Jim F. Says:
My wife and I are moving to Costa Rica this winter. We’ve heard cars are expensive down there. Should we ship our car or buy one when we arrive. (We’re moving to Atenas in the Central Valley.)
IL Contributor Kathleen Evans Writes:
The choice of whether to bring a car is often a dilemma when making the move to Costa Rica. Importing your car can be expensive. Newer models from 2014 to 2020 pay a 5% duty, but older cars pay 73% (clearly the country wants to keep older cars off the road).
For example, shipping a 2017 Honda CRV from Tampa, Florida will cost a total of $13,300 (including duty, all registrations and inspections, plates, etc.), according to Barry Wilson with ShipCostaRica.com.
Is it worth that, on top of what you already paid for the car? You might think not, but bear in mind that tariffs on cars in Costa Rica are also high. A similar car is listed on the Encuentra24.com Costa Rica page for $30,900. So, even if you buy here, you’ll pay more than North American prices.
Buying a used car makes sense though. Strong sunshine, rutted side-roads, and sea air in a lot of the country can all accelerate your vehicle’s aging process. So it makes sense to have a car you don’t worry about too much.
As a newcomer inquiring about the best place to car shop in Costa Rica, you will consistently hear the town of Grecia is the must-visit. In fact, in just a four-and-a-half mile radius, Grecia boasts 63 used-car dealers that supply the majority of the country’s used car demands. Most are southwest of town on Highway 154.
Eli Rojas (known as “The King of Cars”) was the catalyst for the car dealer movement in Grecia—importing his first used car from Delaware in 1991. “I remember it well,” Eli laughs. “It was a 1982 Nissan Sentra.”
A Costa Rican native, Eli lived in the U.S. for many years, working at a car dealership in New Jersey. After exporting his first car, demand boomed. “Back then, there were not a lot of cars here. I returned to Costa Rica in 2001 and opened my own dealership.”
He now owns two dealerships in Grecia and one in Santa Cruz, Guanacaste. He employs two lawyers to help with the closings and offers financing. Most of his cars are still imported from the U.S.
Eli offers his advice to used car shoppers: “Always have a trusted mechanic look at it before you buy it. Don’t pay much attention to the mileage—everybody plays with it. And buy from someone with a good reputation who has been in the business a long time.”
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