rent or buy a car

irishpaddy said:

I expect to be spending more vacations in the d.r. and was wondering what people would recommend ...keep on renting a car or buy a car
what are the pros and cons of buying a car in the d.r.
all help would be appreciated

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Visitor........rent/taxi/bus/borrow....where do you keep your vehicle (possession) secure when not here?
Resident......buy

Foreign license valid for 90 days each entry......unless you know somebody perhaps
Insurance valid in full apparently 30 days......unless perhaps you know someone or renew with hire company

(The 'unless you know somebody' may be wearing thin with new AMET attitudes).

irishpaddy said:

I expect to be spending more vacations in the d.r. and was wondering what people would recommend ...keep on renting a car or buy a car
what are the pros and cons of buying a car in the d.r.
all help would be appreciated

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The buying market is totally unbelievable. You'll find 20 year old cars that would sell for scrap metals prices in the USA for $2,000 USD prices here. Figure $3000 if you are expecting it to run without monthly mechanic bills. And how long can you rent for that when you figure in the insurance and paid parking where it isn't exposed on the street? I had 2 batteries stolen in an 18 month period. They aren't cheap here either. A good car battery is available at Walmart in the USA for $50.00 or was a couple of years ago. Here the cheapest one is twice that. And the guarantee says right on it that if the car is more than 15 years old the guarantee is not valid at all! My advice is to stop in at a local car rental place, not one of the major chains and tell him about how many days per year you intend to be in the country and work out a deal with him.
Der Fish

Just do the math for the financial side.

As ju10 says, there are other complications to longer term stays.

The 'x' factor is the sense of comfort & stability of having your own car....
airport pickups, etc.

see if you can find the thread where contango asked the same question.

he bought and is happy

irishpaddy said:

I expect to be spending more vacations in the d.r. and was wondering what people would recommend ...keep on renting a car or buy a car
what are the pros and cons of buying a car in the d.r.
all help would be appreciated

Click to expand...

How long do you spend in the DR? I spent half the year in the DR. I bought a used Mitsubishi Montero SUV that was in very good shape. The car was about 10 years old and it cost about 7000usd.. Buying a car in the DR is complicated and time consuming. If you buy it from a private individual you will need a contract, a letter from the police saying the vehicle is problem free, the current title and insurance. You need to go to motor vehicle hopefully with current owner to get title put in your name and pay the tax. If you buy from a dealer they will handle all of this. If you are there on and off for a couple of weeks at a time you are better off to continue to rent otherwise the car will sit. I rented a garage and put the car there when I left the DR to go back to the states. Good luck and good travels.

We rented all the time. We got smart and bought a used suv. I put maybe $200 us in maint. a year. Ball joints, etc. If your coming on a regularly and have secure place to leave it, buy one and fix it up. I brought down heavey duty off road shocks, etc. I use it 2-3 times a week. Ins. is about $100 a year. Here sometimes its better to own then rent.

If you have indoor parking, go for it! But just like having a car sitting in another location, you want to be concerned with petty theft of parts , rot, and other things.

some important things to keep in mind:

you wont know who is messing with your car while you are away

it would look like you are throwing away money having it legal while you are gone ( but not really, do the math)

you will need to take out the batteries, and some important fuses/cables to make the car inoperable, while you are gone. keep these in your home, not the car

Dont let no one hold onto the keys

cover your car is a smart thing to do for long periods

know what you are doing if you keep the car on blocks , while you are gone. you can mess up your suspension keeping it hangin for long periods.



I could tell you from experience, leaving the car , even with a trusted person , could turn out bad. We left a car, on blocks, stored in a shed. we had a trusted friend look after it, but made the mistake of leaving the keys.
we returned to find dents on the car, as it was taken out for a spin anyway.

One thing I have learned from my tio, owner of 3 mint Datsuns from the early 70's , is that you cant trust nobody with your babies! He keeps his toys locked up in a shed, and takes the keys with him.


But lets look at the big picture, about $500 a week for a decent car at the rental counter ? How many weeks in the year would you be in need ? You can get a pretty nice used 4x4 to beat around in while you are in the DR. I know many people that do very well with a used Montero,
Prado, CRV, Hilux....so, ballpark, 6 months/ 26 weeks a year in the DR, $10-12 k in rental costs, every year or a 1 time investment + insurance and tags ? If you are planning to stick around like this for a while, go buy yourself a car.

I don't know where you are going to live, stay. But on these roads get a SUV. I have a 1998 Montero and it's still going strong. A diesel is good. Low maint. you'll save money in the long run and you can sell it when you tired of coming here.

A little off-topic...Oriole, never problems with the Montero diesel? I am looking out for one for my wife.

irishpaddy said:

thanks for the usefull tips

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Unless you are in the DR more than three months total......rent.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

No it's a great motor. I've got 150-200k on it. you have to change the glow plugs every 100k and the injectors about every 125k. I live in Caberete and have a really good mech. He pulled the motor put a new timing change on, put everything back. No problem. I think it was 8000DR. At home in the US it would be $2000 If you have the car keep it.