Moving to PR on the 13th

Try the authorized dealerships. Just like in the states, you'll pay more but you chances of getting ripped off will be less.

I know someone who purchased a used car from Medina Auto.  An advantage is that they register the car for you.

We've got a 2004 PT Cruiser for sale right now in San Juan. Happy to show it to you.

I will also be in same situation shortly would like to know how you made out .. Post your results if you can. Any info would be greatly appreciated!! Johnny

JohnnyHulk.... will do.

Your best bet (as was mine) is to look at Clasificadosonline(dot)com. There, I found a 2009 Ford Focus that was owned by an older woman, who had to move to the mainland, to live with her children. She barely drove, and the six year old car had only 37,648 miles on it. The car's blue book was $9,400 at the time, as equipped, and they were asking $7,500... I offered $7k cash, and they accepted. The car still had that new car smell! Not as comfy as my old Taurus was, but the gas millage is great, and I still feel good about the purchase. Had I purchased that car at a used car dealer, they'd have asked all of the blue book price, and then some, and wouldn't budge. You have to be patient, and look... someone who's got to leave for work, or other reasons, are much more willing to negotiate the sale of their vehicle.

Too many here have a distorted view of what their car is actually worth, so it's pretty easy to weed out those asking outrageous prices. EG: Vehicle is worth $8,000, they owe $8,300, and they're asking for $3,500 plus take over payments! Oh, this lunacy is all over the classifieds; vehicle AND home sales!

Best of luck!

Mac, was it an easy process to get it transferred into your name?

We arrived Tuesday. Moved here from South Padre Idland, TX. We rented a house in Rincon. We are renting a car from Enterprise but it is expensive. $38 per day. Does anyone know of a car rental agency with better rates? Renting until we buy one...

Cabrera is much cheaper. We we're paying $20 a day for the rental car when we got here. My wife says you can get one for $25 a day now.

We've got a 2004 PT Cruiser for sale now. It's got 65 k miles on it

independentian, could you please post in the classifieds section > cars for sale ?

https://www.expat.com/en/classifieds/ce … erto-rico/

Thanks !

Already did: https://www.expat.com/en/classified/cen … -3800.html

Looks like a great deal

We just put our feet on the ground in San Juan!!! Excited and all!!!!

I'm excited for you!!  I hope you'll keep us posted about how your new adventure goes.

Welcome to the island. We're out west in Aguadilla. If you head this way, lets do dinner.

We've been here since the 5th! Love it!!

Yeah, how exciting!

Single mom looking  to make friends. I am 54 yrs young. Enjoy going out for HH, playing backgammon, cooking, swimming and snorkeling. Just moved to Rincon on the 5th of May. I have a 16yr old son who is also looking for friends...Jackie Paddock

Well so far we really haven't done anything... we looked at one house today but I think it needs a little something and one wall on the carport was wood for whatever reason. My husband George and I are going to start looking for a 4x4 SUV tomorrow around the area and see what dealers we find...we are also thinking of trying to get a dinner or lunch meeting together of the people on here in the area to get acquainted with other expats in the area... does this sound like something anyone reading this would be interested in?

I'm so happy for you that you have arrived.  I'm not an expat yet but if I was I'd love to meet up.

I am very interested...

BearNVa wrote:

We also don't want to buy from a private seller because tickets go with the car and we aren't wanting to pay for someone else's mistakes.

In another  post it was suggested that before you hand the money over take the seller with you to register the car, the registration will not go forward without the paying of the tickets, have the seller pay the tickets if any then when the paperwork is done hand over the money. You will have a car clear of old mistakes.

Good luck and post how it is going and how much was health insurance

I got my car by private sale... be patient, and wait for what you want. I paid about $2,500+ LESS for my car, in a private sale. The seller paid the $10 transfer fee, and I didn't have to renew the registration (marbete), for another 6 months. The car still has that "new car" smell.

we bit the bullet yesterday and bought a 2007 Suzuki Grand Vitara it only has 67000 miles on it and is in good condition... it has a V6 for hauling stuff and plenty of room for luggage...got it from the Mayagüez Ford dealership... the sales guy was really down to earth and helped out a lot...we really had to get something because we only wanted the rental car for a week and the more we kept it the less we could put into our own vehicle...

Great to hear, Bear!

We have been here now for 2 weeks and love it.

Hi Jackie,

Glad you made it!  You and I had talked a while back about rentals.  obviously, you found something. Are you in Rincon? I just booked the flights for our trip.  We will be in Rincon 3 June.  How old is your grandson, BTW?  My daughter is 12.  We are definitely looking to make friends for the kiddos   My younger son is 10.  Oldest is 20, but he's going to be in China for the summer and is away at school anyway.

Also - tell your grandson I work for Mark Mathews (big wave surfer from Australia)

Liz

Hi there!! Yes, I found a wonderful place in Rincon. We are so happy. Would love to meet you all. William is 15, as far as we are concerned he is my son and I am his mother (been raising him since the death of his parents in 2001). We can meet at Tambo @ Sandy Beach! Where did you find a place?

Hi all! We are now full time residents of Rincon. We kept our condo in Padre as it is paid for but our hearts and home are here. Best move ever.
Jackie

Hi,

We are located at Calle #3 Estella Communidad.  About a 5 minute walk to the beach.  Kind of near E.C. Bakery. 

I wonder if I have been to Tambo when I was there before.  We went to eat, but I don't remember the name!  They had live music and we sat at the ocean. 

I do writing projects for Mark.

I signed up for your FB group. 

What do you plan on for schooling for William?  I have thought of homeschooling, but have been looking into the schools.  My daughter will be in 7th and son in 5th.

We will home school as I have found most parents do here. Tambo is right on the beach, check out their website. Nice people, good vibes. We also discovered The Shipwreck  Bar and Grill, excellent food...
looking forward to meeting you!

rental cars are sooo expensive with the taxes... bought a car for under $5k from a guy that works at the same company....you need good brakes and AC... be wary of cars off on the side of the street.  when you find a car, make sure whoever sells it to you goes with you to transfer the title..also have him get an inspection.. and pay him back... most for sale by owners want cash... limited banks here... good news if you buy a junker, you won't need additional insurance... PR law mandates everyone has $3k coverage which is part of your annual tag.. think it was $180 for a year

Hi Jackie, congratulations on your move! It sounds like you are settling in well.  We are moving from San Antonio in a few weeks and will be just outside Rincon.   I am looking forward to meeting other homeschooling moms as well.  We have two boys (9 and 10), who are so excited to live near the beach.  We only make one yearly trip to South Padre and it's never enough, LOL! 

To stay on topic, thanks for all the info you guys post about buying and renting cars.  Earlier this year we rented a car through Charlie and it was not the best experience we've had.  I think we'll just pay more for a more familiar company.  We decided to ship our car (a '99 Honda CRV) because we've maintained it well and it has very low mileage. Also, because of its age, we've heard that import taxes will be much less (I guess we'll find the truth of that soon).  We went through Puerto Rico Car Transport. They are basically a middle man between you and the shipper, but for some reason it was cheaper and faster than going with Crowley.  They must use a different shipper.  Still working on the booking details, so I can post more about it later.

-Holly