Shipping a car to colombia

[Throw]

Anybody have any experience in shipping a car from Miami to Colombia (cali) Is it feasible, what about taxes, fees etc.  Any first hand experience in this.  Is it more problems than it is worth.  Thanks in advance...throw!

[jim c]

... in response to Shipping a car to colombia, posted by Throw on Feb 21, 2002

I tried and its not allowed. I wanted to ship my mercedes coupe rather than sell it. You need to buy a car in Colombia and add to the economy.  JIM--C Key West

[Throw]

... in response to Re: Shipping a car to colombia, posted by jim c on Feb 21, 2002

Thanks Jim.  So your in Key West.  I live in Miami but have a couple of homes on Summerland and Big Pine.  Do you go down to Cali often.  Send me a private email at jamesr24@bellsouth.net.  I'd like to talk to ya...throw!

[El Diablo]

... in response to Re: Shipping a car to colombia, posted by jim c on Feb 21, 2002

My friend took six months off a few years back and travelled all throughout South America.  He shipped his car to Panama and than drove into Colombia among other places.  I think a person could get a car in that way.

[Pete E]

... in response to Shipping a car to colombia, posted by El Diablo on Feb 21, 2002

I knew a guy from Costa Rica a few years ago that would go back once or twice a year,buying a car in the US and selling it in Costa Rica.He said every country you enter you have to convince them you are not stopping there but driving through to the next country.Apparently this worked then,about 15 years ago.I notice in The Tica Times,a San Jose Costa Rica paper there are cars for sale with and without being licensed in Costa Rica.The latter bring less money because of the cost to make them legal,paying the duty ect.
It seems like Colombia is much tougher on this.It probably wouldn't work.
I sold a car to a guy from Portugal one time.He was working here and said if he owned it here for 2 years then he could take it to Portugal duty free.Maybe there are some kind of special rules that might work for a Colombian.Probably not for a gringo.
As I mentioned below I was a car dealer formerly and had a Colombian check out the import rules for me.He said the car could be no more than one year old or it was not allowed in at all.New to one year old pay duty.I'm not sure the rate.We didn't want to deal in new cars so we forgot it.
When I was in San Andreas I was surprised to learn they could bring older cars in and most cabs were big old chevy Impalas.What rule allows them to bring them in I don't know.I immagine you would have a problem shipping it in to  mainland Colombia.Really I think it takes a Colombian to figure this one out if there are any angles.
I met a Philipeno  guy who sent cars to the Philipeans.He had partners who were army officers.When the car arrived at the port they would say thats my car and they would let them take it.I wonder if any level of Military or beaurocrats get this priveledge in Colombia.
Duties,tarifs and restrictive rules keep merchandise from flowing like water to fill the demand somewhere.Goverments make money and individual have monopolies and the consumer,in this case the Colombians,get screwed.Old cars that can be bought for $100-$1000 here can bring $2000-$5000 there.
I would like to tear down all tariff barriers everywhere.There would be lots of screams from the currently protected,but almost every one else would benefit.
Oh,what happened to the famed Pan American Highway that let you drive from the US to South America?I read stories years ago where guys would drive through but it was tough going and muddy roads in central America.Is that highway no more in this area?

Pete

[Cali vet]

... in response to Shipping a car to colombia, posted by El Diablo on Feb 21, 2002

Diablo you say he drove his car through the Darien? How many pontoons was it wearing? I think they've gotton a couple of motorcycles through and maybe a Marlboro Landrover (or is that Camel?) but I don't think your friend got his car accross by land unless there's a brand new highway no one's heard about.

[El Diablo]

... in response to Re:  Shipping a car to colombia, posted by Cali vet on Feb 21, 2002


Ill ask him more specifly about what he did and post back later.  I don't even know where or what the Darien is.

[Cali vet]

... in response to Shipping a car to colombia, posted by El Diablo on Feb 21, 2002

The Darien is the roadless jungle that occupies southern Panama including the border with Colombia.

[El Diablo]

... in response to Re:  Shipping a car to colombia, posted by Cali vet on Feb 21, 2002

I called my friend and what he did was drive his car all the way from California to Colon, Panama.  From Colon he shipped it to Venezuela to avoid the Darien Gap and the cost was around $500 U.S.  This was way back in 93 or 94 but he believes you can ship from Colon to Cartagena today.  He said he needed a tritico which is sort of a car passport and this tracks the movement of the car between countries along with your regular passport.  The two are tracked together somehow and you basicly can't leave a country without your car.  He got his tritico through AAA and there is some kind of bond associated with it where you get penalized if you return without your car.  He went into some long story on how a person could get fake papers if they were trying to sell the car but we both agreed the effort in the end was probably not worth all the hassle.

[Cali vet]

... in response to Shipping a car to colombia, posted by El Diablo on Feb 21, 2002

That sounds like a pretty good explanation of the process.

[Cali vet]

... in response to Re:  Shipping a car to colombia, posted by Cali vet on Feb 21, 2002

Actually I met a Scot at Latin Best who had driven his motorcycle to Cali all the way from western Canada but he had to load himself and the bike on a plane in Panama City to get to Colombia. Also there's that guy "strikingviking" who was kidnapped by the ELN for a while a couple of months ago who made the same trip on a bike. I think he had to ship his bike around the Darien too but I don't remember for sure.

[Throw]

... in response to Shipping a car to colombia, posted by El Diablo on Feb 21, 2002

That is interesting.  I know there has to be a reasonable somewhat ahssle free way to get cars to Cali without breaking the bank but cheaper than buying one there...

[Jebster]

... in response to Shipping a car to colombia, posted by Throw on Feb 21, 2002

They will know everything on what and how. A good one is Fritz, you can reach them in Houston at 713-957-7059. This number is 6 years old, so there may be an area code change or something. You could probably search "freight forwarders" on the internet.

The bottom line is that it will not be easy and very costly. Better to buy one locally in Cali. Import duties are enormous, plus freight, insurance, etc. Or, it is simply not allowed.

Good luck.