Today I read some of an electronic Moon book on Living in Costa Rica and double-checked it with Chris Howard’s New Golden Door book and they both say about the same.
- It will be cheaper and easier to buy a car in Costa Rica, even though they cost about 30% more there. If you drive or ship your car from the states you pay an even higher excise tax, like 50%+ of the retail value AND the paperwork will require a lawyer.
- I could drive my old car which from Brownsville, TX would be over 2,200 miles through five countries, lots of red tape, complications, possible dangers, and the high excise tax mentioned above. But would sure be a neat adventure!
- Most people buy used cars which are well cared for there because of the high cost of cars. If I plan to frequent national parks and other wilderness areas I will need four-wheel drive on a high-riding car.
- One writer recommends the Toyota RAV4 and another said Suzukis do well there because they ride high. Most cars in Costa are Japanese or Korean.