Importing car to Dominican Republic

If you are doing this without residency  the coats are very high.   

First the value of the car is assessed by them here and has little to do with actual value.   They apply sales tax at 18%.   Then the rest of their charges plus you need a customs broker.

You are charged to store the vehicle there while you work your way through everything.  I know people who took over 90 days to clear their vehicle through.

And remember the vehicle must be under 5 years old and you must have owned it at least a year and free and clear!   Buying a car to ship it here won't fly unless you are a dealer.

I will ask my broker what it all  costs.

Ok, thanks. My novia is a banker and has some legal contacts-I wonder if she could help?
Plus, seems I should wait until I establish residency unless the car could be put in her name?

You'll get a real break importing as a resident.... the novia gets no breal I know of

Even that 18% gets lower on a Residency import

Yes wait for residency.  Your novia gets no breaks either or they would ALL be importing cars and selling them.

I seem to remember my car - about $20K value
I paid maybe $2k w/ residency

They value it.... they decide the tax

Also see this link approx cost for tax. https://www.aduanas.gob.do/de-interes/c … vehiculos/

That’s interesting and I would like to know more. I believe that everyone psycho the 18% to register and tags etc. even with residency no one escapes that fee. 18% of 20k would be a $3,600. Can you share your experiences with the process?

My experience has been the total cost for a 15-20K car is about $7000USD plus all the BS that goes with that including damage and missing parts which are difficult to replace here.  That's after waiting 2-3 months to get the car after it hits customs.

It's normally not worth the bother.  Buy here, buy a car everyone else drives.  It's an island, things are different here.  Toyota, honda, Nissan are your best bet.

Everyone's experience is different. Its all about the money. We paid a lot for the tax, tag, and most importantly the legal representation. We had no problems. But we had residency, which is key. You do not want to import without residency. That's where you get the "they tore my vehicle apart, and held it for months". The alternative is a used local vehicle, or pay a lot for a new one. We felt it was worth it to import our vehicle.

WillieWeb wrote:

I seem to remember my car - about $20K value
I paid maybe $2k w/ residency

They value it.... they decide the tax

Since it was 2009..... I may not remember the 18%
but the 'placa' is costly.....Wow!!

My importer helped me - no lawyer
The car arrived in my container (40ft) w/ my household effects
I went to Caucedo to claim them & and they put the car out to wait for duty clearance.
Day or 2 later I drove it to Cabrera - leading my furniture home.

All w/ the help of Hispaniola Freight and Wendoline de Pena

But do you not still need to import within that six month period of grace after receiving your Temp Residency? Or are you saying that with Residency, importing anytime is easier. Just asking - have too many questions going on about other things....thanks

Yes - 6 mo grace period

Can be done other times.... but no discount on the tax

Car must be owned for 1 yr prior
less than 5 yrs old

i do not know if the rules have changed, but in 2006 when i brought my car in it had to have been owned for at least a year, and during that year it had to have been registered and insured.

That is my understanding as well!

That's what I thought - but asked for clarification as someone new may have thought otherwise. Although I have a good friend now  (he comes and goes between the US and Moca) who has MANY contacts and has offered to help me find a vehicle, I still think I'll be getting hold of Mike to help when the time comes......thanks.

Thanks for asking the question!

I do recommend Mike as well. His knowledge of. Models and difference between years of manufacture amazes me!

@WilliWeb

Sounds like you successfully imported a car. We hear so many horror stories about importing cars…would you recommend it? Has anything improved with respect to quality and price of cars in DR?

From my most recent experience quality has not changed and prices are rising due to the pandemic.

We successfully imported a vehicle, with residency and a really good import agent. If you cut corners or cheap out that's where you get the "horror stories". I think this advice is valid for just about any business you do here.

We were not asked for registration or proof of insurance in the US, although we had both at the time we imported. Our registration would have expired in July or August, but because of COVID, North Carolina had granted an automatic extension through December.

Also, although we had heard (and I still believe) the import restriction is 6 months after residency, we were asked to provide proof that we had not spent over 180 days in total in the country in the preceding 2 years. I think that was due to a misunderstanding by the shipper, but since we were at about 170 days in country when our container landed, I was a bit nervous! It was less than 60 days after residency though.

brodies2013 wrote:

@WilliWeb

Sounds like you successfully imported a car. We hear so many horror stories about importing cars…would you recommend it? Has anything improved with respect to quality and price of cars in DR?

To clarify -

I brought a car with me - the residency deal

Subsequently, I have purchased 3 cars here.
All RD cars , not USA imports - as others have said

Good cars can be had here - easily
Importing is a headache.... buy here & drive off the lot

I wire the money to the seller... easy

Hi WilleWeb

I have a car at home in Canada. I dont use it much,  so I was going to import it here to DR, but maybe as you say, its just a hassel.  Its a 2015 Chrysler 300 with 100,000 km, and its in great shape.  But I suspect its going to cost thousands to ship/import.  I dont know. 

The car we have here is a 2010 Honda Accord and it has $103,000 miles. We didnt know about carfax when we bought it, so maybe thats not the mileage,  but we bought it at a dealer in Santo Domingo. You would think a dealer would be legit and the reason we did this. We fixed the alternator, have a new battery, tires, and something with the steering.  Maybe the brakes too.  Seems to me its good but Carlos wants to get rid of it as he thinks we are making too many repairs and he does not want me getting stranded somewhere.

Can you help us find a reliable car thats a few years old with low mileage?  Maybe small SUV since the roads are not very good here (we are in Punta Cana).  You can message me privately.

I believe a 2015 no longer qualifies.

Cruffman can help find what you are looking for. He just found me a great vehicle this week!

Cruffman is the person to contact......

he reads here,,...... write to him

And - Yes- your 2015 is too old to import, as Planner says

hi there  .. good morning  ...this is Cruffman.....stand by for adventure...i am going to message you

Cruffman

'''you would think a dealer would be legit''....

not really. they are bigger crooks than private sellers.  they are the guys who present you with fake matriculas and computer generated CARFAX.

thanks to folks like WillieWeb and planner for always giving me props...

Does anyone know if there is a mileage restriction when importing a car after obtaining residency? I have a 2019 Acura RDX that I’m considering as my import car (I’ve owned it for over a year already). It has 62,000 miles currently and would probably have closet to 75,000 miles once we imported it

Nope - no miles rules

For your 2017 you have until June 30 next year to bring it in
5 Yr rule

Thanks so much!

That is a good price. Do you mind telling what company and what port are you coming into thanks

Do you have to have to be a resident to import a car, or can you just use your American passport to take the car out of customs without the residency discount?

You can import on your passport but be ready to pay ridiculous taxes and duty!

We have a 2021 Hyundai that we are financing thru them at 0%. We will be entering as retirees and want to bring the car. Do we need to hold the title for a year or does it just need to be registered to us for at least a year. I understand we need the title to enter, just wondering at what point I need to pay it off prior to shipping.

Timely info thread. I expect to pick up my residency in the next few weeks. Would like to bring my 2019 Acura RDX from Canada. Been leasing for 4 years and will buy it out in August. Is that acceptable re prior ownership and any idea approximate cost to drive it from customs?

Good questions. Let me ask our lawyer Lishali and my customs broker Suggey!

Thanks Planner

I won't get any answers until Monday at the earliest.

thezuber wrote:

Timely info thread. I expect to pick up my residency in the next few weeks. Would like to bring my 2019 Acura RDX from Canada. Been leasing for 4 years and will buy it out in August. Is that acceptable re prior ownership and any idea approximate cost to drive it from customs?

I haven't seen any RDX's around, which means you'll have to import all the parts to repair it yourself, and then hope the mechanic you use, knows what they are doing with those parts.  This is the part of the import equation most people forget.  They love their vehicle, know the history, so want to bring it with them, only to find out it can't be repaired here easily or quickly.  As many people have said, sell it in Canada, buy something here.  It will be much easier, likely cheaper, and will be able to be repaired here.