When moving to Costa Rica you may want to think about bringing your car, but before you do that there are some important things you need to consider. 
First of all having your car shipped to Costa Rica sounds like a bigger hassle than it really is. Normally the charge to have your car shipped from the United States to Costa Rica is around five hundred dollars. Once your car arrives at port it will be your responsibility to travel to its location and pick it up.
Now that your car has arrived you will have to go pay the import tax. The import tax is based off the value that the Costa Rican government places on the car. For example if you bought an eight thousand dollar car, Costa Rica’s government may place the value of the car at fifteen thousand dollars, so you will have to pay a percentage of that fifteen thousand dollar car.
Many people feel that this is worth it despite the tax because at least you can buy a better car in the States for a lower price. Most cars in Costa Rica are expensive and not well maintained. In the States not maintaining a car very well only slightly affects the value. But running a car on the roads in Costa Rica depreciates the value exponentially.
For example a 1997 Suzuki may run around seven thousand dollars. Expect the car to have high miles, and the air conditioning not to be charged. You will also notice many times that the doors are falling off the hinges, the carpet is tore and rugged, the paint is old and faded and the brake pads may not have been changed in a long while. For those of us from the United States we may not be use to this quality level for vehicles.
Even if you buy a car that appears to be in good shape you need to be careful. I have a friend who just bought a car three months ago. Recently as he was driving to San Jose his engine caught on fire. Though he had a mechanic check the car and for appearances sake the car seemed in good condition, he didn’t find out the real condition of the car until it was too late. For this reason and many more, most people decide to have their cars imported. This can sometimes be a head ache due to the import tax but at least you know what kind of car you are getting.
The other thing to think about is time. Remember once your car arrives in port you will be responsible for being there to pick your car up. Depending on where you choose to live this may involve a lot of travel to go get your car, so weigh the pros and cons. If you decide to have your car imported find out where it is being shipped to and which port is closes to you. Hopefully with whatever decision you make you will find yourself cruising through the mountains in a reliable vehicle in no time.
For more information on shipping your car to Costa Rica click here.
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Can anyone recomend a freight forwarder in Costa Rica that can asertain the value and taxes/duties and help with the regestration and licencing of my vehicle if I coose to import it ???
[...] information on buying or shipping a car to Costa Rica, check out this post. [...]
if i wanted to drive through mexico, to costa rica, from the us, will that be a problem? that way i could bring my personal items?