How to Pay for a Vehicle bought in Chile (All Options)
1) Cash - this is the fastest and easiest method. bank transfers can be slow and create trust issues due to the timing of payment arrival therefore cash is ideal unless budget is very high.
how to: Bring USD or Euro with you (you are allowed to bring up to 10,000usd per person) then change them at the AFEX office (not the one at the airport its more expansive).
2) Credit card/Debit: this method is also easy and quick, however has commissions and can only work if you buy from a car dealer that has card payment (this eliminates many good cars from particular sellers)
3) Remitly - a decent service that can either provide quick bank transfers or send you cash (limited to 2,000,000 in most cases)
4) transferwise - easy wire transfers.
5) bank transfer - the slowest and most expansive.
How to Cross Borders with a Chilean Vehicle in South America
Since August 2018 there's a law for tourists crossing to argentina with a Chilean vehicle https://www.aduana.cl/solicitar-permiso-para-el-ingreso-o-la-salida-temporal-de-un-vehiculo/aduana /2019-08-05/123824.html
Using our "Premium Full Service" "Full Service" or Border crossing package it is possible to cross borders.
We provide our clients with all the necessary documents, a border list and a trip planning session.
During the first month after purchasing the vehicle you can only cross to Argentina using a permission from the seller.
once you receive the padron(ownership document) (we can send it to you) you can cross to any other country from Argentina.
* it is not possible to cross directly from Chile to Peru for tourists.
* it is difficult to cross directly from chile to bolivia but might work at specific crossings.
From Argentina it is possible to cross to any other country.
How to Register a Foreign Smartphone in Chile
So you arrived to Chile, got a local sim card but it still doesn't work?
A new law says that all foreign smartphones need to be registered with a foreign phone registering company.
This is what you need to do:
Go to http://ingeaudit.cl/personas-naturales/
Choose the option of:
Remote-enter certificate request
Fill up the form and send the following documents accordingly:
1. A picture of your Passport
2. PDI immigration paper (when you entered Chile they left it or stapled it in your passport)
3. Digital IMEI- Screenshot with the IMEI number, you get that by calling *#06# , you will receive a barcode with numbers, screenshot that.
4. Physical IMEI- Picture of the IMEI number engraved on the phone. ON iPhone it is engraved on the SIM card holder with android phones usually behind the battery
You will receive an activation email, open it and press the link they sent you.
Your phone should be activated in 72 hours.
Good luck and may the force be with you (you will need it).
FAQ When Buying a Car In Chile
It is possible to get the RUT remotely and even buy the car remotely, but it will require a trip to the chilean embassy in your country, scheduling an appointment can take some time, later on paperwork will need to be mailed to us.
Generally it is easier and more practical to just arrive to Santiago and go through the full service process with us, the big advantage is that you can see and test drive the vehicle before buying it, every customer have their specific preferences and details that can bother them about the vehicle, so buying remotely can be a little risky or disappointing sometimes..
1) Figure out what type of vehicle you want (van or suv), you can pre-buy the full service, this way we will send you car ads and explain you about all the options available in Chile so it will help you decide even before arriving.
2) See the average budget needed for this vehicle and consider bringing cash in order to quickly pay for it (in case it's not a very expensive vehicle). there are more ways of paying for a vehicle such as credit card if its a dealership (costs 4%) or using our credit card payment service (costs 6%) or use transferwise app for money transfer.
Yes, however we mostly recommend selling back in Chile so you can use our car sale service and to have a simpler process.
There are 2 ways you can sell your car in Colombia for example:
1) The long way - you will need to have all car's paperwork up to date. buyer will have to send us a permission to get a RUT and buy a car in his name. seller will have to send us a permission to sell his car in his name. all documents will need to be approved at the chilean embassy in colombia.
2) Give the buyer a notarized permission to use the car and cross borders and also a permission to sell it.
The buyer will travel with the car while it stays on the sellers name and will sell it back in Chile to another traveler.
* * A little risky some borders might not accept this permit ** if anything illegal is made by the buyer or was made by the seller in another country the car might be confesticated at the border *** Notaries in chile might not accept these permits and therefore the buyer will not be able to re sale.
It usually takes around 4 weeks and can delay if there are holidays or any issues at the civil registry.
You can travel inside Chile immediately after buying the vehicle. the padron can be collected at any civil registry around chile, we also go twice a week to the registro civil to check for our customers padrons and once they are ready we send them to them (included in the full service)
Question:when buying a car what are the costs besides the price of the vehicle?
Around 25,000 a month for international insurance, around 120,000 tax for buying a used car (always paid by the buyer) 200,000 - 400,000 on vehicle maintenance if needed, around 300,000 on bed platform/kitchen platform.
$2,000 USD - $3,000 USD usually, but it depends on many factors such as the type of car you bought, the km you drove the ware and tare etc... usually you lose more when buying unreliable cheap cars, that's another reason we recommend having a decent budget and going for a reliable brand and model of vehicle.
First of all, from personal experience i can say that all setups are great, fun and capable of doing this trip.
SUV - more comfortable driving, tough suspension and engine, more common and faster to find, faster to convert to a camper - generally the most practical option. Ideal for families with kids because of the 5-7 seats.
Van more recommended to travelers of 6 months and more. it can take up to 2-3 weeks to convert it.. More comfortable driving, tough suspension and engine, more common and faster to find, faster to convert to a camper
usually it's more economic on gasoline (because most vans are diesel) but needs maintenance more often. The camper side is the big advantage as you can camp for longer time than you would do with a 4WD SUV. ideal for couples as almost all vans in chile have only 2-3 seats.
Motorcycle Very practical option, more recommended to low budget travelers, always a better option than buying a very cheap car. A tougher type of traveling style, but extremely economic and faster buying process.
We recommend at least 3 months, because the more time you travel with a car you bought and not rented the more money you "save". also, it takes 1-2 weeks to just go through the proccess of buying the car, then maybe another 2 days to just prepare it for selling, then 1-2 months to get it sold in most cases.
Taxes and notary fees usually cost between 90,000 - 150,000 depending on the value of the deal.
1.5% of the declared deal price goes to taxes and around 40,000 to notary fees, another 20,000 approx goes as fee to the Registro Civil.
With our service it only takes less than 2 hours and no paperwork is needed to be filled by the client. (it can take a few days during pandemic times or when there's a strike). If you need to get a RUT number without being in santiago (remote rut service) then it can take 2-3 days and require you to visit a local notary and send us the paperwork by mail.
We offer our full service customers 2 free mechanical inspections at our place, it is also possible to take our mechanic with you to see a car at the cost of 25,000 pesos or get the premium full service that includes mechanical inspections anywhere within a 5km radius from our office.
Of course. We will get you all the paperwork necessary and guide you to cross at the fastest and easiest crossings. However, we have no control over a border crossing officer in a bad mood, there is a possibility that you will not always cross, if that happens we will try and speak with that officer or guide you to another crossing.
Crossing from Chile to Peru is not possible for foreigners. It is recommended to go through Bolivia.
We provide our customers with a border list, route planning a notarized declaración jurada and a poder.
This depends on many factors such as budget, expectations, Availability of cars in the market. However, with a budget of between 12.500.000 - 15.500.000(pesos) and looking for a van/SUV it should take around a week to a week and half.
**The higher the budget and wider filters the faster it should take vice versa.
During the pandemic car prices almost doubled, here is the updated budget estimation for each vehicle type:
Small SUV (vitara, grand nomade, jimny, rav4, subaru forester,tucson) - 10,000,000 - 12,000,000 pesos
Medium sized SUV that can fit a bed platform (xtrail,4runner,pilot,outback,explorer,santa fe) - 12,000,000 - 15,000,000 pesos
7 seat expedition SUV (expedition,4runner, tahoe, suburban,land cruiser, pilot) - 19,000,000 - 25,000,000 pesos
Small 2-3 seater van (N300,L300,APV) - 7,000,000 - 10,000,000 pesos
Medium 2-3 seater van or passenger (H1,expert,traveler,transporter,vito,bukhanka) 12,000,000 - 18,000,000
Big L1H1 ,L2H2 2-3 seater van or passenger (boxer,ducato,jumper,iveco) 15,000,000 - 22,000,000
Big L3H3 2-3 seater van or passenger (sprinter,H350 solati,boxer,transit) 22,000,000 - 32,000,000
On a tight budget we would recommend getting a cheap simple sedan,hatchback or a motorbike.
It is easier and more practical to sell in Santiago, finding a buyer for a chilean vehicle in another country can be a little slower than usual, however if your trip plan is set to end in another country then why not.
Question What sites do you recommend for finding cars?
We recommend Chileautos, Yapo and facebook marketplace.
There is SOAP which is the obligatory car insurance for a Chilean vehicle (third party). Then there is RCI which is an international insurance in order to cross borders with the Chilean vehicle. A high coverage insurance for theft and accidents is not something very common around most travelers but can also be done for turists with some companies, feel free to consult with us.
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