to the last one in Belgrano, 15 minutes. There is one subte at any station every 4 minutes during business days and weekends every 10'. Here is a link to allow you to see it
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/informacion-general/transito/index.asp
and here the map of the subway network in Capital
http://www.subte.com.ar/mapas/subte.asp
Hope it will be useful for you!

 

[NaVette]

I agree with mmoon. If you are going to be here for a long time, it is nice to have the freedom, especially you have a home in the country or visiting friends outside the city. However, if you plan on staying only for a short time and have no plans to travel outside of BsAs, public transportation is convenient and reliable. You also have to consider renting or buying a stall near your home, getting insurance, and a license. We are selling our 2007 Peugot to a friend of a friend for $17.000, which is the going price on Mercado libre, but ours only have 7,000 kilometers. If buying new, keep in mind there may be a waiting period.

Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[mmoon]

NaVette makes some great points about whether or not to buy a car. I agree that if you are planning on being in Argentina for a relatively short time and don't want to spend a lot of time outside of BA, there's no need for a car. Public transportation is good, if very squishy and hot during commute times. I pretty much leave our car parked in the neighborhood during the week. As I mentioned before, I don't have a garage space, so that saves quite a bit of money. However, if you're going to live in a dense neighborhood like Recoleta, you will need a garage. Our insurance is very reasonable, especially compared to what I'm used to. Buying the car from Car One was a headache of cash exchange and tons of paperwork, but I knew I was getting something decent buying it from them instead of from an unknown private party.
I've rented cars here several times over the years and it has always been a mild to serious nightmare. The first time, I used an local rental company (I don't remember the name, or I would warn you against it), and our car completely broke down three times in the course of a four hour drive to the coast. Since it was late afternoon on Saturday, the few mechanics along the road were closed. Luckily, those pricey "peajes" on the autopista also pay for free roadside assistance, but it still threw a wrench into our plans. The company was totally unresponsive via phone and when we managed to get the car back to BA. Most recently, I rented from Avis in Mendoza, and arrived to pick up my "reserved" car only to find they didn't have it. Again, things worked out eventually, but I had only rented the car for a few days and I wasted quite a bit of time dealing with the rental agency. In addition, the rental fees here are also much greater than in the US, and the fee-included mileage is often limited to around 100 kilometers a day.
If you really are planning on road tripping all over the country, I would buy a car. After the initial pain and stress, it has absolutely been worth it.
Hope this helps! Best of luck in your adventures!

 

[mmoon]

So, after all my pro-car advocacy...we are leaving Argentina and need to sell our car. It's a 2005 Renault Scenic 2.0 (Nafta). Bought from Car One, we have all the paperwork. It has new brakes and a new timing belt, and was recently serviced. It has been an awesome car and has taken us on some amazing road trips without any problems.
PM me if you are interested.