What car brands to buy in the dominican republic

Insurance is based on the vehicles value.   Road tax????

Toyota,  Honda, Kia,  Daihatsu are all very common. 

These are good questions. A big problem here is buying or importing an unusual vehicle.  Parts are hard to find or expensive to import and finding a mechanic familiar with it can be an issue!

Thank you so much for this  information .  I'm trying to keep things as practical as possible. Being from an island in the caribbean , we face some of the same challenges as the D.R.

Prior to purchasing a vehicle one must consider the type of terrain that you will be driving on. An all-terrain vehicle may be necessary in some parts of the La Vega/Jarabacoa area. Most car parts could be found in the larger cities like La Vega and Santiago. Japanese manufactured cars are the most common, followed by Korean and American.

Car insurance is not expensive if only adquiring the minimum required by law.

Once you purchase the vehicle you will have to pay a transfer tax in order to change the car registration to your name. It's about 2% of what the vehicle is worth according to the tax agency.

Once a year car owners pay a tax of about 1,500 or 3,000 pesos depending on the year the vehicle was built.

Typically, recently imported vehicles are the best value but one should verify the car's history through CARFAX prior to purchasing. Recently imported vehicles are about 5 years old and have around 100,000 miles driven on them.

As an expat you always want full insurance. The basic.legal package is NOT good enough!

Carfax or something like it is critical. Do NOT believe the history you are told. It is often a lie. Behicles with serious issues and way more mileage make their way here on a regular basis! Double check everything and get your own mechanic to check the vehicle.

All good information so far. Most important is the car fax check. Many imports have bad titles in the US (junk, bad accidents, etc) also most have had their miles rolled back significantly if imported. We looked at a used Toyota a few years back with 41K miles on it.  However carfax revealed that it left the US 3 weeks earlier with 141K miles on it.  A hundred thousand mile difference.
Also the first set of tags can be very expensive.
I would look at used vehicles being sold by expats who are either buying something else or better yet are moving away.

Bob K

Thanks for the information. It contains the info I am looking for.
Also agree with Planner, that the most basic car insurance is not enough.
Every second hand car I've ever bought  I've taken a mechanic that is familiar with the brand, preferably someone from a different town. It has worked very well for me in the past

Thanks for the expat , used car, tip.
Is there anywhere that expats advertise the stuff they are selling ?

Locals usually post ads at the local supermarkets, colmados and shops.

Bob K

Hi,
A very good diag tool to properly estimate a used car with your smartphone, for more info, read this you'll find it on the net for 25$
Best place to buy a second hand car are La Vega, Moca and Santiago, needed documents are available here
Rgds

Also there are a number of facebook groups where people post items for sale!