Chile Forum

no not at all, we are looking for something like a Mitsubishi Montero Sport 4x4, it is quite common and I have seen MANY here in this region BUT for the year we are looking for the cost comparison is incredible.
For example, a year 2000 here costs double that what we can get it in the north!
It just looks like a no brainer, but I have lived here for over 11 years and I know nothing, NOTHING is ever a no brainer in Chile. so we are looking into this to see what are the tramites, how much they cost etc...
So thats the situation.
what do you think?
I am guessing youre in the south!!! there is another ZF there, is there not? or am i wrong!

ALEXANDERFIELD wrote:So are you saying that no matter what the vehicle is, some one from the RM region CANNOT purchace ANY vehicle from this area as we cannot leave the zone with it?

You can buy a new vehicle or any vehicle that is registered as "liberado" and so noted on the registration documents. If you wish to buy and register and take to the RM a vehicle that is "non liberado" then you must be a ZF region permanent resident and you are restricted to not more than 90 days out of the ZF zone and only then after completing the Aduana documents.

ALEXANDERFIELD wrote:I am guessing youre in the south!!! there is another ZF there, is there not? or am i wrong!

Yes I am in the south, latitude 52 S or thereabouts, with the penguins and the icebergs. We have another ZF zone here. But that does you no good unless you are a permanent resident here since only permanent residents of affected ZF zones can register their vehicles under the "no liberado" exemption.

The issue here is not tramites. It's a matter of your legal residence.

Ok, so apart from the Registration documents, are there any government bodies who can double check this Liberado "stamp/Authorization" so I can make sure that the vehicle IS what it says it is? ex: not a cut and weld job with 3 other vehicles!!! or that it is a definate Liberado registered vehicle?

I am guessing that the vehicles we have in the RM are registered as Liberado??? or something else???

thanks for your help on this by the way, hope im not taking up too much of your Friday night.

ALEXANDERFIELD wrote:Ok, so apart from the Registration documents, are there any government bodies who can double check this Liberado "stamp/Authorization" so I can make sure that the vehicle IS what it says it is? ex: not a cut and weld job with 3 other vehicles!!! .

Ask the owner to produce the Padrón del vehículo (correctly now called Certificado de Dominio de Vehículo). If it is a no liberado vehicle if will show it on that certificado. As far as what sort of cutting and pasting was done, I am not aware of any national system for such records. Smarter folks can chime in.

But remember the earlier guidance: if you are not a legal resident of the affected zones, all of this discussion is moot. And some patagonians develop awful attitudes so don't plan to become a resident down here.

ALEXANDERFIELD wrote: hope im not taking up too much of your Friday night.

You owe me an Austral.

Haaahahaha! Definately!
Are you working in Tourism by any chance?
Cheers

You could write a book on the "exact details" of how this works. A long book. And that is why I won't go into any of it. I don't want to relive any of it either. It sucked.
You could call the book "I had a used car shoved up my ass in the Zona Franca in Chile"
Even the venerable PX has opined against it.
If you go ahead with it, be prepared for it to be the focus of your life for months. Hundreds of hours discussing and dealing with it. It will really bore you before long. Buying it will be a piece of cake, Then the fun will begin. And you can't go back.
I thought it a great idea at the time too, had plenty of time, loved northern Chile.... wrong. And unless laws have changed.
If you try this, keep us posted.

It’s the same issue as importation of a used car, not possible unless you live in a free zone. You can't do it.

ALEXANDERFIELD wrote:
Are you working in Tourism by any chance?

According to some, quite the opposite.

But seriously, it is a full time job being a crotchety and cantankerous old curmudgeon. But somebody's got to do it.

Forget it.

If you are not resident, you can not do it.

You get caught trying it, the fines are big.

Here is the thing.

You have to be a resident of a ZF. Certified at least by the local carbinarios that you live there.

You can only drive it out of the zone for 90 days a year. Even at that, only the owner can do that. It can not be for example your buddy.

After that you have to import the car to Chile, just as if you had brought it in from some other country, paying all the taxes and duties.

Some types of cars you simply can not. All are viewed as used.

Now I know, with some digging, someone might say "but my buddy did it, through his buddy of a buddy". Yea, I am sure you can do anything you want if you have the right buddies, but that is not the case for most people. Thus, it is rarely possible. Any scheme you might employ to try it, I am sure hundreds of other people have already thought of it, tried it, and customs has caught them trying it. The regulations were thought out very carefully (even for Chile).