Car insurance

Thank you! His license is valid but still good to know.

Thanks much! His license is valid but still good info to know.

And ChristeE, go to the taxi stand by the Casino, tucked in behind on a side street, pay $14US for a, and someone will correct me because I know I'll call it the wrong thing, "Buen Conductor" insurance. Puts you in a hotel instead of jail, should something happen.  Maybe your policy already has it, but check just to make sure.  A friend told me you don't get fed in prison, unless someone brings you food or pays to have you fed.  I admit, it would take me months to waste (or waist?  Get it?  Huh?) away, so $700RD is money well spent, although if I do drive, I'm in no way legal anymore, but it was worth it for the month I was legal.  And planning to get a Dominican license, so it will be useful again.

very good advice...

Thank you for your advice once again and you are correct a Carfax is no guarantee the same as in the UK your service history. And it wasn't her choice actually I have been looking on suppercarros.com for about six weeks now getting the average price on the average mileage and year on certain vehicles. And it was also my choice to get a Chevrolet Spark as I am a bit of a tightwad    the link you provided was really good. So if I was your customer how much would you charge me as a finders fee? And what model of vehicles from Japan are you recommending I don't want a vehicle what drinks more than me, as it will cost a fortune. I want something that will do about 50 or 60 miles to the gallon. And some think what is not that old as the planner says after that golden age they charge you an arm and a leg for insurance. And I don't want to be changing the vehicle within two or three years.

This is really good information do you actually ask the insurance company for this and is that the correct name for what I need to ask the insurance? And is that $14 one-off payment

And where do you mean near the casino, could you please give an address

all the remarks we have made and directed towards you are not intended to drum up business for me. WillieWeb is my friend, and Planner is a person with whom i have a wonderfully cordial  relationship. they are not a part of my public relations tag team. just consider the observations we have made to go equally for anyone in your position, not just you. the realities are that a foreigner attempting to buy a vehicle for the first time needs some kind of help to navigate the waters. maybe you don't, but other people read these threads, and we want them to know the facts of life here. believe a half of what you see, and nothing you hear.

a few months ago, i found a great car for a gentleman in Cabarete. he insisted on having his mechanic check it, for his ''peace of mind''. i assured him that his mechanic could not discover any weakness that had escaped me. however, it was his money, so i could not prevent him.

well, the upshot was this...the mechanic told the seller that for 10,000 pesos he would tell the buyer that the car was impeccable. i guess that if the seller was unwilling to go along with the proposal, he might be importuned to say some uncharitable things about the car.

be very careful, and be very afraid. there are some scary shadows in the DR in the automobile business.

by the way, Stevengill,  just last week i got a request from a buyer for a Ford Fiesta. i did my search, found a few stellar examples, then moved to the next step...consumer reviews, and industry reports...here is what i found..

the 2014 Ford Fiesta received 2 stars for safety, and 2 stars for reliability. two stars is the lowest possible rating.

you do not want to be driving in the DR in a car which is deemed to be at the bottom of the barrel when protection of your person  is the issue.

she asked me to suggest something which would give her a fighting chance in the event she had a wreck.

What you are referring to is "casa de conductor". It's a safe place to be held.  It is only available on full insurance. You buy it with your insurance.  And these locations are not available in all cities. For examen Sosua and Puerto Plata do not have one. 

Why Cruffman first car I owned here was a Ford Fiesta.  Paid cash for it and it went forever!

what year was it, though?

you seem to have a knack for taking good care of your property. your Terios has given undying service, and so did your Fiesta. maybe it's not the cars.....

Well its both honey.  My terios is a 2008 now and I drive it all over this country!  But yes I do maintain it constantly!

Here is a story for you,  my company has a terios truck  - for  years the previous owners drove the hell out of it and did not maintain it well.    Once I inherited it with the business, I started to do maintenance and repairs. That truck is STILL on the road  6 days a week hauling my equipment around.  Its a 1993 truck!

you cannot kill them...they will last forever.

On our morning walk one day, we passed by the jail and heard a voice yelling over and over "call Casa Marina!" Now it all makes sense! Lol!

I think  Mr Gill should consider a Terios.  I am a big fan of Daihatsu in general and had a Sirion for 10 years. I purchased it new and sold it for 5K. Still looked like a brand new car.
I also have a Terios as a messenger vehicle at my business.
You can still find them in very good condition on the internet sales pages for  3-4k dollars.

absolutely correct JD.. going forward, anyone who asks for my help finding a small, cheap SUV will be met with the suggestion to consider a Terios. 350k, or thereabouts,  gets you a sweet 2007..

hey, JD...just an opinion from a happy Sirion owner..

Sirion 2001
published 6 years ago
Zippy, reliable and cheap to run. Goes easily up hills at 100k if the accelerator is slid forward instead of flat to the floor.
Mine has never broken down, has done well over 270,000k over dusty country roads and in terrible weather. There is no rust yet! Visibility is excellent.
Light to drive, easy to manoeuvre. Very economical.

a plus is that it is the same Toyota Basso..parts are cheap, and available. sips like a canary. what more can you want?

Actually, a Basso is a rebadged Sirion with some minor differences.  I found that out when I ordered an Sirion accelerator cable for a Basso and it didn't fit.   Same year, different cable configuration.

I'd say look for a Sirion and not the Basso.  Sirion's were sold locally while the Basso was not, so there is more availability of parts for the Sirion than the Basso.

Also, there's a continuous stream of older (2000 +/-)  to be found in very good condition as well and only run about 4K.

thanks for that heads up...much appreciated.. i think the Sirion is an excellent city car for someone with a small budget , who does not need to drive on foreboding terrain every day..

hey....JD....i think i have it figured out...

Sirion imported into DR, left hand drive. Basso made for Japanese market, right hand drive.

hence, different accelerator cable, since the pedals are on different sides..

Entirely possible.  That was my only experience with a Basso.

the Bassos that are sold here are converted from right hand drive to left hand drive in Chile. i hear they are now doing the process in La Vega..all those Toyota Vitz and Mazda Demios..

What Year did the second generation Terios Start

And I am guessing that the Terios I left hand drive what are in the Dominican ?

The larger models started in 2007

Thank you I did not see many terios cars on supercarros.com and non-over 2007 if I remember you were saying once they are over a certain age they go really high on the insurance what year is that please?
And is there any more websites you know where I might be able to get a terios second-generation model please.

Stevengill wrote:

Thank you I did not see many terios cars on supercarros.com and non-over 2007 if I remember you were saying once they are over a certain age they go really high on the insurance what year is that please?
And is there any more websites you know where I might be able to get a terios second-generation model please.

Corotos.com.do is another popular selling webpage

The Terios is a very good vehicle and as such, folks who have one tend to hold on to them.

This brings us to another important thing to remember. Searching for a vehicle is definitely not a 1-2 week experience. 

Vehicles in less than ideal condition will stay up for weeks, while ones in very good condition tend to sell quickly. If you're going to get a good deal, it will take a few weeks of daily reviews to sort out the best and the worst.

In my case, when I look at ads I usually start with the highest priced items which are usually in the best condition.  If you look at one and like it, that's the time to start negotiating. Dominicans are used to it and expect it.

Thank you very much and I do like a bit of a barter myself

I just looked on Corotos and found 8 of the 2007 and newer models.

Mercadolibre.com.do has 10.

you are not going to do much bartering in the DR with a 500k car. that is roughly the kind of money people have to spend on a car, or are going to get financing for. for every good copy of a car in that range, there is a horde of buyers. i once made a list of 7 Hyundai Tucsons on the way to Santo Domingo, from POP. by the time i got to Sto Dgo, 4 of them were gone. if they are asking 450, you might get it for 445...they don't need your money. 12 other guys are on the line. barter does not work in all cases.

if  you are buying a 2003 BMW X5, maybe you can barter, because nobody wants one, and they will be willing to take anything they can get just to move it off the lot.

Yes if they're in demand there is no chance of Getting a hefty discount unless like you say they cannot get rid of them then they're happy to give you a good discount just to get rid of them.  I have still got another month before I will buy one so it gives me plenty of time to check out the market how fast they going how much they going for and so on But all the information off everyone on here is really grateful and I thank you all

Well I cannot find any over 2008 I would like maybe a 2010 2012 depending on the price

cruffman is right....

I have lost 2 good cars ... one here and one in the USA

Here - I sat on it while while picked my wife up at the airport...3hrs+/-
Gone
USA - I went home to get my trade was back in 25  inutes
Gone

Always put a deposit down
That's how cruffman and I did mine
He sat there and I wired the $$ fro Philadelphia.

In this country - you may be an hour or more from the action....
and might lose out

That's why the Car Concierge is here !!!

As for your insurance Steven -
you have your eyes on a very small number there given the value of your car
You will not go broke with that little car....
or lighten up to less coverage

Keep studying !!!

the speed at which they turn over is not going to change in a month. people who have good copies do not sell them, and they were not imported in large quantities to begin with. on any given day, you will run across 7 or 8 good ones, scattered all over the country.

good luck.

I believe they stopped making the Terrios in 2008 or 2009.

i think the 2009 was the last of them..

Wow that's a all different ballgame now, so what was they replaced with? is there a vehicle the same under a different name?

2009 okay I have never seen one for sale. Then again I stopped looking!  They were not replaced as far as I know.