海角乱伦

Thanks for sharing. Sadly nothing new as it happens a lot. Similar issues with furniture, phones, computers etc.聽

Buyer beware here!

Incase some readers are not aware, to avoid this problem, we have Cruffman here, who offers a shopping service to get the vehcile you desire.聽 He will make sure you dont get a lemon and you get a good price, and most important, you get ownership of the vehicle called a Matricula.聽 While he charges a reasonable fee (you will need to ask him) it is for all the leg work he does for you and well worth it.聽 聽

@CHRISTOPHER DAVID56

Hello !

Thank you very much for this informations very important.

So you can't trust on a dealer of vehicles ?

How can we verify the information about the dealer and the car ?

Thank you for your answer

Kind regards

@Karin1 hey cruffman contact info?

hi there, Christopher....thanks for posting that article. it will surely serve as a caution to people who plan to dive into the car buying pool..

Every last one of us is a potential victim of scams..these guys are no different than a guy selling cars from a yard on the turnpike in NEW JERSEY. the tricks are universal.聽 I consider myself to be a pretty sharp guy in the car buying business, but i learn something new every day..聽 I know that somewhere in the not too distant future i will run into another eye opener...

there are several guys who move to the DR from distant shores and who聽 end up in a used car ( oftentimes new car) dealer a week after they have unpacked their belongings..then a month later they are posting on social media pages that they got burned down by a degenerate dealer..they read warnings on pages such as these, encouraging them to tread lightly and learn the ropes before jumping in head first. they usually respond by saying that they will be fine, because they have bought several cars in the course of their lives in their hometown of Passaic , NJ, and they know everything there is to know about buying a used car. Then they go shopping in Moca with their ''mechanic'', who cuts a deal with the seller to sell them a bucket of bolts..

the most important thing is to know and understand聽 the playing field.聽 these guys are not geniuses...some of the scams are older than dirt..if you understand the game most of them do not work at all.

Lack of laws, regulations, law enforcement, fair legal system, etc. Not to mention the "friends and family" tag team culture of scamming that exists here. Maybe similar scams as New Jersey, or wherever, but a different playing field, and the field is not level for the consumer.聽 Sadly the more time I spend here the less I trust anyone - Dominicans and ex-pats alike. Sorry I have nothing constructive to offer here, other than caution.

Buyer beware

@RockyM

actually, there are laws...if you do not believe me, then try to stiff your household help for a week's wages. she will swing by the fiscal, and they will confiscate your big screen Samsung and sell it to make her whole.

there are laws..it just works better when you know how to use them in your favor.

@planner

true word, Planner

And this literally applies to everything here!聽 Always buyer beware. Check, double check, and verify.聽 Never pay all up front! Always read your contracts! Do not rely on the seller to tell you what's in the contract if you don't understand Spanish. If possible see it, touch it before paying for it!

@CHRISTOPHER DAVID56

I'm sorry to say but unfortunately, that's how Dominican Republican is . I have a聽 apartment out there and I barely go there. Because I deal with that every time im there it's a headache. I don't even like being there anymore if I go my stay is very short.聽 There nothing you can do about it the place is just Corrupt plan and Simple .

@cruffman

I dont disagree with that at all. As they say here "it's who you know" that matters, or something like that聽

We need to be careful to聽 not聽 overly generalize. Not every single person and company is corrupt.聽 Buyer beware.

Being and living here over 22 years , yes I get it...buyer beware.....as Planner mentioned. This article was in the DR 1 news and seems to beca recent up tick.

My work around I use my American credit card for all major purchases (except cars) if after purchase, and I have any issues within a time frame聽 and cant resolve with the merchant under any mutul agreement , I would then move to file a claim (charge back) with the American Bank . In most cases the bank has 10 days to review for a potential provisional credit. In any case, once聽 my American bank gets involved and contacts the merchant guess what happens?... Actions and progress on a mutual resolution seem to move along very quickly.

聽 聽 We need to be careful to聽 not聽 overly generalize. Not every single person and company is corrupt.聽 Buyer beware.聽 聽 聽 聽 聽-@planner

True. I have hired several good service providers here in town. I do vet them as well as I can and try to know them on a personal basis if the service is longer term (e.g. our gardener).聽 I simply start things out with a healthy dose of suspicion, hah ha.

Rocky I agree.聽 Trust is earned here!聽 And evaluated constantly!

@RockyM

I also hate to be negative but honestly, the family tag team is very real here.聽 聽So true Rocky.

@Karin1 thanks for the warning. i have tried to explain transferance to my fiance a couple of times but there are any concepts that in the US are

considered normal lnowledge that just arent wven covered in the DR (or dont seem to be) what is your Perspective?

Everyone!

Yes, trust should never be given, it has to be earned and this applies to every person of any nation, not just here in DR.聽 聽

Getting back to purchasing a car...

You want to buy the car from the owner so the title is transferred to you.聽 The DGII is a place to find out if there is a lien on a vehicle and who the real owner is, and also, what is the "value" of a vehicle based on the year, make and model.聽 This is for tax reasons because when the car is sold, tax is paid to the DGII.聽 They have a minimum value to prevent people from stating false sale prices to keep the sales tax lower.聽 聽For example, car is worth $30k but they claim it was sold for $15k so the taxes are lower.聽

I am not sure if this information is readily available to anybody like us, or if you have to pay a laywer to get it.聽 聽You can create an account with the DGII (userid and password), and then ask a question, and they will answer you.聽 I was amazed they answered within 24 hours of posting my question.聽 聽

Another best practice when buying a car is to get the Carfax Report.聽 聽You will see what kind of history the car has and what the mileage was when it was imported and if there was damages.聽 Alot of cars come here damaged and then repaired as new.聽 Personally I dont mind having a vehicle that had damage in the back end or sides, superficial damages, but not mechanical damages or flooded cars from Florida.聽 Never know how bad the electrical system is.聽

@Karin1 this is great info Karen. US DMV questions are easy for me but

many times have understated the valueof a car to avoid taxes in the US especially when the car is old. inknew notihing about thw DR process.

do you know if my US DL will work or if i need an 鈥漣nternational designation to drive鈥�

thanks

Your US license is only good while your tourist visa is valid. With residency you can get a Dominican license.

Should add or any visa is valid!聽 Your 60 day residency visa means your license is valid

Watch out for flooded cars from the US.聽 There engines are spent and total bad investment.聽 check their US history

@mokelly007 that is right! Even with corruption in the US it doesn't show up in the carfax report.

If you know what you are getting you may fix the engine but a flood will wipe

the ancillary computers or the led lighting controls.聽

Even buying these in the US, you should know what you鈥檙e getting and be prepared to replace and keep replacing. If it鈥檚 a really good deal I mean a really good deal then you might want to take the chance, but be warned!

@Karin1

very insightful and useful observations, Karin..

NEVER buy a car in a private sale without first seeing the matricula.聽 if there is a lien聽 there will be an entry on the matricula which says ''tiene oposicion''. that means the title is encumbered, and can only be transferred if the DMV receives a CARTA DE SALDO with the submitted paperwork.聽 nothing fancy, just a letter from the lienholder

stating that the obligation has been satisfied.聽

if you are buying a car in a private sale, make sure that聽 request the cedula of the person purporting to sell it to you. if the name on the matricula does not match the name on the cedula, then the ''seller'' is not selling his own car, and things could get tricky. that is the point at which novices should excuse themselves and call in more seasoned help.

聽 聽 Your US license is only good while your tourist visa is valid. With residency you can get a Dominican license.
聽 聽

聽 聽 -@planner

That's why you don't wait to pay the overstay at the airport if you're driving

Extend online to be legal for a max of 120 days

@Karin1

great observations once again, Karin..

25 years ago, or thereabouts, insurance companies had a fixed payout threshold , above which they declared a car a total loss.聽 if the actual cash value of a car was 10,000 dollars, and the property damage adjuster determined that the damage accrued was 8000 , the company would declare the car a total loss, pay the policyholder 10,000, and sell the salvage to contract buyers such as COPART.聽 the prevailing reality then was that a totalled car GENERALLY was one which had sustained severe damage and might not be capable of being聽 returned to safe roadability..

today the decisions are not that straightforward, and insurance companies make salvage decisions using several criteria which have nothing to do with simple arithmetic. the upshot is that you can now see cars which are declared a total loss which sustained very insignificant damage. i recently acquired two high dollar cars which were designated REBUILT SALVAGE...they both needed a passenger front door, and nothing else..

when you see a car that you like, and it is a rebuilt salvage, run the VIN NUMBER through google...you will get the pictures of the wreck, and, if you聽 have the requisite degree of expertise in the subject you might be able to make a determination as to whether or not you are getting a聽 good car.