Hi James,
This is the eternal question asked by expats in Costa Rica. And there’s no right or wrong answer. There are pros and cons on each side.
Because of high import duties/taxes, bringing a car from the U.S. can be an expensive proposition. The shipping itself will cost about $1,000. The taxes are based on the value and age of the car.
The tax rate for a car six years or older is 73% of its value. Newer cars it is 52% of its value.
How is value determined? Similar to a blue book value. Make, model, engine size, features like power windows, etc. It is quite elaborate. You can get a rough calculation here:
http://www.hacienda.go.cr/autohacienda/autovalor.aspx
The best resource for getting an estimate of what it would cost to import your car is to contact a shipping broker based in Costa Rica. Barry Wilson speaks at IL events and has been involved in shipping cars and household goods for expats for many years. You can contact him here: http://shipcostarica.com
The pros to bringing your own car in is that you know the vehicle and its maintenance history. The roads can be rough on cars in Costa Rica and maintenance not always kept up with by owners to North American standards. Also used cars for sale at car lots tend to be from auction from the U.S. So high miles and because of the import duties still expensive.
Sorry I don’t have a definitive answer. But I can tell that a mid size SUV is the best type of car to have in Costa Rica as it will handle the roads and have okay gas mileage with the high price of gas. 4WD not strictly needed except in certain rural and out of the way spots.
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