Buying a car...all the in's and out's

Hi there.

Normally car dealers have all the papers needed and they can even change the papers for you. You don't need a lawyer for that, if you buy from privat just have the owner sign in the back of the Matricular ( the car papers ) and a prepared Bill of Sale with the price and conditions on it. Don't know the taxes exactly but is not to much.

I have good people here in the city who could help you if you need it, the first few month is a bit difficlut to get around all the paperwork.

If you need help just PM me..

Marcel

I just went through buying a car here on the north coast. Like you I did a lot of research and was able to finally find something that wasn't a total piece of sh*t.

First off, car dealers here are nothing like they are in north america. Example: I was looking for a 2000 - 2003 X-Terra 4x4. I went to one lot and asked if they had a 2000 X-Terra 4x4 and they said 'no'. I noticed while walking out (mind you they didn't bother to stop me and ask if I would be interested in something else) an X-Terra in the corner. I asked the sales person about this vehicle and he said 'oh, that's a 2001 X-Terra'. That's the experience I had. If you ask a direct question here expect a direct answer with NO additional information added.

Anyway, I ended up going to Moca and found an X-Terra that I liked. The negociation was a trip, that isn't all that different, only here you deal with the sales person and that's it. Example of what I paid. 2001 X-Terra 4x4, all bells and whistles, imported from U.S. and not driven here, 70,000 miles. ALL of the VIN numbers matched (make sure and check that). Asking price $17500.00USD, I paid $13500.00. That price is 'out the door', no additional taxes and licensing fees on top of the price. You will have to pay a transfer fee for the matricula to be put in your name, this was $8000.00RD (Pesos).

Paying, that was another trip. I bank at Banco Leon and instead of them taking a check from me they had a guy with a gun go with me to the bank. I wrote HIM a check for cash, he cashed the check $471,250 Pesos and then we went back to the dealership and I paid in cash.

Warning: Make sure you have insurance BEFORE you go to buy the car. Get with an insurance agent here, I use Angie at Business Services. She will get you a temporary card to take with you so you don't have to buy their insurance.

Also, they'll give you the car without gas. I mean NO gas, so make sure you know where the closest gas station is after pulling off the lot.

Since I bought the car here's a list of repairs and things that I have done to it.

1. Added front and rear metal (chrome) bumper guards. $1600.00 USD

2. Air conditioner switch repair (either on or off when I bought it) $9.00 USD

3. Fan belt, tune up, new brakes, radiator flushed. $210.00 USD

4. New muffler. $85.00 USD

5. Complete detail - inside, underneath the car, engine, you name it. $15.00

The damn thing is like brand new now and I couldn't be happier with the purchase and experience.

Please PM me if you'd like any other information.

Regards,
Jack

I also went to a dealer, sort of like a private lot with some cars parked for sale. I saw the car I liked. It was in brand new condition. No wear & tear anywhere and the car still had original factory tires with the spare wheel brand new, matched the brand and model of the tires the car had. This means the car had original 68k miles on the meter. Almost all the cars in lots have their meter reversed. The cars are usually painted to look new but watch out for wear and tear on the inside example: wearing out of steering, the window electric buttons, the gas peddle, the brake peddle, the seat covers, transmission stick etc etc. I saw one car with only 45K miles on the meter, a camry 2000 (sold by a private person) but it had serious wear on the steering wheel, the seat cushions were almost all flat and damaged, the transmission shaft had paint peeled off etc etc. This car seemed like it was used as a cab. There was no way the car had 45K original miles on it.
I looked around for 2 months until I came across a a lot which had exactly the car I wanted. It was in brand new condition, the engine is so quiet and smooth that I often think its not even on. The car runs like a new car. I had seen the same model in bad condition from 375k pesos to 420K pesos for excellent condition. My car is in better condition than the same cars selling in moca for 390K pesos. I was able to negotiate the deal to 360K pesos, walk out price. Later the owner even threw in 2 new tires which I bought myself (he reimbursed the cash). I paid him another 4K pesos for transfer of title. I had to do nothing, all was transfered into my name in 1 week's time. I paid him in cash.
I was lucky to have reached the gas station as my car's tank was seriously empty. I drove to my house without insurance because the insurance the dealer wanted to offer me was expensive and didn't cover a thing. I called my insurance agent the next day and got it insured for a lot less money.
My dealer's name = "veras auto" and they are located at the 1st entrance ( actually the exit out of airport to highway) of santiago airport from autopista duarte.
AZB

jackieboo said:

ALL of the VIN numbers matched (make sure and check that). Asking price $17500.00USD, I paid $13500.00. That price is 'out the door', no additional taxes and licensing fees on top of the price. You will have to pay a transfer fee for the matricula to be put in your name, this was $8000.00RD (Pesos).

Paying, that was another trip. I bank at Banco Leon and instead of them taking a check from me they had a guy with a gun go with me to the bank. I wrote HIM a check for cash, he cashed the check $471,250 Pesos and then we went back to the dealership and I paid in cash.

Regards,
Jack

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hey Jack,
great post.

question:
how did you know 13.5k us$ was a good price? if they ask let's say 15k,
how do you know how much to ask to lower? how do one get a good sense of car's price if dealer always starts with a high price?

Good question. As I said I had looked at what seemed like a million cars before finding the one I liked. I compared the asking prices for the cars I had looked at and made an informed decision based on those numbers.

Also, I constantly went to SuperCarros.com - compra de carros, venta de vehiculos - super-carros.com and looked at prices.

Lastly I asked people in my area what they thought and what they had paid for their cars.

Since there's no blue book here you really have to do your own research and basically go with your gut feeling.

Jack

There is a general range of prices for cars and almost everyone charges the same. I did my homework for 2 months and finally I got what I was looking for. The condition of the car I wanted was always 385K pesos or above. I mean, if I had offered something less than 380K, I was allowed to leave the lot. They won't come down. The other cars which were from 350K - 360K range were in bad condition ex: reversed odometer, cigarette burns on seat covers, worn out steering wheel padding and faded paint, broken items inside the car etc etc.
Finally I found a car in almost perfect condition and the asking price was 385K. I brought him down to 360K. This I didn't think I would achieve, but he matched my price and I did the deal.
AZB

good post guys, AZB & Jack.. thnx for the tips/info.