Purchasing used vehicle

[NANCY SCHAFF]

We will be coming to Costa Rica this Fall for an extended period to see if it is a good fit for us as a retirement location. We have vacationed there twice. Since we could spend a year or more I am thinking we may want to purchase a used 4X4 rather than renting. Seems like it would make more sense to sell it if we decide to leave rather than paying to rent for a long period of time. We really want to see different parts of the country and I think it would make sense for us to have a vehicle, even though I think I understand many of the downsides (cost, maintenance, price of gas, etc). I am wondering how people actually do a cash transaction without a bank account in the country. How could we come up with the equivalent of $10,000 – $15,000 in cash? (I mean getting money transferred from a U.S. bank)
Thanks for any suggestions about how people do this.

[Jackie Minchillo]

Hi Nancy,

There are a few different ways you can do this.

My husband and I recently purchased a car, and in anticipation we brought $10,000 cash with us from the United States (this is the limit you can bring when flying in). We then supplemented the remaining cash we needed just by ATM withdrawals.

Typically, as you probably know, ATM cards will have a $500 daily limit for cash withdrawal, however if you call your bank, in most cases they will allow you to temporarily increase the daily limit – in our case we bank with Chase and they allow you to increase to $1,000 per card. So we each called, and made those one-time withdrawals.

Another option, as long as you will pass through a city in Costa Rica with a location would be to transfer the money to yourself via Western Union, but there are fees associated with this so just be sure to look those up.

Hope this is helpful to you!

Jackie

[NANCY SCHAFF]

Thanks Jackie! Would you be willing to share more information about your experience with locating and purchasing a vehicle?

[Author]

Posts