Experience Shipping houshold good and car by Cargo?

Ok thank you

Ok. Thank you

Admittedly, my car importation was in Jan 2009.

I shipped a 40ft container.... car and furniture from PHL to Caucedo
The cost was $4500

The gov't valued the car at $18,000 - which was about right
I paid $2000 which was my special rate for new residents.

I still have the car - 2005 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited - 70,000 miles

Hi

I was told I could not ship my car even with my personal belongings furniture ect of the car was more that 5 yrs old I have a 2015 Jeep Trailhawk only has 75000 KLM it's great shape bought brand new in 2015 is that correct

You may have just missed the deadline.. 5 yrs
But it could be June 2021 for that car

Worth checking

Ok will do tks

I believe it's based on month of manufacture so it may be too late.  Let me ask

The cut off is June 30..... I think - think - it is 6 mos after the 5yr model yr

So June '21... allows 2015.... I think

That is great news thank you so much

Much appreciated

cruffman wrote:

you can buy a brand new car, but that is never a good idea, financially, since you lose 20% of the value in the first year. buy a one year old car if you must have something very recent, and let someone else take the hit.

I used to follow that approach (buy a 1-3 YO used car). I found that I kept inheriting other people's problems.  There's usually a good (bad?) reason they are dumping the car after one or two years.  Fleet (rental agency) vehicles are supposed to get all their schedule maintenance and service checks...but based on the rentals I've had over the years, I truly doubt they actually do.

Ultimately, our family adopted this approach:  "Buy It new, Maintain it well, Drive it until the day BEFORE it becomes unsafe to drive, then sell it."   
*For us, buying new and keeping the vehicle for a decade plus, the costs get amortized over a LOT of miles and days.  And KNOWING the vehicle is worth a lot of dollars, at least to us.

So, we've now got a 2003 Honda Odyssey minivan that we bought new and have run for about 180,000 miles.  Mechanically, it is still sound, though we do have some rust due to living in northern, snowy states.  We will pass this on within our family, because...

My wife finally tired of the Honda, and desperately wanted 4WD to help deal with our snowy winters, so just last week we bought a 2021 Toyota Sienna minivan (we haul lots of grandkids around).  We will run it for at least 150k miles, probably more.  The Sienna is also a hybrid (gas/electric), and should get around 36 mpg combined.   We took out a loan to purchase, just to get the related discount, but we'll pay it off within a couple of months.

Myself, I'm driving a paid-off 2011 Ford F150 EcoBoost (twin turbo) 4WD crew cab with a lot of upgrades.  I've got just over 100k miles on it with zero significant issues.  But, again, we maintain these like crazy, don't beat them up or abuse them.  I expect this vehicle to make it to 200k, easily.  I do expect that I'll have to replace items like brakes, the occasional master cylinder for brakes, or power steering pumps, as I exceed 150k.  But, that is a LOT cheaper to do than buying a new vehicle!!

Different approaches will work best for different people.  For us, it is well worth the additional cost to be able to know the vehicle from Day 1, and maintain it properly.

It's like everything in life, there is no one solution! 

Everyone needs to assess what works for them

Always remember, just because it works there, doesn't mean it works here the same way.

I have to agree with expatrusher. We bought our 4Runner new, in the States, moved it here, and plan to drive it forever with good maintenance. Yes it is expensive but so is buying a new vehicle here. Given that... what Planner says is spot on - depends on what is right for YOU. A GOOD used vehicle is best for a lot of people.

My two cents of advice for anyone not experienced with the DR, above all else, is to get a good representation (e.g. import agent, attorney, someone who knows the car market very well). It seems that for whatever you are doing here it depends on who you are standing in front of at any point in time. We've glided through some of the processes (residency, etc.) only to have one single knucklehead try to stop us with their own interpretation of the law or procedure. As they say....there is nothing worse than a blank stare from a bureaucrat!  The name of the game is knowing how to  influence people here. Screaming at them, or using logic for that matter, only makes it worse  . :0)

RockyM....quite right, logic almost never works here. My most successful approach has been asking them if there is another way solve the problem.

Yes, I think living here takes a bit more "ingenuity", compromise and problem solving skills. Hah...

Yes, and bribery.

Personally - I had 'zero' problems (2009, Jan)...
First quote $14,000.... shipped ultimately for $4500

A freight forwarder got me the container
Local moving company packed it for me (PHL)
Including the car - tied down
Hispaniola Freight (Wendoline) handled the arrival incl car pay duty.
They then moved it from  Caucedo to my house.

My car was valued by the Aduana at $18,000.... I paid $2000 tax
There is a 'no sell' period of 2-3 yrs on the cars

Not tough - and I spoke no Spanish.... my virgin trip.....
other than bldg a house that year

Nothing to be scared of.... stay away from POP dock & Haina.... in those days

Bribes were of the few dollar 'thank you' kind... nothing serious... just tips really

If I was coming in....again
I would come twice - me once then wife
Two cars that way - if you want
Yes --- I have 2 cars here.... The Siamese twin act got tiresome....

planner what is the time frame for the residencia period ? I am purchasing a property , in know I need to register with the U.S. Embassy also my wife do you know? thank you krumite

Smart man Willie Web is knowing the road , good to hear Krumite

Krumite go to the thread on residencia please and start reading. It's explained there and is virtually the same for each of you.

Let's keep this one focused on its topic!

Thank you Planner is on my schedule , Merry Christmas to you and yours . Blessing . Krumite