I´ve sold my bike in Punta Arenas

[pana]

For the people who wanna get rid of their bike in a clean and oficial way, Punta Arenas, Chile, could be an option for you, it´s a free trade zone...
I´ve sold my Wee Strom to a local, 3 weeks ago. Went to notary then to custom (Internacion del vehiculo). Pretty smooth deal...
The other free trade zone is Iquique (which is also way bigger...)

Good luck!

Arno

[Acampao]

Yup, you cannot have used motorcycles permanently imported into Chile, except for the two zona franca areas in Punta Arenas and Iquique. Don´t know about Argentina, but anybody doing the popular trip to Patagonia and not wanting to ride back or have its bike shipped should consider selling it in Punta Arenas. I was happy to help Jan -aka Highhorse Rider- sell his 1150gs a couple of weeks ago. Not a big market though but with a little luck...

[Lone Rider]

Good info.

[bananaman]

I didn't know this either.

[Guill T]

That really helps if it's that easy to sell it down there. If I buy a bike in Arg. or Chile for the return trip is it possible to import it into he US or is there a place like that in the states bordering Mexico?

[SleazyRider]

hey man...a little bit more details please.
panama has a zona franca too, anyone know if you can sell your moto there too and get that stamp out of your passport?

[tleveck]

Amo,
Congrats, do you know, does it need to be a free trade zone? I was hoping to sell in Santiago. Figured a bigger market might be faster and easier?
Thanks

Originally Posted by pana

For the people who wanna get rid of their bike in a clean and oficial way, Punta Arenas, Chile, could be an option for you, it´s a free trade zone...
I´ve sold my Wee Strom to a local, 3 weeks ago. Went to notary then to custom (Internacion del vehiculo). Pretty smooth deal...
The other free trade zone is Iquique (which is also way bigger...)

Good luck!

Arno

[Acampao]

You cannot import used vehicles into Chile. Only exception are the zona francas in Punta Arenas and Iquique.

[Dan Man]

Can you give a little mOre explanation on how the process of going to the Notary and Aduana works?

Also what streets or sectors of town those are in?

Could I import my US bike and essentially make it Chilean and just store it long term in chile until I return ?

[glasswave]

What about buying in Punta Arenas. I saw when I went to the Zona Franca when I was was there a couple of new KLR's, I couldn't get a price, but would it be cheap for a gringo to go to Punta Arenas, buy a KLR & travel S Am? Would it be cheaper than shipping?

[Acampao]

Originally Posted by mrjonesiu

Can you give a little mOre explanation on how the process of going to the Notary and Aduana works?

Also what streets or sectors of town those are in?

Could I import my US bike and essentially make it Chilean and just store it long term in chile until I return ?

Best thing to do once you find a buyer is contacting a Customs Agent to do the paperwork for you. If you are interested I can give you the contact information for the one who did it for a fellow inmate like a month ago. Notaries are easy to find in downtown and they have standard contract forms to fill.

[Acampao]

Originally Posted by glasswave

What about buying in Punta Arenas. I saw when I went to the Zona Franca when I was was there a couple of new KLR's, I couldn't get a price, but would it be cheap for a gringo to go to Punta Arenas, buy a KLR & travel S Am? Would it be cheaper than shipping?

If you buy in Punta Arenas you would have to pay all custom duties and VAT so the price would be no different and perhaps even higher than buying in Santiago. If you don't, by taking advantage of the Zona Franca exemptions, the bike will be restricted to be used in the region and can not be taken out of the region for more than 90 days a year. Also, you would have to sell it within the Zona Franca area since used bikes cannot be imported into Chile.

[Dan Man]

Originally Posted by Acampao

Best thing to do once you find a buyer is contacting a Customs Agent to do the paperwork for you. If you are interested I can give you the contact information for the one who did it for a fellow inmate like a month ago. Notaries are easy to find in downtown and they have standard contract forms to fill.

Super. I do have a buyer. Could you PM me the info? Thanks.

[markharf]

[QUOTE=Acampao;18053200..... by taking advantage of the Zona Franca exemptions, the bike will be restricted to be used in the region and can not be taken out of the region for more than 90 days a year. Also, you would have to sell it within the Zona Franca area since used bikes cannot be imported into Chile.[/QUOTE]

Since this is primarily a traveler's forum (i.e., as opposed to residents), I'm wondering what happens if I buy a bike without paying taxes, then use my 90 days to wander around into and out of other Mercosur countries, ending up out of Chile with no intent of ever returning. Maybe I end up in Paraguay and sell the bike into the black market in Ascuncion, or Venezuela, or Colombia....? Is there a problem with this? An obvious question would be what happens if I sell the bike to another traveler, who someday wants to ride it back to Chile?

Etc.

Thanks for any ideas, informed or otherwise.

Mark

[Acampao]

Originally Posted by markharf

Since this is primarily a traveler's forum (i.e., as opposed to residents), I'm wondering what happens if I buy a bike without paying taxes, then use my 90 days to wander around into and out of other Mercosur countries, ending up out of Chile with no intent of ever returning. Maybe I end up in Paraguay and sell the bike into the black market in Ascuncion, or Venezuela, or Colombia....? Is there a problem with this? An obvious question would be what happens if I sell the bike to another traveler, who someday wants to ride it back to Chile?

Etc.

Thanks for any ideas, informed or otherwise.

Mark

Leaving zona franca area you have to produce a guarantee in the form of a letter of credit or something that would be made effective if you don't return the vehicle on time. I don't know how effective enforcing of this is going to be or how this could taint your credit if you never ever return to Chile. Maybe you can get away with it. In all it would be like 19% VAT + 6% customs duties if you do it legally. Again, permanently importing (selling it before leaving) a used bike into most countries is still illegal, but that's not part of the Chile problem...