with the christian wife i assume you mean a "convertido", so i would trust her less, she would beat him to death with a big cruz, at least no waste of expensive bullets, ha ha.
i never purchased any of my Berettas here in the country, but the rates are actual(end last year because a friend bought one.
my last one which i 'purchsed' i imported from Miami in 2005,
i paid a bill of $1.150.- for the gun, 14.900.- pesos for the import tax, around 6.000.- pesos for the 1 year gun permission(plus 805 pesos for the extra to get the permission to carry the gun, not just to have it in the house) including the guns insurance, phsychical exam aso. i got it hassle free because i did not have to do the paper work or such myself, i have friends on official spots who handled the stuff, so i just had to be present myself for the phsycho test(10 minutes q's and answers, been easy), walking over the street(secretaria de interior) where they took my picture with a webcam and a 10 miutes later i had the permission card in my hand, with that we drove up to the spot where the ballistics are taken from the gun(been taken prior to that day) where they handed me over the piece. the whole procedure took nearby 3 months because the gun has been a import, but no prob during that time period, been just waiting time, i traveled only once to St Dgo for the whole stuff and for the well known company i had i did not need to wait in line at the "Interior".
after that, like the actual one, i receive my guns from the Marine's armory, of course i have the batch for that, so when i order one i just have to wait til i get informed that i can pass by and receive it. i know that there has be a import stop for private persons in case of firearms importations, could then only be done by licensed dealers, i do not have actual notice if that is still the case or if something changed in it. for a private person the easiest way is to go to a gunshop and negociate the price including the paperwork, 1 year permission aso, the shops staff will do the nasty paperwork for you and company you where you have to be present yourself. there's also(if still needed, don't know) been the need of a little 7 shots test shooting on a firing range(very small one), i did that just once and that's been a while ago, been no prob, it did not matter where you hit the target.
85.000.- pesos for a no name copy is less than the original but he... that's still a $2.500.- USBucks, much more than a top brand would cost new in te US.
i am not very up to date with all the actual prices on the 9mm's, my last ones are not really purchased, i just pay some fees/taxes, pay the yearly reno of the permission and that's it.
for newbies i would anyways recommend to take a shotgun instaed of a pistol,
it looks always all so easy in films and many just think it as "cool" to have one to show it to friends aso, but to handle and use it under the pressure of a situation in your home(mostly occuring during nighttime, you are not in your jeans, not in your running shoes, you are sleepy or you just leave the bathroom when something occurs and your offenders are at a shady dark spot where you can not even really see them) without getting taken Your gun by the intruder who will threaten you and your family with your own gun, it's something very different. a simple 9mm Semi is a weapon for short distances, for situations where you have your oponent very close right in front of you and he may know exactly what he has to do with the stuff he has in his hand.
if you hear something at your frontdoor/at your window aso and nobody answer's your question "who's there", just do with the shotgun what they do in funny movies, don't forget to open the window first of course, so after that shot they will be gone and you stay safe, and they will more likely not come back, ha ha.
Mike