MANY people thinking of moving to Costa Rica THINK they want to bring their car. Of course this is OFTEN BEFORE they start doing their research and find out how OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE it is to do - in part, because of the HUGE markup Costa Rica puts on the VALUE of the car (they SOOOOO do NOT use the Kelly Blue Book here!!) and THEN the SUPER HIGH IMPORT TAX!!!
Here's a good article talking about some changes in the Import Tax for shipping a car to Costa Rica (though note it IS an article written BY someone that Imports cars to Costa Rica for a living [hey - as long as they're giving the TRUE FACTS, I don't have an issue with that]).
Also, on the Facebook Group where I saw this article - facebook.com/groups/127573880603797 - Some VERY informative comments included:
Andy - "One thing this article does not address is that the rate new cars are taxed is at a much lower level than imported used cars. Dealers in Costa Rica pay approximately 32% import duty on new cars. If you were to buy a 2014 Toyota RAV4 in the US and import it with 100 miles on the ODO, you will be paying 53% tax on the vehicle and the ship costs. If you bought the same car here your costs will reflect a 32% tax. Do the math... if you want new, buy it here. And oh by the way, your new car warranty on your US car is worthless here!"
Costa Rica Shipping;
Import Taxes on Vehicles Changed
Costa Rica News - For many of us that have either moved to or you are planning on moving to Costa Rica having a vehicle is something that crosses our minds. If you jump on any of the websites on which you can find vehicles to purchase in the country you might be thrown for a loop when reading the prices. Vehicles that you can purchase for $2,000 to $3,000 in the USA are being sold for close to $10,000 in Costa Rica…..everyone asks the same question, WHY?
The biggest reason for this is the astronomical import taxes that Costa Rica places on basically each and every used vehicle that is brought into the country. At the beginning of 2014 the import taxes changed for vehicles being brought into the country but not by much. These import tax numbers are very hard to come by for many seeking to ship their vehicle to Costa Rica as they were never updated on many of the government websites and unless you know where to look and who to talk to you would never know.
The value of the vehicle is based on what Costa Rica says it is which is called the Auto Valor. In expat terminology I like the call it the “Costa Rica Blue Book Value”. These are found at the Hacienda Valor website which is in Spanish.
Read the rest of the story at:
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