Chile Forum

bdahunter wrote:Thanks for that info, Admin. Is this above and beyond the notarization by the notario that confirms the sale? If so I will have to make sure that I have this form as the whole point of buying a vehicle n Chile is to be able to see other South American countries by car, as well as Chile.

I am going to hazard a yes,that the notarised permission of the [former] owner would also be needed. But consider this also: depending on the frontier crossing location, they may or may not KEEP that copy of the notarised/legalised permission letter. That happened to me many times in the past when I was in and out of Argentina with other people's vehicles. So you should plan to carry multiple legalised copies of the permission unless you have the original padron in your name.

/px

EDIT - there is another thread about the difficulties of entering Peru without the padron in your name. General rule is to have the padron in your name anyway to minimise problems.

I'm starting to think that it will be much easier to just rent cars in the countries I visit, rather than jumping through a bunch of bureaucratic hoops for border people that have a fascination with stamped documents. Everytime I get something stamped in triplicate I have flashbacks of Zorro movies I watched as a kid, it's getting a bit surreal.
If I haven't heard back from some of the potential sellers of vehicles by tomorrow I will just pack it in and high tail it out of Chile. When you offer a big wad of cash to someone and they aren't the least bit interested because you skipped the foreplay part of the transaction, well that's just too much for this Gringo. I just don't have time to dance around trying to tease a vehicle out of someone that may or may not be a seller. I'm patient but not that patient.

Cheers,

BDA

I suggest your last idea is the best - rent in each country; it may well be it will even work out cheaper, and it will certainly cause you less hassle. As for the thought of driving from Chile to Ecuador????

paladin wrote:I suggest your last idea is the best - rent in each country; it may well be it will even work out cheaper, and it will certainly cause you less hassle. As for the thought of driving from Chile to Ecuador????

Figure USD80 or so a day for decent durable rental car plus additional insurance plus documentation for other countries plus fuel plus dropoff fees for leaving it other than where you picked it up. Ching-ching goes the register. Do the math.

So what's the big deal about driving to Ecuador? You get on the Panamericana, release the brake, and drive for crissake. I rode down to Chile from Colombia in the 1970s on a motorbike. No big deal.

Hi, just joined and not sure if I am doing this right, but.......I am a Canadian spending part of my year in Uruguay(I have residency ) where used cars are soooo expensive. I would like to fly to Chile a buy a used car to travel around the lower part of SA. I know I would have to take the car out of Uy after a period but, any pitfalls if somebody has already done this.

kitster wrote:Hi, just joined and not sure if I am doing this right, but.......I am a Canadian spending part of my year in Uruguay(I have residency ) where used cars are soooo expensive. I would like to fly to Chile a buy a used car to travel around the lower part of SA. I know I would have to take the car out of Uy after a period but, any pitfalls if somebody has already done this.

Much is written on the subject all over this forum. Search is your friend. Also check the wiki.

We will trade you forum answers for good coffee.

I have a couple of quick questions now that I am reading this...

1. What constitutes residency in ZF? I just came into the country and checked into hotel in Iquique is that enough?

2. How do "they" check that no-liberado vehicle is outside of its area of residence for NNN days? And who are "they" anyway? Carabineros?

zaebis wrote:I have a couple of quick questions now that I am reading this...

1. What constitutes residency in ZF? I just came into the country and checked into hotel in Iquique is that enough?

2. How do "they" check that no-liberado vehicle is outside of its area of residence for NNN days? And who are "they" anyway? Carabineros?

This has been discussed elsewhere on this forum.

The answers are: 5 years of residency, and Aduanas.

You will need to prove your residency through a Certificado de Residencia which you get from carabineros. Don't try to pull one over on the carabineros. They aren't there to sell cookies.

You will be seeing a lot of carabineros in your future because screwing around with tax evasion related to attempts to improperly purchase and register a ZF region vehicle is considered and treated by Aduanas as dealing in contraband and you can end up in jail. Just for trying.

By the way, don't even think about getting somebody who is a legitimate resident to "lend" you a non-liberado vehicle to use outside the zone. In order to travel with that vehicle outside the "zona franca de extension" you have to get a pasavante and that is only given to the registered owner of the vehicle, and if you show up trying to enter "mainland" Chile with a pasavante in someone else's name, both you and the legal owner may end up in jail or heavily fined, or both. If you're on a visitor visa you might be lucky and just thrown out of the country.

How do I know this? Because I'm in the Zona Franca frequently, and working with others who are importing stuff. And I have imported six of my own vehicles here, all but one of which came through the Zona Franca.

Again,in case you missed it: don't screw around with ZF vehicles unless you are a legitimate resident here in the Zone for at least five years.

patagoniax wrote:Again,in case you missed it: don't screw around with ZF vehicles unless you are a legitimate resident here in the Zone for at least five years.

Got it. Thx. Now just to understand what the hassle with importing/ZF vs importing/liberado is all about I read on zofri website that the duty on import is mere 6%? That would not add much to the price. There has to be more to it. Enlighten me what the financial benefits of ZF non-liberado car importation are?

zaebis wrote:

patagoniax wrote:Again,in case you missed it: don't screw around with ZF vehicles unless you are a legitimate resident here in the Zone for at least five years.

Got it. Thx. Now just to understand what the hassle with importing/ZF vs importing/liberado is all about I read on zofri website that the duty on import is mere 6%? That would not add much to the price. There has to be more to it. Enlighten me what the financial benefits of ZF non-liberado car importation are?

If you are not a 5 year ZFE resident you pay 19% IVA on a liberado vehicle in addition to other duties and fees.

Since you are not a 5 year ZFE resident you can't get a non-liberado (restricted use) vehicle.

We're making this harder than it needs to be.

But since some others, including some of the people who work in the ZF, are a bit chilean in their willingness to understand the law, we make the Aduana's own summaries available for everyone to pore over:

http://www.aduana.cl/prontus_aduana/sit ... 42648.html

1) Beneficiarios de la franquicia:

a) Los residentes con único domicilio y una permanencia mínima de cinco años en zona franca de extensión.

http://www.chileclic.gob.cl/1542/w3-article-47411.html

This site will give you not just the summaries but the full text of the applicable statutes:

http://www.sii.cl/contribuyentes/activi ... rancas.htm

Again: don't even think about a reduced-tax vehicle coming through the Zona Franca unless you have been a ZFE resident for at least 5 years.