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Cars in Ecuador

davidjb

I am a pretty good Spanish speaker and I plan to move to Sta Elena very close to the Manabi border on land we've bought next to my stepson's. I haven't been able to contact customs (SENAE) directly. The last thread I saw about importing cars as part of your household goods (menaje de casa) said it had to be within 4 years and under $20000 in value according to what SENAE valued it. Is this still true? The last thread I saw about this was from 2017. We already know some of our "neighbors" in the same town and look forward to meeting more of them when we arrive in Dec 2020 or Jan. 2021.Thanks, David Cole (Rutgers College NB, class of  '74)  married, 2 daughters, 9 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

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user159

If your Spanish is good enough, depends what you mean by "pretty good" (I'm assuming near fluency not "pretty good" to buy some bananas from the local tienda) then call them up and speak to them.

Things change all the time and the best potential source of information is always by phone

AmeliaAndJP

According to Paul Wilches at Relocation Services of Ecuador, you can only bring a motorized vehicle with your household goods if you're a returning Ecuadorian citizen. He talked about this in our interview with him. I'm sure he would be happy to answer your questions if you email him.

OsageArcher

You cannot import a vehicle into Ecuador, unless you are an accredited foreign diplomat or an Ecuadorian citizen returning there to live.  As a citizen there are limits on the size of the engine and the age and the value when new of the vehicle, as well as a time period of years when you may not sell the vehicle in Ecuador.



You may want to read this lengthy thread here on expat.com that in several posts cites the laws and rules in Ecuador about who as a private individual may bring in a vehicle, answering the misconceptions that some have based on misunderstandings and/or not being able to read and understand Spanish.

/forum/viewtopic.php?id=672796

davidjb

Amelia and JP,
     My wife Carole has already contacted you. I was blocked from getting the YouTube video, but the information I read in Spanish from another post (it was an English post with an enlace to a customs regulation indicated it was only Ecuadorian citizens who could import the vehicle if it was less than 20000 dollars, etc. Thanks for your prompt response. Do I have to sign up to access the video?

user159

davidjb wrote:

Amelia and JP,
t was only Ecuadorian citizens who could import the vehicle if it was less than 20000 dollars, etc. Thanks for your prompt response. Do I have to sign up to access the video?


My wife (ecuadorian) was not allowed to bring our vehicle over. It is not as straight forward as ECuadorian = can bring vehicle.

I did know an American couple who imported their new pickup truck when moved over. Not sure if they did it strictly by the book or "made it happen somehow".

But honestly, I'd say save youself the hassle and cost and frustration and possible loss of money with no vehicle imported at the end and just bite the bullet sell the vehicle in the Us and pay the extra price for a vehicle here.

sszydeco

David- I replied already to your other post about this. If you search on the internet, or do a search on gringopost.com, you will see that if you are not Ecuadorian, you cannot import any motor vehicle to Ecuador in a shipping container. I don't remember when, but this was ended a few years ago.
Steve