Chile Forum

We're US citizens planning a 3 month vacation in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and a bit of Argentina (Lake District and maybe Mendoza). We plan to buy a 4WD vehicle in the Santiago area in mid-March and then have a friend sell it for us after we leave in June. I know we need to get the RUT number, etc., and have the title when we cross borders. I heard that sometimes there is a problem entering Peru. Has anybody encountered this? What about Ecuador and Argentina?

I found the websites for chileautos.cl, todomercado.com, and a few others. Are there other places we should be looking? What about when we're in Santiago? Is there a neighborhood with a bunch of used car dealers? Any advice would be appreciated. We're not sure how to pay down there. I've tried opening bank accounts in other countries and some places you can, some places you can't. What about Chile? We don't want to get stuck with some 10% fee for a money transfer. Has anyone bought a car with a credit card? We could have our bank set one up just for the purchase. What have other people done? We are thinking about signing the title over to my friend when we leave to facilitate selling when we aren’t there. Has anyone used a power of attorney? How did they get the money out of Chile after the sale?

I know people are going to try to discourage us from traveling independently . I speak Spanish (lived in Colombia) and we prefer traveling with our own wheels because there is so much more freedom. My husband can fix anything, and we've driven all over Mexico and southern Europe, so we know about bad roads, crazy drivers, etc.

We also have a 7 year old son, and it's hard to travel lightly with a munchkin. We like to wander through the desert looking for rocks and fossils and do some camping and all our greatest adventures happened when we ventured off the beaten tourist track. Many of the ruins that sound interesting in Peru are very difficult to reach on buses, and I have a feeling I'm going to like Kuelap more than Machu Picchu.

Any advice about cars, border crossings, places to go, and rockhounding sites would be greatly appreciated. I've got the guide books, but people usually give you the best information. Also, my husband has to return to work before I do, so our boy and I will have another 3 weeks to do something fun. Any suggestions? A jungle lodge, a train trip, a visit to a working ranch or farm?

Thanks, Carol

I think you are going to need to revise and split that post in to about 200 separate threads to get any useful answers, because it is just way too many questions in one post. Especially when many of them have been answered in other threads already at length. Please revise, and give it another go.

Lots of questions! But my boyfriend and I (Americans as well) just bought a car in Santiago this past November and it has been far from an easy process, and since you've had no responses, I thought I would give you a little heads up! We decided to purchase it from a car dealer so we could be sure that all the paperwork was processed legitimately and all that. However, problem #1. We paid via money transfer and somehow that took WEEKS (I think our dealer, even though a professional, was a little lazy. Quierolo Mundo in Las Condas is where we bought it) even though we were assured it would take no longer than 7 days. We were trying to get up to Peru by Christmas to meet my cousin, but we thought 1.5 months would be enough time to sort out the car thing.

Problem #2. Finally, money came through, we started driving. But after taking 2 weeks to meander up to the border, the Padron and Inscripcion still were not in our names. The dealer ASSURED us that with notorized permission from the previous owner, whose name the "title" was still in, we could pass the border, no problem. We waited up until about 5 days before my cousins flight was scheduled to land when we finally got the notorized permission in the mail up in Arica. However, this apparently is only something that Chilean's can do. It's apparently a common process for people up at the Peruvian border who want to borrow a friends car to go shopping in duty-free Tacna for the day. You just get permission and you can leave the country with a car not in your name. We had all this paperwork with us and still got denied. Depressing to say the least since we had to be in Lima very soon. Ultimately, we had to store the car in a secure lot for about $7 a day and take a bus to Lima like every other tourist.

Now, problem #3. We come back from our Christmas vacation within a vacation to attempt the border again. This time, the padron and inscripcion, EVERYTHING, was in our name. We had 100% proof we owned the car. But still, we got to the border and were denied by the aduanas. We knew there was a slight chance it wouldn't work because the previous time, they had pointed out online where you HAVE to be a Chilean citizen to take out a Chilean car. But a friend we had at the Registro Civil said that border officials are used to just seeing the Padron in your name and waving you through. I suppose there is a slight chance you could cross, but it would take a really unintelligent border official who didn't know the rules.. and it really seemed like this is something they've been dealing with a lot lately because everyone we encountered at the border seemed to know about the "Chilean citizen only" rule. So once again, we were ensured that this was not the case at the Bolivian and Argentine borders and all you need in the padron in your name. So we headed off to the Bolivian border.

The other "issues" we've had with the car have not been as big.. the Chilean aduana at the Bolivian border still took longer than made us feel comfortable to meticulously look over our paperwork. Once in Bolivia, they charge us over TWICE the amount that Bolivians have to pay in gas for having a Chilean car (I assume as payback from the Chileans taking away their only access to the ocean).

On the positive side, we are LOVING being able to do exactly what you say... travel in ways that a bus and normal tourists cannot. We have been doing a lot of camping as well. Chile had lots of great spots, but Chilean camping is definitely not the same as camping in the states. In Arica, Chile, we were kept up all night by partying teenagers who literally did not stop between the hours of 9pm and 10am when we left. We managed to get a great book with a map of Chilean campsites all over the country, but that was from a friend and I don't think they sell them anymore. It's sold by the gas station Copec and it's a guide to national parks and camping.

Also, we are selling our car in Santiago in May (White Mitsubishi Montero Sport 2000). If your plans change and your timeline is pushed back a little, let us know! We would love to sell the car to an American, where money transfer would be much easier.

Good luck! I hope this helps. I sure wish we'd had someone to fill us in on how difficult it can be to buy a car and cross borders in a different country! Maybe if you know whats to come, and you're not in a rush, it would be easier!

Hi! We're moving to Chile April 28 and seriously considering buying a car. Helpful for us as well to keep transaction on US side. Contact me if interested.
Yvonne

cawicker wrote:We're US citizens planning a 3 month vacation in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and a bit of Argentina (Lake District and maybe Mendoza). We plan to buy a 4WD vehicle in the Santiago area in mid-March and then have a friend sell it for us after we leave in June. I know we need to get the RUT number, etc., and have the title when we cross borders. I heard that sometimes there is a problem entering Peru. Has anybody encountered this? What about Ecuador and Argentina?

I found the websites for chileautos.cl, todomercado.com, and a few others. Are there other places we should be looking? What about when we're in Santiago? Is there a neighborhood with a bunch of used car dealers? Any advice would be appreciated. We're not sure how to pay down there. I've tried opening bank accounts in other countries and some places you can, some places you can't. What about Chile? We don't want to get stuck with some 10% fee for a money transfer. Has anyone bought a car with a credit card? We could have our bank set one up just for the purchase. What have other people done? We are thinking about signing the title over to my friend when we leave to facilitate selling when we aren’t there. Has anyone used a power of attorney? How did they get the money out of Chile after the sale?

I know people are going to try to discourage us from traveling independently . I speak Spanish (lived in Colombia) and we prefer traveling with our own wheels because there is so much more freedom. My husband can fix anything, and we've driven all over Mexico and southern Europe, so we know about bad roads, crazy drivers, etc.

We also have a 7 year old son, and it's hard to travel lightly with a munchkin. We like to wander through the desert looking for rocks and fossils and do some camping and all our greatest adventures happened when we ventured off the beaten tourist track. Many of the ruins that sound interesting in Peru are very difficult to reach on buses, and I have a feeling I'm going to like Kuelap more than Machu Picchu.

Any advice about cars, border crossings, places to go, and rockhounding sites would be greatly appreciated. I've got the guide books, but people usually give you the best information. Also, my husband has to return to work before I do, so our boy and I will have another 3 weeks to do something fun. Any suggestions? A jungle lodge, a train trip, a visit to a working ranch or farm?

Thanks, Carol

Carol, please find forum Guru named: Patagoniux. He knows all and how to do it.I'm sure he can give you an exact and sure advise.

Yerkokai wrote:Hi! We're moving to Chile April 28 and seriously considering buying a car. Helpful for us as well to keep transaction on US side. Contact me if interested.
Yvonne

Yvonne, this goes to you as well. please find forum Guru named: Patagoniux. He knows all and how to do it.I'm sure he can give you an exact and sure advise.