How to bring your car to Honduras

Friends of mine, from Canada, brought their new truck with them when they retired in Honduras. Honduras Customs wanted over $40,00 U.S funds to transfer it...so...they drove it all the way back to Canada, sold it, and bought a brand new, fully loaded Truck off of the Mazda dealer in La Ceiba for $31,000 U.S.

The requirements for importing your vehicle into Honduras are:
New or used automobiles may be imported
Vehicles are subject to heavy taxes by the treasury department
Taxes are calculated based on vehicle specifications
Documents must indicate make, model, year and the engine capacity
Vehicles must be under seven years old
Diplomats and members of international organizations may import vehicles duty free
You will need the following documents:
Title and registration (original)
Commercial/purchase invoice (original)
Bill of Lading

It can be an extremely complicated process and you should think twice if it is worth it. I believe you must have residency or at least your residency in process.

Hello and welcome to Honduras, my country! May your life here be blessed.
I just want to ask you a favor: please buy your car here. There are already too many cars! Our streets and roads are jammed!
There are thousands of good cars for sale. Plus, it'll help the country's economy.
Saludos y bendiciones

¡Bien Dicho Jorge!

It's cheaper to purchase a wrecked car from an insurance auction and have it shipped to Honduras. You can have it repaired much cheaper in Honduras plus the import taxes are slightly cheaper too.

What would be a good source for cars/trucks for sale?  Also around Santa Rosa de Copan, La Entrada area do you know anyone for septic tank construction?

Also was wondering, if anyone could please answer this.  If one wanted to stay 90 days instead of the 30 days at the initial entry, what does one have to do and were does one go?  Thanks

I bought a used f150 in Canada for 20k 2 years ago

Shipped it with a company in Vancouver in a container cost like 3k

Tried to find an agent in puerto cortes with Crowley-epic fail

No one notified me when the truck got there

Haplaq Lloyd never gave me a bill of lading

Had to go to San Pedro and get bill of lading

My gf had to go to puerto cortes like 3 times

Ended up paying close to 100k lempira in taxes fees apart from the shipping fee.

The problem is I don't have residency and paying outright and crossing into honduras with 20k was not an option

Buy your car in Honduras........

Hi Jorge 777
could you please suggest any suitable web sites for good used late model cars . thank you

Hello RMGH
If you live in a big city in HN, you should be able to find a good car among the hundreds for sale in used car lots. The same rules apply as in any city in the world: be careful. If you dont know much about cars, get a good mechanic for advise. You can see Toyota used cars which is always a good choice, but they can be pricey.My advice is to shop around and then shop around some more. Dont buy the first car you see. Call new car dwealerships and ask them if they have used cars. Saludos

Trouble is Jorge  I do not speak Spanish, I intend to learn.
I will be living in Roatan so I would gather I am best to purchase on the main land. I guess my best bet is finding a salesman that speaks English at a dealership. Knowing what to look for on a vehicle is not a problem for me.

Maybe there are some good cars in Roatan or La Ceiba

Jorge, como  podria transportar mi vehiculo de Ceiba a Roatam?

I once brought a car from Roatan to La Ceiba and then drove it to Tegus. There was a boat (more than ten years ago) that brought them. Go to Muelle de Cabotaje in La Ceiba and ask around.
Saludos

Vaya al muelle de cabotaje y pregunte cual barco lo lleva. saludos cordiales

@ oortiz789 and Jorge777 > Lets keep it in english please

Thanks,

Priscilla
Expat.com team

Hello: I was just answering oortiz 789 that he should go to the muelle de cabotaje, the Cargo Dock in La Ceiba and ask around which boat takes cars to Roatan. Ok, cheers

Check out Roatan Garage Sale on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/209582179090677/
They often have cars for sale, usually more expensive than on mainland, but  already on the island.

Cars in general are way overpriced in Honduras, probably due to the high import prices and greedy sellers. Unfortunately if you live in the big cities it's necessary for your security. The only upsides are that gas and  repairs are often relatively cheap. I've also heard that shipping in damaged vehicles is a bit cheaper than non-damaged vehicles. Not sure if intentionally damaging your bumper before sending would be a good investment.

The  tax is based of bill of sale so don’t damage your bumper. Gas is actually expensive in Honduras right now that’s why bus and taxi drivers were protesting .

It's still a lot cheaper than where I come from so
I'm not really interested in the protesters. The import trick is to know the people you are buying from. The Honduran government or people are going to rip you off either way though. That's what they do. When they see a foreigner the dollar signs appear in their eyes, even when you're not American.

It’s actually cheaper to bring a car through Guatemala and there’s no year restriction for the car. You can drive the car around Honduras with the Guatemala plates without any problems.

how can i get guatemala plates?

It's not quite that easy. You would need to register the vehicle in the name of a Guatemalan citizen (that person will own the car, so find someone you trust); then, if you want the vehicle to be used long-term and legally in Honduras, a Honduran citizen (or any non-Guatemalan) needs to obtain an ID from the Guatemalan government so that the Guatemalan citizen who owns the car can designate the non-Guatemalan as a legal user of the vehicle.

None of this is free.