Sensible solution to a stupid idea...anyone?

[joejohnhanley]

Hi everybody

A little introduction: My name is Joe, I'm 22, from Manchester (England). I ride a big bike at home (ZX-9R) but I'm going to sell this very soon and fly to Buenos Aires at the beginning of March this year...less than 4 weeks time

My plan is to buy a new 150cc custom style motorcycle and ride north and west for 3 months, then come back to BA and sell the bike back to the garage. I know I will lose some value on the bike but it's still a lot cheaper than renting.

The BIG question: Do you know how or where I can insure my bike for this trip? I know you need 3rd party insurance but I have no idea where to find it.

I would love it if you could help me at all in this matter or point me in the direction of someone who might.

Thanks

Joe

 

[SaraSara]

"La Caja" insures motorcycles, as well as cars and most everything else. It is a very reliable company.

Here's the link - only in Spanish, I'm afraid.

http://www.lacaja.com.ar/lacaja/Retail/Seguro-Motos/09-Motos-Productos.lnk

 

[joejohnhanley]

Thanks for the help Sara, do you know if it is possible for an english person to buy and insure cars/bikes in Argentina without any citizenship or fixed address etc?

 

[HowardinBA]

e-mail my english speaking lawyer here in BA,he will put you right.his name is Martin
[email protected]

good luck,Howard

 

[hannstew]

I use Liberty Seguros for my bike, their phone # is +5411 4104-0000 or 0800-222-3700.

 

[French jurist]

Hi,

I'm a biker as well (300.000 kms on 4 continents in 20 years).

- In order to buy a motorcycle and have the papers be established in your name, you will need : your passport, your european driver's license, a "certificado de domicilio" and a CDI.
The "certificado de domicilio" could seem to be a problem but it is not : in Capital, only the police can give it by coming to the home adress you give (an hotel won't work) but outside Capital it's the "registro civil" that makes it and they don't come to you, you come to them with just an electricity bill, one that has not even your name.
The CDI is a piece of cake to get.

- Insurance : most of the moto dealers offer insurance service. I bought my bike at "Moto Roma" in Liniers on Rivadavia avenue (the place where you have 10 motorbike dealers side by side, best deals in BA) and they insured mine in the act with just my european driver's license.
Typically, for a 150 cc, the basic premium for insurance turns around 50 pesos per month. To get insurance against robbery, consider adding 20%/annual of the motorcycle's value.

- If you intend to buy a Chinese model (like the custom 150 CC motomel priced around 8.500 pesos), you are aware that it takes 5000 kms to fix everything that was not correctly assembled.

- To travel north & south of Argentina, I'd rather recommend an offroad motorcycle, not a custom one (someone could sleep in some of the holes you can meet on the provincial roads).



If you need assistance with the whole process (even the certificado de domicilio), PM me, I've been there & done that.

PS : even though only your european's drivers license is needed, it is of course better to bring as well an international one, can't harm.

 

[joejohnhanley]

Thanks to everyone that's helped me out so far and cheers Frenchy, that last post just pretty much sorted out everything I've been trying to organise for the last 3 weeks! I've been on the Moto Roma website and it looks like a good place, even better now I know it's next to 9 others. I might well be in touch about the paperwork before I'm up to my neck in red tape and beaurocracy.

My biggest reservation now about the trip is having to ride something like this http://www.motomel.com.ar/skua_big.html when I had my heart set on bandanas, beards and this http://www.evisos.com.ar/images/advertisements/2009/05/16/cerro-prince-150-el-mejor-precio-de-contado_889ef6f1_3.jpg !!!

If anyone would like to sell me an electricity bill in a few weeks time that would be fantastic...but I only pay in beer and mojitos

 

[French jurist]

good choice with motoroma, they sell about 700 bikes monthly so they are offering the best deals in town.

I could lend you my electricity bill for free if that's just what you need, but it is from the northern suburbs of BA (where you can get the certificado de domicilio without having the police to deliver it).

You can do the paperwork by yourself though, but it is highly recommended for you to speak spanish. Too, dealing with local administrations can sometimes be hectic.

Nevertheless, here are a few additional details :
- With such a dealer as motoroma, they have a very quick turnover and quite often they get the "conformity certificate" for the vehicle 15 days after you get the bike. This certificate is needed in order to patent the bike.
Since I believe you wouldn't want to lose 2 weeks, that's an important point to mention.
- Added to the cost of the bike, they make you pay for the "conformity certificate" (it's about 150 pesos if I recall) + another little fee (can't remember, it's about 70 pesos, no big deal).
- The patenting for a 150/250 cc bike costs around 400 pesos

The motos you are interested in are chinese (I have a motomel btw), and quality really s**ks : engine seems to be better assembled but everything else needs to be double-checked. Too, the materials chinese use to make parts are of low quality (break easily) but this you probably know already.

If you want to buy an offroad motomel 250cc, I could be interested in buying it back from you when you leave (but how will you spend the first 1500 kms : a new engine needs to be not pushed as you know) like for the price the dealer would offer you.

 

[hannstew]

Frenchy, great advise!
JJH, keep us posted about your trip.