A friend of mine is moving to DR for at least a few months (snowbird +) and we were talking about her hiring a car long-term or buying. She's been offered a Hyundai Tucson, including full insurance, for US$ 1,450 a month (US$ 1,100 with minimum insurance). The cars are all supposedly new, with plastic on the seats, very very low Km on the clock. I've had a quick look online and I can see that you can get one of these for about US$ 34,000 new, so I'm just wondering whether people think this is a good or a bad deal, and if a Tucson is a good or bad option. Neither of us know anything about cars and I know there are a lot of people on here who do.
- Thread starter MariaRubia
- Start date
Car advice - hire or buy?
Is she just coming for a few months one shot or will she be a permanent snowbird, that's the big question, you are correct that there are Tucsons available for 34K usd new, but if she's not coming on a regular basis, a rental/lease for a late model Tucson of 1450 usd/month, full ins incl, is a fantastic deal here or anywhere; there are a lot of Hyundai's on the road here, which is good as maintenance/parts will be more available, I am actually thinking of trading in my smaller Nissan jeepeta for a Tucson
If here for less than a year, lease or rent. The number she is being quoted is quite reasonable with full insurance. Make sure she is also not responsible for maintenance. That lease should only require here to supply her own gas.
Well, they cannot be new and have low km on the clock and plastic on the seats. Sounds like a sales pitch......................which gets to determining the reputation of the people doing the leasing. That having been said, just as any renter should first do, check the vehicle and take pictures of all body panels, motor and interior......lest she turn the vehicle back and get an unwanted surprise charge for "damage."
There is or should be far less difficulty in renting/leasing than buying............and in the end of her stay she just turns the vehicle back in without the need to find a buyer and consummate a sale.
Now if she plans on staying longer, a purchase might be more appropriate...........but at least if her plans do change and she needs/wants to leave........she can do so with less stress/interruption.
Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
IMO better to buy used and then resell it when she leaves. I have a dominican friend who lives abroad that comes 3-4 months/year, and he always purchase a used car, nothing fancy and then resells it when he leaves, have even made money on the sells. But then he's dominican with the tiguere style.
So it all depends if she's willing to go through the hazzle and sell the car when she leaves.
So it all depends if she's willing to go through the hazzle and sell the car when she leaves.
The problem with that is the difficulty and expense of buying and selling here. Many people employ a lawyer to do it.
What's the difficulty? I've done it like half a dozen of times, the "problem" is that you're very unlikely to get a profit out of it as the majority wants to over like 50% of what the car is valued, especially if you're a "gringo".
Don't really know why you'd need a lawyer for that though... You just sign a piece of paper and hand over the money and then you're done....
But then I guess there are people who need a lawyer to purchase something in the supermarket......
I bet if you did a survey of DR1 members you would find that a majority use a lawyer.
Good idea about taking a lawyer to the supermarket though!
Well, now when I come and think about it. I've actually always used a lawyer when doing car businessess, but that's only for them to write me a standard legal purchase certificate. But that's not difficult, you just ask any lawyer to write you an "acta de venta" and you pay like 2000 pesos or something like that, and that's it.
So I guess that's what you meant by that, but still not difficult to buy/sell cars.
So I guess that's what you meant by that, but still not difficult to buy/sell cars.
Just remember in the case of an accident the name on the registration is the one who will suffer the grief, acta de venta or no.
When I sell, I go through the whole process with the buyer, right through to paying the tax and getting a registration in the buyers name (and out of mine.)
What do you mean? If I have an accident and I die, then the person on the registration will suffer? Or if I run over a motocyclist, the person on the registration will be jailed and not the person who actually did it?
If I sell a car to someone, and that person has an accident while the vehicle is still in my name, you can bet the other party will come after me. I've seen it happen more times here than I care to remember.
For example, A Dominican friend of mine owns a trucking company, and a truck she sold with an acta de venta was involved in a fatal accident. (A kid doing wheelies rode into the opposing lane and hit the truck head-on)
She was sued by the surviving family, and on the advice of her lawyer she ended up having to take everything out of her name to avoid losing a lot of her belongings. The lawyer they had made her life miserable for quite a while.
For example, A Dominican friend of mine owns a trucking company, and a truck she sold with an acta de venta was involved in a fatal accident. (A kid doing wheelies rode into the opposing lane and hit the truck head-on)
She was sued by the surviving family, and on the advice of her lawyer she ended up having to take everything out of her name to avoid losing a lot of her belongings. The lawyer they had made her life miserable for quite a while.
Thank you that's incredibly helpful. The guy has sent photos to show that there are 32000 km on the clock and it's a 2023 model.
It's easy to be a seller here - not so easy to be the buyer. You have to go to DGII to pay the tax and then to the PN in Santiago to get the registration. You need a notarized contract to do that. As the seller, you need to make sure the title is taken out of your name or you could be liable in an accident.
FWIW that is a lot of miles for a 2023……approximately 20,000…..considering the average, at last in North America, is 12,000 per year……and that hardly makes it “supposedly new”……but those in this business are prone to puffing.
Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
Don't the models come out in September of the prior year, so that the car could have been on the road since 9/22 or 17 months ago? However, for here, 1000 miles a month is a lot, unless there's a lot of driving to Samana or Puenta Cana from the capital or Santiago.
You are dating yourself Nan. It used to be all the car manufacturers released new models in September in an annual event. Today however a new model release can come anytime. The Tucson referenced above was actually first released in July of 2022.
Regardless, as you point out, that is a lot of kilometers for a 2023 Hyundai in the DR, but that should not deter someone from leasing/renting on a short/medium term basis.
Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
I've rented countless times before we purchased our vehicle back in 2018, my advise based on above:
1. As others have said, for short periods of time, rent rather than buy, just like with apartments/houses.
2. Even when renting, I would be uncomfortable renting on a monthly basis before having the vehicle for few days on a test run. If there's anything seriously wrong, cancel/change vehicle.
3. That monthly price is like 3-4 times the daily price I have ever paid in the DR, no matter what sized vehicle, but that just me.
4. I have rented numerous Tucsons as well, definitely a good choice.
I'm sorry, please ignore this part, my math was completely wrong here, that price is perfectly fine. I divided the price by 12 and not 30... My mistake...
Wow, I feel like an idiot now. I have not bought a car since 2018, so I was not even aware of what has been changed. It used to be that you just signed the contract and then go to Banreserva to pay the tax and then go to DGII to get the registration in your name.
But now I noticed that it's not as simple anymore.. then yeah I would probably agree, if you're not going to be here for a very long time I would just rent the car, unless you have a lot of time on your hand and you're not bothered by the Dominican Bureaucracy.
If you're buying from a dealer, you don't have to worry about any of that - they take care of it. This is why I used a lawyer when I bought my last car in 2019. Her fees for the contract, notarization, paying the taxes, and getting me the title were not that much - I'm thinking something like $50-$60. Well worth it IMO.