Importing a pickup truck with my move to Ecuador

Importing household goods, and hobby related items like Your wood shop tools and equipment is no problem.

Currently To bring in a vehicle you need to be a returning Ecuadorian Citizen that has lived abroad for 5 years. The vehicle needs to be under $20,000. MSRP , Engine no bigger than 2.5Ltr. and brand spanking new with less than 50km's on the odometer.
~All the Very Best on Your Endeavors in Ecuador~
Relocation Ecuador: JourneymanJack.com/

Thanks for your response. I guess I”lol have sell the truck, if i’m Going to relocate to Ecuador

I think that Chevy is the market leader for vehicles in Ecuador, I feel like almost half the vehicles on the road are Chevrolets. The model names are different here, I think D-Max is the main Chevy pickup.

Once you have a permanent residence visa which takes 2 years, you can import a new or one year old car or truck. You do NOT have to be an Ecuadorian citizen. This regulation has not changed in 8 years. I had planned on bringing a 2011 Prius when I came in 2012 and the shipping cost and import duty would have been about equal to the value. Your tools are no problem.

Rockysroad wrote:

This regulation has not changed in 8 years.

Would you please cite that regulation and link to it on the internet?

You should be able to find it in: Aduana de Ecuador. https://www.bing.com/search?q=aduana%20 … =CT3210127

This is from the Aduana de Ecuador website:

A vehicle or motorcycle can be brought as part of the Household Items, provided that the property in favor of the exemption applicant is proven, through the documents: original of the property title, registration, registration or equivalent document issued by the authority competent abroad, whose date of issue must be prior to the arrival of the migrant with the intention of domicile in Ecuador.

Also, the motor vehicle or motorcycle must meet the following conditions:

For the case of automotive vehicle:
That its model year corresponds to the last five years;
The price must not exceed 60 Basic Unified Salaries (SBU).
For the motorcycle case:
That your model year corresponds to the last five years.
The price should not exceed 21 Unified Basic Salaries (SBU.

Rockysroad wrote:

This is from the Aduana de Ecuador website:

A vehicle or motorcycle can be brought as part of the Household Items, provided that the property in favor of the exemption applicant is proven, through the documents: original of the property title, registration, registration or equivalent document issued by the authority competent abroad, whose date of issue must be prior to the arrival of the migrant with the intention of domicile in Ecuador.

Also, the motor vehicle or motorcycle must meet the following conditions:

For the case of automotive vehicle:
That its model year corresponds to the last five years;
The price must not exceed 60 Basic Unified Salaries (SBU).
For the motorcycle case:
That your model year corresponds to the last five years.
The price should not exceed 21 Unified Basic Salaries (SBU.

There are also other requirements.  From this SENAE page (in Spanish):

https://www.aduana.gob.ec/para-migrantes/

"No se considera Menaje de Casa la sola importación de un vehículo automotor o motocicleta."

So, you cannot bring in a vehicle except if it is brought in as part of the menaje de casa.

If you are not an Ecuadorian citizen this applies, for menaje de casa:

Requisitos para personas migrantes no Ecuatorianas.

La persona migrante no ecuatoriana podrá solicitar la exoneración del menaje de casa y/o equipo de trabajo, solamente cuando prevea residir en el Ecuador por más de dos años, debiendo contar con visa de residencia temporal o permanente.

You must have resided in Ecuador for more than two years, with either a temporary or permanent resident visa.

And as you said, by the time you add up the costs of shipping, the import taxes and duties and port fees and other fees, it costs as much or more to bring your vehicle in as it would to just buy it there...gee, almost as if they designed it that way!

In other words, forget it. LOL. I know that you can buy a vehicle in Ecuador with reduced taxes if you are declared disabled. Does that rule also apply to importation by disabled gringos?

Bigbrad2008 wrote:

In other words, forget it. LOL. I know that you can buy a vehicle in Ecuador with reduced taxes if you are declared disabled. Does that rule also apply to importation by disabled gringos?

I would ask a dealer in Ecuador, but for most expats I think not, unless you have obtained Ecuadorian citizenship.  This article may help explain a few things - it appears you will need a Carné de discapacidad, and one pre-requisite for that is a Cédula de ciudadanía:

https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/201 … -impuestos

It should be worth the effort to find out if you can be exempt from the taxes!

This Toyota page outlines the steps, too:

https://www.toyota.com.ec/exonerados-pe … apacitados

Thanks, I was just curious as you folks are talking about taxes and cars. I plan to be carless for a couple of years at least. On a related subject, do you know of any bike shop that has electric motors and batteries, maybe in Cuenca? To can't take the battery on a plane.