Advice on buying a new car in Buenos Aires?

[Milkman]

I am moving to Buenos Aires with my pregnant wife and kids. I plan to try to live there permanently and I read you don't need a car, but I need to get my kids around as one of them is a special needs child and has a special chair. I noticed that car prices on some websites are quoted in pesos. I got a quote for a very good Toyota with low miles. The price is in pesos and says I have 48 hours to purchase at that price. Has anyone actually bought a new car in pesos before? I'm sure you get where I'm going with this question.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Che Vos]

Just make sure they have all the paperwork and the title and things are in order.

 

[Vero]

Several years back, I purchased a Toyota using pesos. When selling dollars at the blue rate, the cost matched that in the US precisely. It was an incredible bargain!

The price quoted in pesos was based on the US dollar's official rate, which, during that time, was half the value of the blue dollar rate, resulting in this advantageous deal.

 

[Milkman]

Several years back, I purchased a Toyota using pesos. When selling dollars at the blue rate, the cost matched that in the US precisely. It was an incredible bargain!

The price quoted in pesos was based on the US dollar's official rate, which, during that time, was half the value of the blue dollar rate, resulting in this advantageous deal.

Just an update to this saga.

The listed price in pesos is accurate and gets updated daily, but there's a catch—there aren't any cars available for purchase at that rate. It's akin to investing in a pre-construction apartment; they leverage your depreciating pesos to import a car from Brazil, with the hope that it arrives after several months. Upon consulting multiple new car dealers, the reality is that purchasing an existing car entails a significantly higher cost. It seemed like a promising idea, but the actual purchase turned out to be quite different.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

and what's crazy is that cars are so expensive in Argentina! the prices are so weird; gas is cheaper than the USA, but electronics and cars are crazy expensive. meals are cheap, rent is relatively cheap, transportation is super cheap.

cars on ML often look like USA prices: https://www.mercadolibre.com.ar/c/autos-motos-y-otros

rentar cars starting at $65 USD per day is crazy! https://www.sixt.com

 

[Betsy Ross]

and what's crazy is that cars are so expensive in Argentina! the prices are so weird; gas is cheaper than the USA, but electronics and cars are crazy expensive. meals are cheap, rent is relatively cheap, transportation is super cheap.

cars on ML often look like USA prices: https://www.mercadolibre.com.ar/c/autos-motos-y-otros

rentar cars starting at $65 USD per day is crazy! https://www.sixt.com

Exactly correct! With import taxes, it can add on a tremendous amount of money to the total. I had a friend who many years ago was insistent on buying a Land Rover here. The price she paid was about double of what she would have paid in the USA. She was very wealthy and didn't care. She owned a second home near Tommy Lee Jones place. But I was shocked she almost paid double to bring a new car here!

 

[earlyretirement]

and what's crazy is that cars are so expensive in Argentina! the prices are so weird; gas is cheaper than the USA, but electronics and cars are crazy expensive. meals are cheap, rent is relatively cheap, transportation is super cheap.

cars on ML often look like USA prices: https://www.mercadolibre.com.ar/c/autos-motos-y-otros

rentar cars starting at $65 USD per day is crazy! https://www.sixt.com

Yes, there are a LOT of important taxes and IVA associated with imported cars. I think the only cars that may be more affordable are cars made here.

Back when I bought my car, it was imported from France. I bought a hardtop retractable convertible with 0 KM. It wasn't cheap with all the taxes and fees but I actually sold it 5 years later for even more than I purchased it. It was awesome! I can't remember if they stopped making that model car. I know there is general appreciation but I think that particular year when I sold it, imports were really tough for cars and high demand.

Anyone buying a new car should check out this blog. I had the pleasure of meeting Mara for dinner on my last trip to Buenos Aires a few weeks ago. A very smart guy.

Buying a car in Argentina

The road to bureaucracy hell is paved with forms and declarations

www.bowtiedmara.io

 

[Che Vos]

Yes, there are a LOT of important taxes and IVA associated with imported cars. I think the only cars that may be more affordable are cars made here.

Back when I bought my car, it was imported from France. I bought a hardtop retractable convertible with 0 KM. It wasn't cheap with all the taxes and fees but I actually sold it 5 years later for even more than I purchased it. It was awesome! I can't remember if they stopped making that model car. I know there is general appreciation but I think that particular year when I sold it, imports were really tough for cars and high demand.

Anyone buying a new car should check out this blog. I had the pleasure of meeting Mara for dinner on my last trip to Buenos Aires a few weeks ago. A very smart guy.

Buying a car in Argentina

The road to bureaucracy hell is paved with forms and declarations

www.bowtiedmara.io

I follow BowTiedMara on Twitter. It is very good content and many good photos too.

https://twitter.com/BowTiedMara

That's nice you could meet him in person. He is European from what I see? I listened to podcast on crypto that he did and I couldn't believe his Spanish. Very good!

Maybe he is married to a Porteña. I never subscribed to his website as it looks like all is free. You subscribe? Is there more content?

 

[earlyretirement]

I follow BowTiedMara on Twitter. It is very good content and many good photos too.

https://twitter.com/BowTiedMara

That's nice you could meet him in person. He is European from what I see? I listened to podcast on crypto that he did and I couldn't believe his Spanish. Very good!

Maybe he is married to a Porteña. I never subscribed to his website as it looks like all is free. You subscribe? Is there more content?

Yes he is from the Netherlands. I invited my best friend, @Lucho to dinner too and Mara was surprised my friend was fluent in Dutch as he lived there for a year and he picks up languages easily.

It was wonderful to arrive and hear them speaking in Dutch!

I do subscribe and it’s more like a donation. I asked him about this very matter! He said almost no one really will pay for content these days. So he just posts it all free.

Most of the stuff he posts I have been saying for years. So it was so wonderful to find his blog and his Twitter posts. I’m new to Twitter as of a few months ago.

I loved his content so much I invited him to dinner. It was great. Everyone should subscribe/donate to his site. It’s some of the best information on Argentina and spot on target.

Yes he is married to an Argentine. Great guy!

 

[roam around]

Just a shout out and big thanks to Mike and Ana at www.buysellba.com. I was in the process of moving to Argentina and I was purchasing a car. I didn't know you needed a tax ID # which is called a CDI #. I found their website and although I wasn't buying a property I asked them if I could hire them to get my CDI #.

I called into their office and Mike called me back and explained they didn't do it for people that weren't buying a property but he referred me to one of his in-house accountants and said maybe she could do it. I am very happy to say that Ana got my CDI #. I read horror stories how you can waste days getting it. My friend did it herself and she had to go to the police station and then go to the tax office there. She said she wasted a lot of time.

Ana explained that since I wasn't yet in Argentina and wouldn't be for about 2 months I could either wait until I got to Argentina or we could start the process from the USA. I had to sign a Power of attorney document for her to get my CDI #. I had to notarize it and then send it to the Secretary of State in Sacramento. I then had to fed ex it to Argentina. But I am happy to report that she got it successfully and it was very quick. In fact, the longest was me waiting for the Secretary of State to send it back to me.

I couldn't be more pleased.

BuySellBA

Don't buy real estate in Buenos Aires without knowing all of the laws, ins and outs and all the possible pitfalls.

buysellba.com

 

[earlyretirement]

Thanks so much @roam around. I'm very happy that Ana was able to get your CDI # so quickly. I wish you a safe journey traveling around Argentina. Best.

 

[Fall]

Hello all. I just got my DNI and permanent residency. Can anyone explain the tax implications of owning a car? It sounds crazy but I couldn't get a car loan here as I just got my DNI. I had to pay cash to the dealership. I have a remote job and they wouldn't recognize that income as I am not yet paying AFIP.

My friends all told me now since I bought an expensive car now I will have problems with the Argentine IRS (AFIP). What does this mean? I was hoping to avoid paying taxes on all my digital nomad offshore income which is paid in the USA. Now will I have issues? Is there some paperwork that I need to fill out because I bought this car in cash?

Help!

 

[GlasgowJohn]

The dealership has to fill out the paperwork when you pay in cash.

In any case, it will take the AFIP forever to catch up with you.

It will have to be included in your declaration of bienes next year.

 

[GlasgowJohn]

To tell you more about Argentina , we bought a good second hand car about 18 months ago. it is now worth more in USD, than when we bought it.

 

[Wally]

The dealership has to fill out the paperwork when you pay in cash.

In any case, it will take the AFIP forever to catch up with you.

It will have to be included in your declaration of bienes next year.

This is correct! I wouldn't worry about anything especially if you don't work in Argentina and especially if you just got your DNI. AFIP is a mess. You will just pay an asset tax on it next year. Dealership will do all the paperwork for you for the purchase.

 

[Fall]

The dealership has to fill out the paperwork when you pay in cash.

In any case, it will take the AFIP forever to catch up with you.

It will have to be included in your declaration of bienes next year.

Huge thanks @GlasgowJohn for that advice! Yes the dealership filled out a bunch of paperwork and told me I would be ok. It was only my local friend that was filling my head with doubts. I do understand I have to pay an asset tax on the car next year. Ok thanks for putting my mind at ease.

 

[Oatmeal]

Little bit off topic. I notice a lot of cars have dents all over the car. Even in random places you wouldn't expect dents. Is there a reason it is like this and not fixed? Does insurance claim make it not worth it (increase in rates). This was something very surprising for me. I also notice people park very close and saw many cars tapping/hitting the parked car as they navigate into the space. I guess what I am trying to say, if I purchase a car, having random dents from other cars something I should accept?

 

[Betsy Ross]

Little bit off topic. I notice a lot of cars have dents all over the car. Even in random places you wouldn't expect dents. Is there a reason it is like this and not fixed? Does insurance claim make it not worth it (increase in rates). This was something very surprising for me. I also notice people park very close and saw many cars tapping/hitting the parked car as they navigate into the space. I guess what I am trying to say, if I purchase a car, having random dents from other cars something I should accept?

I think part of it is that people just are inconsiderate when parking. You almost can never park on the street as people will just go back and forth and hit the car while parallel parking. I have seen it many times. My friends have cars and almost all of them are dented as you mentioned. I have seen people hit parked cars and just keep going.

In the US people leave notes more but in BA I don't think most people care. I'm not sure what deductibles are like but I also see a lot of cars all dented up. I would never own a car in BA. Never anywhere to park.

 

[Flamingo]

Little bit off topic. I notice a lot of cars have dents all over the car. Even in random places you wouldn't expect dents. Is there a reason it is like this and not fixed? Does insurance claim make it not worth it (increase in rates). This was something very surprising for me. I also notice people park very close and saw many cars tapping/hitting the parked car as they navigate into the space. I guess what I am trying to say, if I purchase a car, having random dents from other cars something I should accept?

I know a lot of people that once there car gets dented they expect that's a normal part of having a car in BA. I have also seen cars parallel parking and seen them gently tap the car in front and behind. They don't seem to care. Do you not live in CABA @Oatmeal? What makes you want to have a car in CABA?

 

[Avocado]

It is difficult if you park on the street. And private garages are very expensive now. Gas prices under Milei have skyrocketed so many friends for the first time are taking the bus in vs. filling up their tanks. In a few months if this inflation keeps up they will need to sell their cars to keep food on the table!