I have often heard that a used vehicle purchased from a dealer comes with a 30 day guarantee. But I recently heard from someone who has been living here for many years that this is not restricted to purchases from dealers — that any seller in CR must honor a 30 day guarantee.
I know of the 30-day guarantee at used car dealerships. But I’ve never heard of this rule extending to private owners. And from my research and inquiries I haven’t been able to verify that it does. I think in practice, your best bet with buying any used car in Costa Rica is to check the vehicle history through services like CarFax and have it inspected by a qualified mechanic.