What Car Models are common in Ecuador

http://www.patiotuerca.com/ecuador/pt.nsf

That is a link to some local cars. You will probably be kinda bummed to see some of the prices. Cars are very expensive there. As far as manufactures, probably just about all you're familiar with. Oddly, you'll see cars that are not manufactured by the name plate, but have  them. IE; I saw Rodeo's with Chev name plates on them. Evidently, they are assembled in Ecuador, in a  Chevy plant, thus the name plate. Kia's seem to be very popular.
Check this out: I saw a new Chev Camarro SS, priced at 80K. Heck, at that price, I ordered two! < BAG >
Good Luck
Neil
PS. Oddly, one of the most reasonably priced I saw used was Mercedes. I'm thinking maint/ replacement parts are killer.

I have been here a couple of weeks now. The most prevalient model is one that runs. I have seen spoilers on Mavericks, and the whole gambit. The most important thing is to have the loudest car alarm, and a good battery so you can check it multiple times during the night, just to hear the alarm.

Chevrolet Aveo, Chevrolet Sparks, Nissan altima (Old model), Kia sportage, Kia sorrento, Peugeot 206, Suzuki Vitara and Grand vitara, Hyndai Tucson, Hyndai i10,Hyndai Santa fe, among the most seen...Toyota Yaris, Corolla, Cambry, Highlander, Fortuner, not too common but there are. If you intending to import please note that Hybrids and brand new are tax exempt. Luxury cars are taxed heavily. If you are intended to repair please not this is a dominant manual market.

Loving Ecuador wrote:

Chevrolet Aveo, Chevrolet Sparks, Nissan altima (Old model), Kia sportage, Kia sorrento, Peugeot 206, Suzuki Vitara and Grand vitara, Hyndai Tucson, Hyndai i10,Hyndai Santa fe, among the most seen...Toyota Yaris, Corolla, Cambry, Highlander, Fortuner, not too common but there are. If you intending to import please note that Hybrids and brand new are tax exempt. Luxury cars are taxed heavily. If you are intended to repair please not this is a dominant manual market.

any ideas, on an average, how much it would cost to ship a new car there?

@flor_123 -> I think you should start a new thread on the Ecuador forum with your questions on car shipping. This will allow better interaction.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Only ecuadorians returning  or diplomatic staff are allowed to ship cars to Ecuador.

Foreigners has to buy cars here and they're more expensive than in the States.

Vinny

Aurélie wrote:

@flor_123 -> I think you should start a new thread on the Ecuador forum with your questions on car shipping. This will allow better interaction.

Thank you,
Aurélie

yes, sorry for the issue.

vinny66 wrote:

Only ecuadorians returning  or diplomatic staff are allowed to ship cars to Ecuador.

Foreigners has to buy cars here and they're more expensive than in the States.

Vinny

Vinny,

thank you for clarifying the issue

Are there any interpreters who specialize in helping new expats buy cars here.

Thanks

Lee Spotswood
lee.spotswood@yahoo.com

Hello Lee,

No, that I know.
Pick a car is most a personal decision but you can have an assistant helping you with translation and navigate through the paperwork, payments and so on.

A good way to find out wich cars are good in Ecuador is looking for the makes taxi drivers have.

Vinny

It is not that you cant, it is more about customs laws making it very difficult to bring cars. I have not met anyone venturing down that path. People follow the consensus advice to avoid the nightmare and they buy here. I cant really give an estimate importing cost.

Hola estoy buscando un automovil o camioneta, como por ejemplo Toyota, Hyundai o un Kia y que sea automatico para llevar a Ecuador, que marca me recomiendan?, ya que en unos meses regreso a Ecuador en forma definitiva.

Hola/hello Giessepie,

No se si alguien más te podrá responder en este foro ya que la gran mayoría hablan solo inglés.
En general, los carros automaticos son de gama alta como camionetas Ford, Toyota por ejemplo.
En cuanto a carros: Hyundais, Toyotas, son muy valorados aqui.

Tienes que estas seguro  que cumples los requisitos para traer un carro acogiendote al Plan Retorno y si necesitas asesoramiento con el transporte marítimo te puedo ayudar.

Saludos
Vicente/vinny

Hello GIESSEPIE & vinny66 -> Can you please both write in english in this English speaking forum so that everybody can understand and participate?

Thank you,
Aurélie

We bought a new Hyundai Atos in 2006 for a bit over $10K. Maneuverable, good mileage, low power but good gearing. Now I think around $12K. 66K Km on it now. You can pay more but why?

Hi smitty88,

Please note that you posted on an old thread and you may not have any reply to your post.

Thank you

Hasnaa
Expat.com Team

From what I have read in government publications, immigrants/retirees can bring vehicles tax free, as part of their household, as long as they are valued less than USD$20,000 (Ecuadorian Customs assesses value). Check with customs for other requirements.

Lots of Chevrolet, Kia, Hyundai. Toyota and Ford are also common. Mitsubishi, Mazda, Lada, Citron, Nissan, etc... I've only seen one Subaru. Also tons of Chinese and a couple Indian makes you really don't want. Toyota Land cruisers look like a good value until you find out that they have a disproportionately high repair cost. Lada Nivas are priced right for 4x4 cars. Used vans of all types are cheap due to Gov. restrictions on how old school and tourist transport vans can be.

Chevrolet is probably the most popular because they build them here. Everything else is available i.e. Toyota, Nissan, VW, Renault, Peugeot. Hyundai, Kia etc
Chevies are probably the cheapest because of the factory and also parts and service more readily available.

The Chevy plant in Quito assembles over 25,000 vehicles per year.   

Chevy has had a market share in Ecuador as high as 41 percent (in 2007), General Motors' largest market share in any country worldwide.

The  55,000 square-meter plant dates back to 1975 and has been a GM plant since '81.

cccmedia in Quito

Sources:  GM Media and GM Heritage Center

Are automatic transmissions more common now than they used to be? I've never seen any on the cars I looked at.

The Largisimo wrote:

Are automatic transmissions more common now than they used to be? I've never seen any....

Automatic transmissions are still rare.  In Ecuador, standard is still standard -- after all, it's less expensive and that's appealing here.

Nevertheless, you CAN find available cars with automatic transmission. 

The first place I would check is patiotuerca.com

cccmedia in Quito

Hey that was great info.  Yeah, the prices look high but not completely crazy.  Driving cars/trucks and riding motorcycles have always been a big part of my life living in the US.  Any chance someone could post one or more comparable links (comparable to this one:  patiotuerca.com/ecuador/pt.nsf) that show some prices of motorcycles/scooters in Ecuador?  Thank you in advance!

travist67 wrote:

Hey that was great info....Any chance someone could post one or more comparable links that show some prices of motorcycles/scooters in Ecuador?

If you like that site for "motos," I think you'll enjoy visiting the eBay of Ecuador, Mercado Libre, or the other site listed below....

   vehiculos.mercadolibre.com.ec

   patiodeautos.com (click on moto icon)

                                                                                     .

Hi, I’m Ecuadorian living in America who wants to retire in Ecuador I want to know if a Honda Civic will be able to find a place to maintain it for oil change or any parts that due to ware and rare. Thank you

lorquera77 wrote:

I’m Ecuadorian living in America who wants to retire in Ecuador.  I want to know if a Honda Civic will be able to find a place to maintain it for oil change or any parts that due to ware and rare.

Dear lorquera,

Welcome to the Ecuador forums of Expat.com ...

If you can manage getting your vehicle to Ecuador -- meeting the requirements for a returning Ecuadorian with a car, of course -- you should be in luck....

http://hondaecuador.com.ec

Meaning that you'll be in luck if you and your car are in metro Quito.  If you're planning to retire to Nalgas de Cerda near the Peruvian frontera, getting service on your Honda could prove trickier.

cccmedia

Good morning,
Thank you for your quick answer, my place to retire will be in Cuenca, thank you for the link I’ll check it out.
Have a great day.
Lee

Facebook Market place is a good place to look at used car prices. Just search in the area you are interested in living. But a rough figure (very rough) I would say used cars are as much as 40% more expensive than the US. They really hold their value. I am looking for an old used small truck. 1970s models are $4k. But also be aware that bartering is the norm here. We bought a Great Wall car, Chinese new, not sold in US. It was about $26k. It looks like the typical SUV midsize everyone makes. It's much less expensive let's say than it's Toyota/Honda counterparts,  probably at least $40k.

@Loving Ecuador  I have my Ecuadorian birth certificate and cedula and plan to move back to Cuenca, Ecuador, can i import my 2005 Honda CRV SUV? are there Honda’s in Ecuador, i didnt see Honda’s listed as available cars in Ecuador. would it be difficult to find mechanics in Cuenca to work on a Honda? with cars being so expensive in Ecuador would it be more cost effective tl bring my car with me?

@clarke1941      Interesting, so im Ecuadorian, birth certificate, Cedula but a U.S. passport but plan to return to Cuenca, Ecuador to retire. Are you saying i will not need to pay import tax to bring my 2015 Honda CRV as long as it is worth under $10,000?     

@kcvonholck15

Hello, please note that this member is no longer active on the forum. He posted back in 2014.

I would suggest that you open a new thread on the Ecuador forum so that active members can guide you.

All the best

Bhavna