british bulldog said:
Mabee someone out there can tell us all a way around all the red tape,someone with experience,and not hearsay gossopp.
Just a comment british bulldog. Generally the people responding on this thread have years of experience, and don't really deal in hearsay gossip. PJT, Lambada, Robert and FireGuy have all paid their dues here and either have worked through the process themselves, or had to bail out someone trying to work through the process.
Many people do their homework exceptionally well, and import a car according to the rules and regulations, and even manage to get it out of customs without paying too much. Issue is money I think. Once you've done all the paperwork, made the shipping arrangements, spent up to a week here in Aduana trying to get your car out with lots of copies of all paperwork, all duly notarized, paid of who needs to be paid off, paid off those who don't need to be paid off but stand in line anyway, by that time, most of us feel that it is just easier to buy here.
I chatted to a Dom York a few days ago who brought in a 2 year old Expedition. After the documentation, shipping, duties, fees etc, he paid an additional 27% on top of his original budget, just on bits and pieces and handouts. So, at the end of the day, it usually works out to be a wash between buying here, and importing. That is if you can wait for a good deal to come up.
It is all in the perception. If you bring in a late model car, the low paid employees in Aduana believe that you can afford to pay extra. And if you don't, they have all the right to confiscate your goods for non-payment of something.
It is not only vehicles. I cannot tell you the times that someone somewhere in customs decided that whatever we were bringing in, was a 'luxury' item, and assessed it at 100% of the invoice value for duties and taxes, or that something is now all of a sudden 'specialized' equipment and the duties and tax rate is up. They have a million reasons for doing what they do, and these are not always written down in the books. Like someone once said .. "It is their book, and no way are they going to show you what is inside it."