Bringing my SUV to CR

[CAROL BERMAN]

I am thinking about bringing my SUV to CR when I come down later this year. It’s a 1999 Infinity QX4 with 120k miles on it. She is in good shape and my service rep says she should easily go to 150k miles. I think there is very little value in her, so even if I have to pay 75%, that should be a small amount. When I look at the costs of used SUVs online, it looks like I’d have to pay even more than the import fees and transportation costs to get an SUV with the same mileage. IF that’s the case, I’d rather put the money into my car that I know has been well-maintained and that I am happy with.

I have some other considerations. I am bringing my 2 labs with me, and I need a car that can accommodate them. This also solves another problem for me. There are no direct flights from San Francisco to CR, so I am planning on driving to either FL, TX, or Los Angeles and taking a direct flight from there. I don’t want to have to change flights with my dogs. If I shipped my car from one of these locations, I would not have to worry about getting it back to the SF Bay area and getting someone to watch it for me.

Does this make sense?

I have a few other questions but will create other posts since topics are so different.

[MICHEAL LEVINE]

120K US miles? or 120K CR miles? If you are planning to spend much time on unpaved roads outside of the Central Valley, this punishment will tear up most SUVs. The Infinity is not (to my knowledge) built to withstand this kind of treatment.

Otherwise your arguments make a lot of sense — I have been thinking along the same lines.

[PATRICIA A.]

Hello, I am a new member hoping to relocate to Costa Rica. I have two small dogs and a cat and there are no direct flights from Phoenix either. My car is a 2003 Subaru Baja, 4WD in great condition. I have no idea what it would be like to drive to Costa Rica or if it is even feasible. I’ve heard that renting a car for three months can be expensive so it makes sense to me to bring mine and even sell it if after three months I decide not to relocate. Can you help me with this decision. I am adventurous but I want to be safe and smart about how I do this. Thanks so very much, Patricia in Gold Canyon, AZ

[CAROL BERMAN]

My Infinity QX4 has 120k US miles. It is AWD but also 4WD and low gear 4WD. It is on a truck chassis. It’s basically the same as the Nisson Pathfinder. I can check with my service manager to see how it would fare on rugged roads. Otherwise, is my understanding of the costs reasonable?

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Carol,

As far as costs, I’m going to refer you to a shipping company. They should be give you a good estimate of how your SUV would be valued. It might be higher than you might think. You can try shipcostarica.com or shippingcostarica.net.

As far as your travel plan that looks pretty sound. I think Miami is one of the main ports for shipments to Costa Rica – everything goes into Puerto Limon, on the Caribbean coast, basically.

And it seems to be pretty good car for CR as far being an SUV and 4WD, except there aren’t really many Infinitis around. So I’m not sure what the spare parts/repair situation would be. Could you be you’d have to special order stuff. Unless Nissan parts can be switched in pretty easily, in which case there are a lot of Nissans and qualified mechanics just about everywhere. Something to check on as well.

[CAROL BERMAN]

Thank you, Jason. Looks like I have some homework! A benefit to driving to Miami is that the flights are the shortest for my dogs, even though it is the longest drive from San Francisco. Just need to check the track record of the airlines flying to CR from there for transporting dogs.

[CAROL BERMAN]

I just got my shipping estimate, which I am going to post since the information may be helpful to others. This information came from shippingcostarica.net. The cost to ship from Miami to Costa Rica RO/RO (roll on, roll off, which means not in a crate – this is the way new cars are shipped – it is the least expensive method) $1,975 – includes ocean shipping and all processing in Costa Rica to make it road legal. It’s an additional $1,325 if I pack my car with stuff for processing and additional ocean shipping. This does not include custom fees on the packed items. It is the same rate if I pack a few things in my car or fill it up (I assume I need to leave at least some room for the driver). Registration and taxes for my car would be around $4000.

Without additional items packed in my car, the cost would run around $6000. Does this seem like a good price relative to buying a used SUV down there?

How can I find out what the import fees would be for used items? I have professional video equipment, computers, monitors, computer storage, and small kitchen appliances (very high end blender, food processor, etc.) that I would think about packing, plus additional items for my dogs.

I am still waiting to hear if a Nissan dealer down there can do the maintenance on my car. Apparently, the transmission is different on the Nissan Pathfinder and the Infiniti QX4.

[JASON HOLLAND]

Thanks for sharing, Carol. This is indeed very useful.

In this case, I would say that bringing your car down would be a good idea as far cost goes. The car you could get for that price would be higher mileage and older, probably not in ideal shape either. Plus, you know the vehicle and its maintenance history. The maintenance issue puts a bit of wrinkle in that, as you’ve noted.

For import fees for your other items, I would contact the same shipper. They should be able to give you an idea of estimated costs and taxes. Like with the car, the tax is based on the value.

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