How to pick up our shipped car from San Juan Port?

I drove my car around San Juan for two weeks before getting registered or insured. I still had the Florida plate on the rear. I was never pulled over or ticketed. Then I drove out to CESCO in Carolina and changed the title from FL to PR, and got a PR plate. Finally, I was able to hook up with an agent at Mapfre, and I had to take the car to their office for inspection for collision coverage.

If you want to be the perfect citizen, you will have to leave the car parked in the street somewhere over in Miramar, near the port, rent a car, drive out to Carolina and take care of the title/registration. Once that is done, you will have basic insurance through the registration. If you want comp/collision, that will be purchased as an extra later.

Thank you for your reply. We are quite worried about driving back without insurance coverage, but I guess that's what we need to do.

Thank you very much!!

Here's how it went for us:

1.  Get notice of the car's arrival at the port.
2. Go to the port office at the docks and pick up shipping papers.
3. Take papers around the corner in the same building to get the import tax assessment.
4.  Go to Hacienda Office in Old San Juan to pay excise tax.  25% of the value.
5. Go back to port with receipt.  They give you the car with temporary plates.
6. Go to an inspection station (many gas stations) and have the car inspected.
7. Take all the papers to the PR DMV and get registration and plates.

This took me 1 1/2 days with a Puerto Rican friend wh knew where everything was.

Thank you for your detailed reply. Now they are taking payment online, I'm trying to figure out how to pay it on SURI.

I just picked up my car. I paid the excise tax via SURI. 
Seems like vicious circular logic here....
I am looking for insurance right now, but insurance companies tell me I have to get the car registered in PR. In order to get registered in PR you need a physical address here. In order to get the physical address, I sort of have to drive around to sign a lease and get all that paperwork.

I suggest getting a PO Box from one of the mail service companies. It will work

Next go to the CESCO site, I don't know if there is an English version, then go to the especial link,  you will need to make an appointment, ours was a 10 day delay, make sure you have all the documents when you go. Search for Cesco citas.

This will only be a registration appointment. You should also get a drivers license appointment, ours are in 2 weeks, but we set them up in early May.

I would also suggest you go a few days before, you will need a doctors letter, offices are near all the CESCO offices and tax stamps. The doctors office will give you stamps.

I use google on my Mac, and translated the site. The first time I couldn't get the links to work, a week later I could.

Who do you purchase insurance from for the vehicles? Is it like private companies in the states? Also does anyone know if the whole registration process is easier if purchasing a vehicle on the island from a dealer? We are traveling in 2 weeks and need to buy a vehicle.

It would probably be easier to buy one here, but the costs of cars are significantly higher here.

Consider 1) the cost of shipping, 2) the SURI import tax, 3) time.

We sent a 2018 Hyundai Tucson. We delivered it ourselves to the Crowley terminal in Jacksonville. It cost $1,800 (April 2021), then our SURI tax was $4,400.

The next step is picking it up from the port. It is a several hour ordeal and the car will not be registered or insured. I spoke with Progressive, GEICO and Allstate, their stateside insurance is not valid in PR. So our car was uninsured.

Because of COVID, CESCO, their DMV, requires an appointment. There is a site called CESCO Citas. (Citas means appointments). If you go to the site and click the the “especial” link below you can get an appointment to register and title your car. It is pretty fast, about 10-14 days so I would make an appointment ASAP. This is not a drivers license appointment, that is a separate appointment and a different button.

You will need the old title, registration, SS card, license,….. and “stamps” the stamps can be bought when you are making the appointment. They do not sell them in the CESCO offices for some reason, but there is usually a doctor or lawyers office close by that does. I would by them on the website when you make the appointment.

Now the car is registered and you can get insurance from MAPFRE or other insurers but, you are still not done.

You need a Marbetta, it is an inspection sticker. You go to an inspection station, pay $11 and they test your emissions. They will give you some paperwork and with that paperwork and the registration document from CESCO, go to a bank. They can issue the Marbetta….

The Marbetta cost, about $85 plus $99 for liability insurance. This is a government liability policy with, I think, $4,500 in liability coverage. This is the only insurance needed in PR.

If you want a policy like those in the states, $300,000 liability, collision, medical…. It will cost about $1,000 per year and if you have purchased private insurance and can prove with a paid receipt, they wave the $99 fee.

You can take your car directly from the CESCO appointment to an inspection station, inspection takes about 15 minutes plus wait time mine was 10 minutes, then to a bank, pay the $185 and you are all good.

I am sorry for the length but this is the process.

Thanks!

Hello Celso Ruiz,

Welcome to Expat.com

Anything you would like to add to this thread? A question?

Feel free to do it.

Cheers,

Cheryl

Expat.com team