Importing Cars

[Dinny]

Hi All,
here 2/3 weeks and trying to apply my trade, Car Sales, however found it very difficult to start due to concerning used car prices with no realistic depreciation factors and general supply of quality cars, ie shortage, so this leads me to ideas of importing cars .......if anyone has knowledge or experience or links for my research on possible viability of business i would appreciate , doesn't matter if from Europe, US , other South or Central america countries all will help ,

kind regards Dennis

 

[Mitch]

I am not trying to be cynical or a wise guy, but I hope you are kidding.

 

[Mitch]

I am not trying to be cynical or a wise guy, but I hope you are kidding. You will need to export goods of equal value to what you import. Talk to a lot of expats before you think of opening any business here.

 

[Dinny]

Thanks Mitch this is why i wanted to get people to let me know about there experiences yes i am expecting horror stories which will have to be taken into account, you have made comment about exporting /importing the same value this is type of info that i need and if experiences would appreciate PMs also

 

[French jurist]

Hi Dennis,

I see it tricky.

On car imports, a tax of 50% of the "CIF" value has to be paid (CIF is the value determined by the Customs... And no, they won't use the US blue book for instance to determine it).
Added to that are quite a few more fees (even a VAT if I recall although I don't remember if it applies everytime).

As a result, let's say you import a Jeep Wrangler 2000 that's worth 5K in the US and 18K here : you likely will need to pay like 14K in various taxes + the shipping + insurance.

Not mentionning all the hassle & difficulties you'll face.

Also (since we are in Argentina), the "grey zone" (which permits to "ease" things in exchange for a "tip") does not really exist when it comes to nationalizing foreign cars here. (the forms which are called "0 forms" if I recall to nationalize the cars are very well monitored).


True the used cars market here is berzerk. One of the reasons I was told is that Menem (former AR president) passed a law like 15 years ago to incite people to send their old cars to the junkyard (promoting the new cars market). Many used cars got destroyed that way, then came the crisis and people had no money to buy new cars (Doh! ).

 

[TheBlackHand]

I'm going to be importing a new car from the US in the next few months, I'll let you know how it works out once i've gone through the process. I don't expect it to be easy, but it will be worth it in the long run, at least for me.

 

[katti]

The amount of tax you pay, is not calculated on the invoice value, but on the market value here in Argentina. So importing cars that are cheaper abroud does not make a lot of sense.

At this time, Argentina must be about one of the only countries in the world where a car can actually go up in value over the years. It is possible to buy a second hand car at the same price as a new one. Only the new ones are not available

 

[steveinbsas]

I'm going to be importing a new car from the US in the next few months, I'll let you know how it works out once i've gone through the process. I don't expect it to be easy, but it will be worth it in the long run, at least for me.

Until it is stolen.

 

[ndcj]

Until it is stolen.

Or you need a part for it, or a windscreen, or insurance, or nafta not made from 2 parts rat urine!

 

[steveinbsas]

Perhaps TheBlackHand wants to import a patroll car.