Finance car in America, Drive it in the DR

kimbjorkland

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Apr 6, 2011
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I've read all the threads about importing a car, but I haven't seen anyone discuss this fact.

For an American like me with good credit history, it's easy to get a good car in Miami for about $150/month on a purchase plan (not a lease).

Has anyone successfully purchased a car like this with American low cost financing, and then successfully imported to the DR?

Would the import taxes wipe out the benefit?
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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You can't get the car out of the USA.
"Years" ago you could,no more.
I guess the "Re Po Man" couldn't get all the cars back!
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suarezn

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Feb 3, 2002
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Yep has to have been paid for. No liens...what you could do is if you really have good credit is put it on a credit card with low interest rates or maybe you could get a personal loan, pay for the car outright and then you can import it into The DR while hopefully making low monthly payments in The US.
 

Criss Colon

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"Importing" the purchased car,means "Leonel" will get a big bite out of you to help pay HIS "Finance Charges" with the "IMF"!
Not worth doing it,with shipping added in,and no Warrantee on your new car here.
Buy a Hyundai, Santa Fe here!
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suarezn

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"Importing" the purchased car,means "Leonel" will get a big bite out of you to help pay HIS "Finance Charges" with the "IMF"!
Not worth doing it,with shipping added in,and no Warrantee on your new car here.
Buy a Hyundai, Santa Fe here!
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It still can be cheaper to import than to buy in The DR, depending on the car (i.e. US car covered under CAFTA).
 

kimbjorkland

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Thanks guys.

We want to upgrade from our current piece of ***, to something we can be sure is new with good airbags etc for when I get pregnant (hopefully soon). We've looked at a bunch of 'new' cars here, they're either all pieces of ****, simply not 'new', or they're just overpriced.

Surely somebody clever here has figured out a work-around. Hmm... frustrating.

How many of us have new'ish cars with airbags that will actually deploy?
 

suarezn

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Thanks guys.


How many of us have new'ish cars with airbags that will actually deploy?

The airbags of any car will certainly deploy 99% of the time unless they have been tampered with. The testing that goes into it is very rigorous. My son was in an accident in a 1994 Toyota Camry and sure enough they deployed as expected. That part I wouldn't be worried about. If your main concern is safety then you have a few choices. If you can afford it then get yourself a BMW or Mercedes which come equipped with airbags up the ying yang (some models even include pelvic and curtain airbags). If you can't or don't want to spend that much then get yourself a newer minivan like The Honda Odyssey for instance. They come equipped with airbags all over the place (Front, side, back, etc...) as families and soccer moms is their target audience safety is one of their major concerns. Hyunday has made huge advances in this area as well and as I understand it their car line up is now considered very safe as well with The Sonata having the most airbags of any sedan.
 

southwardbound2

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If you can afford it then get yourself a BMW or Mercedes which come equipped with airbags up the ying yang (some models even include pelvic and curtain airbags).
Great cars, but for the DR only get the SUV model. The others would be bottoming out with the potholes and "speed bumps from he**" constantly.......not to mention open man holes!!
 
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It still can be cheaper to import than to buy in The DR, depending on the car (i.e. US car covered under CAFTA).

Yep but what about the warranty? Many car manufacturers now offer 5 year /100k mils warranty. The car servicing charges during those 5 years/100k miles would effectively wipe out any savings. And if you get a major failure or repair to undertake, you will be loosing on new car imported to DR vs buying a new one here. And you know the road conditions in the DR, if you live in the interior of the DR, the front drive train gets a lot of "stress" and the associated part replacements/servicing would eat into your savings, etc. Myself I have to have the A/C evaporator changed second time in less than 30 months. Lots of dust as here in Higuey is not good for A/C. In very many car models, especially American models, you cannot change evaporator without removing the whole dashboard. So if you add these potential risks and you calculate all the parts that would need servicing in the DR more frequently they would need in the US, you make your decision.
 

suarezn

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Rubio: If you buy brand new then yes I would buy from an accredited dealership in The DR (i.e. Toyota or Ford), but IMO buying brand new is foolish even in The US and even more so in The DR.
 

Criss Colon

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Don't EVER forget,you are never exactly sure what will happen when you go to "Customs" to get your car.
Even when there is little,or no "Duty",a friend of mine had to pay a "Propina" to get his car out of the lot.
He was told it could be "Several Days" before they got to his car,because it was at the back of the parking lot.
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suarezn

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Criss: I f any of you guys buy a car in The US and ship it to The DR your best bet is to either pay a broker to do that paperwork for you or even better find a car dealer with an Anadive or Adeci license (Car dealer associations) and ship it to them. They have tons of experience and contacts on getting these cars out as they do this on a regular basis and the custom agents know not to try to rip them off or expect any propina. In addition because they are dealers they automatically get a percentage off the total custom fees. I'm sure any dealer will do this for you for a small fee (My brother has done this for several people).
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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I've never tried it and I'm not endorsing it but the mudanzas offer this service.
I have seen it advertised at Awlida.

If/when my time comes, I expect that I'll ask for more details.

Its worth a try if somebody intends to import.
 

JaraChica

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Nov 9, 2011
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You should probably check the rules on importing a car because my friend just imported her car and she had to have the title in her name for one year first. That would kill any idea to buy a car on a personal loan and bring it in right away. I guess they are trying to limit dealers from bringing cars in and then reselling them.
 

suarezn

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You should probably check the rules on importing a car because my friend just imported her car and she had to have the title in her name for one year first. That would kill any idea to buy a car on a personal loan and bring it in right away. I guess they are trying to limit dealers from bringing cars in and then reselling them.

She probably brought it in taking advantage of the law that allows Dominicans to bring in their personal car (which they must have owned for at least a year) and pay no custom duties. If you do that then yes the car must have been in your name for at least a year, otherwise no problem.
 

nyc dad

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Jul 28, 2011
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how bout.....

Montero shipping,it looks like they do cars door to door.They also have some links to the paperwork you need but a lot of them are broken.I made up my mind and buying in DR for piece of mind(warranty,etc,)