Car shipping costs

[Rubicon]

Recently I had my car shipped down and, for those who might be interested, below is the breakdown in costs (in pesos), and dollars where appropriate. The car is a 2005 Jeep Rubicon with 10,000 miles.

Impuestos Transferencia de Bienes y Servicios (ITBIS) 110,833.19

Impuestos Arancelanos 115,451.34

These were paid to the Colector de Aduanas.

An additional 3,340.00 was paid to the Direccion General de Aduanas for parking.

Another US $350.00 was paid to the shipping agent's representative for his services here.

And, finally, the actual shipping fees were US $1,600.00

When it came time to pay the registration, I was quoted just slightly over US $3,000.00. Unfortunately, I only had a couple of thousand dollars left and wasn't able to pay for the registration fee at that time and will have to make another trip to SD when I return.

Although much has been made about shipping a vehicle versus buying here in the DR, I am glad that I shipped my own car. If I were to buy something comparable here in the DR I would be paying a minimum of US $25,000.00 I'm sure. In the end I will have payed a total of US $12,100.00 for shipping my own vehicle, and I feel more comfortable with having my own car.

I was also extremely surprised that nothing whatsoever was missing from the car. I had pretty much written off my stereo system when I shipped the car. However, everything was intact when it arrived, with the exception of the face plate for the CD player, which the agent's rep had, but forgot to tell me about.

One of the downsides to shipping, however, is that they will not quote you the taxes and fees before shipping your car. The arguement goes that Customs must first make sure that the car you said you have shipped is the car that actually arrived in port. They then assess the value of the car and determine the taxes and fees. I understand that many people have shipped their vehicles and ended up simply leaving them at the port after finding out what the cost would be.

Another scam is that the agent's rep was running around paying tips (bribes) in order to expedite my paperwork. However, I noticed that each time he did so, I ended up being serviced last. I finally told him to stop and that I was not going to cover the cost of these tips.

All in all a frustrating experience, but glad I did it nonetheless.

[Apos]

so to summarize you paid just over $12,000 USD to ship a vehicle you had already paid for (already own).

you figure you could have purchased a similar vehicle in the DR for about $25,000 USD

the MSRP on you jeep in the states was about $28,825
( according to this site http://www.gulfcoastnews.com/RT2005JeepRubicon.htm )

this, Canadian, guy is asking about $23,000 USD for his, currently
http://guelph.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehic...QAdIdZ16858692

so it seems to me that you paid about $10,000 USD for you comfort level
as far has having your own vehicle instead of buying in the DR.

does that seem about right?

i'm confused how this is a good deal financially.

i'm curious why you didn't just sell you jeep at home and buy a brand new one in the DR?

sounds like you could have avoided all the hassle, saved money and had a new jeep.
you must really like the one you have!

[Apos]

i LUV playing The Devil's Advocate to my own silly posts :

according to super-carros.com http://www.supercarros.com/reg/do/us...%3d%26order%3d
for a 2006 Jeep Wrangler with 6,000 miles they are asking $40,000 so perhaps your estimate of replacement cost was a touch optimistic . it does make your final costs seem much more reasonable though considering that your vehicle is a different/better model even if a year older.

being somewhat lazy and adverse to paperwork and hassle i'd almost certainly avoid the whole process and just purchase in the DR. then again that involves a whole different set of hurdles and hassles.

i hope you enjoy your vehicle in the DR, after all the work you did to get it there you've certainly earned it!

[MrHappy]

If he had his residency, he could have saved some money, but I agree with you Apos.

However, it was posted as a "this is an example of what it will cost you", not as "look what a great deal I got"

The taxes are actually a little low, based on other imports on the DGA website, so you did pretty good, all things considered.

I did the same thing with my vehicle years ago, for the same reason. I brought a vehicle that I knew inside and out.

Would I do it again? Knowing what I do now, absolutely not.

[psriches]

i LUV playing The Devil's Advocate to my own silly posts :

according to super-carros.com http://www.supercarros.com/reg/do/us...%3d%26order%3d
for a 2006 Jeep Wrangler with 6,000 miles they are asking $40,000 so perhaps your estimate of replacement cost was a touch optimistic .

That's crazy!!! My 2007 Jeep Wrangler cost $18,000 right off the lot with no haggling.

[Apos]

absolutely and a great post about a topic many have asked about, here and other forums, in the past.

i thank Rubicon for sharing his experience.

the taxes did seem 2 or 3k low which is great and the replacement cost for a similar or new vehicle vary greatly especially or a harder to get brand or model.

seems to me like Rubicon did well, just not my cup-a-tea

If he had his residency, he could have saved some money, but I agree with you Apos.

However, it was posted as a "this is an example of what it will cost you", not as "look what a great deal I got"

The taxes are actually a little low, based on other imports on the DGA website, so you did pretty good, all things considered.

I did the same thing with my vehicle years ago, for the same reason. I brought a vehicle that I knew inside and out.

Would I do it again? Knowing what I do now, absolutely not.

[Apos]

That's crazy!!! My 2007 Jeep Wrangler cost $18,000 right off the lot with no haggling.

Bienvenido a "la vida en una isla".

[knotty]

damn, i'd rather buy a car there than ship it. thanks for the info Rubicon. lots of fees there.

[JD426]

Good info..
.me personally, this is why I dont get emotionally attached to a car. I would buy new, and sell it when the time comes. On paper that would make a whole lot more sense.
I saw a LOT of NEW cars in Santiago, more than anywhere else in DR. Not sure exactly why.

[guttaman]

In the DR a new car is close to double a new car in the states. My friend Marie in Santiago got the Italiano to buy her a new 2007 Camry. US40,000. My mother just bought the same car with a better stereo system, LoJack and extended warranty for just under US21,000.

I believe Rubicon has his residency so he probally did save a few bucks with it and also i know he did his homework. I have heard horror stories with importing cars to the DR.

Anyone concidering buying a used car anywhere, especially the DR should spend a few bucks and do a Car Fax search. I am sure thousands of Katrina vehicles found their way to the DR for refurbishing.

[MrHappy]

In the DR a new car is close to double a new car in the states. My friend Marie in Santiago got the Italiano to buy her a new 2007 Camry. US40,000. My mother just bought the same car with a better stereo system, LoJack and extended warranty for just under US21,000.

I believe Rubicon has his residency so he probally did save a few bucks with it and also i know he did his homework. I have heard horror stories with importing cars to the DR.

Anyone concidering buying a used car anywhere, especially the DR should spend a few bucks and do a Car Fax search. I am sure thousands of Katrina vehicles found their way to the DR for refurbishing.

Highly doubtful. The DR has made some major changes to import laws, specifically to avoid just that.

No vehicles older than 5 years, no salvage titles, no wrecked cars.

The gov't here made the decision to go for fewer big bucks vehicles, as opposed to a lot of low value vehicles that don't bring in a lot of income, and lead to a lot of under the table payoffs. It's also helping in controlling the amount of vehicles on the streets.

Anyone that's been here for a few years can tell you how much vehicular traffic has grown in the last decade or so.

Miguel Cocco, the guy that runs customs, is a tough and savvy guy.

[Rubicon]

For me the decision to ship a car was a fairly easy one. The Jeep was one of three cars that I had back in the states, and I could certainly do without it there. Additionally, I checked the Kelly Blue Book just before I left the states and my car was valued at just under $24,000.00, so my thought was that if I spent that kind of money here, I probably wouldn't have gotten the same value or quality out of the purchase. It had very little to do with feeling "attached" to the car since purchasing a new car here was a consideration initially.

I also shipped using my residency, and only paid 20% of the value of the car for import tax, as opposed to the required 100% without residency.

So, yes, Apos, I think I made the smarter move. It wasn't an overnight decision, but one that was planned for for at least a year. In terms of it being a hassle, I didn't find it to be anymore of a hassle than I've found with most things in this country. The only thing I had to do was to drop my car off in Providence RI, pick it up in Santo Domingo, pay my fees and sign some documents. Sounds like the typical procedures one would experience in the US. Admittedly, the frustration had more to do with dealing with the shipping agent's rep than anything else.

BTW guttaman, thanks for some sensible commentary.

[Rubicon]

Would I do it again? Knowing what I do now, absolutely not.

Would I do it again? Absolutely, especially knowing what I know now. The only downside to doing it again is that I would have to pay the full import tax as you're allowed only one shipment under your residency.

[psriches]

Since we're on the topic of Jeeps which guzzle gas, what is the price of gas converted into US $$ and gallons? Isn't close to $4 a gallon? I just pay it without converting it in my head. Just curious.

[Apos]

$4/gallon mas o menos, depende...different grades of fuel can be a lot more

Since we're on the topic of Jeeps which guzzle gas, what is the price of gas converted into US $$ and gallons? Isn't close to $4 a gallon? I just pay it without converting it in my head. Just curious.

[Rubicon]

Since we're on the topic of Jeeps which guzzle gas, what is the price of gas converted into US $$ and gallons? Isn't close to $4 a gallon? I just pay it without converting it in my head. Just curious.

I used to do the same. A gallon is presently running $4.25/gal for regular. Don't know what premium is as I haven't used it here.

[MrHappy]

Actually, it's running 4.50 a gal. for regular, and 4.89 for premium. Diesel is 3.48.
That's one of the reasons I sold my jeep.

It only costs me about 85 bucks to fill the tank on the Land Rover, but at least I'm getting 35km to a gallon.

Driving the jeep in the city I averaged 10 mpg or less.

Jack, you may want to consider using premium in your Rubicon. The regular gasoline here is terrible, quality wise. Bare minimum, buy a case of STP gasoline treatment or something similar everytime you fill up..

[Rubicon]

MrHappy, my apologies for the inaccurate info. I just did the conversion on my calculator (145 pesos/galllon divided by the exchange rate of 32.8= US $4.42)

I won't be using my Jeep much unless I travel out of town, which I intend to start doing now that I have my own vehicle so that I can start to see other parts of the DR, or it's a rainy day and I need to get out. I still live in the US so it's not like the Jeep is going to get alot of use anyway. And, I tend to use my pasola when I'm running around town. Obviously it's more economical and I've found it's simply the best way to get around.

Thanks for the advice on the use of premium grade and gas treatment. I hadn't really given either any thought, and the last thing I need is to have gotten the car down here and to start having engine problems because of the lack of quality of fuel.

[DEPUTY DAWG]

Execellent thread....Simply excellent!!!!!!

[weyland]

Actually, it's running 4.50 a gal. for regular, and 4.89 for premium. Diesel is 3.48.

Wow! I never realised gas was so cheap in the DR. Perhaps I'll get a car after all. In the UK it costs about £3.75 (US$7.50) per US gallon. (Our "gallons" are larger but I have made the adjustment). Higher grades a bit more than this.