Bike selling in south america
 

I know some countrys its ok and others its a big no no to sell your bike to a local. Has anyone any experiance of selling a bike in Peru ? I have a local guy showing interest in buying my UK registerd bike . What would I need to do in the way of paperwork ( UK and Peru ) ?
thanks kito

Hello Kito,

My trip from Vancouver to South America ended a few weeks back in Peru when a van crossed into my lane and collided with me on while on my way to Cuzco. Anyway, that is another story. My beloved 2008 KLR was badly damaged and unrideable. After trucking it to Cuzco it was decided the expense of repairing it, plus the time needed to fix it, meant that financially the best option was to sell what was left of it. With the help of an Australian biker, who had contacts in Cuzco, the KLR was sold to a local mechanic for $1,000. The fact of the matter was that selling it to him would be problematic. Supposedly buying a bike from a foreigner was near to impossible for a Peruvian to do, as the Government had tightened the regulations substantially. A Peruvian risked jail if all the complicated paperwork was not in order. How did we get around it? I “donated” the bike to him. With the help of a notary a contract was typed up stating that I donated the bike to the mechanic. The Australian spoke Spanish well so I knew it was all legit. I signed a form, for the mechanic’s benefit, stating that he had paid me the said amount. I also had to surrender the licence plate and original registration. In all it took a few days for the notarised documents and sale to be completed. He took the bike away legally and hopefully it will eventually be back on the road. Hope that offers some insight into Peruvian bureaucracy.

Regards, Mike.

can I ask if you donated the bike to him how is it possible to sign that he paid you ? was your name cleard from the temp import papers ? did anyone have to pay an import tax ?
thanks kito

Hello Kito,

The form the mechanic had me sign to acknowledge he had paid me the price for the bike was done a few days before I signed the notarized documents. He actually paid me before I had signed anything. In theory I could have done a runner, but he knew that after the crash I was in no shape to do much more than hobble about. There was nothing legal about the form we both signed. In fact I believe it was created at home, more of a receipt really for his benefit. Maybe my signature was proof of sorts. So yes, you are right in thinking that this form had nothing to do with the donation process. Not a donation if you pay for it. As for my name being cleared from the temporary import papers, I am of the understanding it would be. The notarized papers would allow the mechanic to register the bike legally. He was very adamant about that. Besides running his shop he also ran a motorcycle tour business which is where the bike would be used. It was explained to me that if the bike was not legal and the police pulled him over he would be in a lot of bother, so it was in his interest to be above board with the paperwork. Realistically, the only way I shall ever truly know is if I enter Peru again with a different bike, which I may do one day. When I went through Immigration at Lima airport I was concerned they might raise the issue of the bike and not let me leave Peru. Nothing happened, and I had been told earlier that Immigration and Aduana are separate. There are a few grey areas, I am aware of that, and some might say it all seems a bit dodgy, but I have confidence the process was completed legally. I am afraid I can’t answer the import tax question. All I know is that I did not pay anything. I think that my story may put you off selling in Peru:(. Hopefully my experience is worth something to you, or anyone else for that matter.

Regards, Mike.

thank you verry much for your info . hope you get well soon and back on the road

Seems like in Bolivia and Paraguay, due to corruption, selling a foreign vehicule is fairly easy and quick. I had friends of mine selling a 4x4 in Asuncion within a few days. I got asked many times in Tarija and Asuncion if i was willing to sell my motorcycle. Iguazu on this forum deals regularly with foreigners willing to sell their motorcycle.

You will have no problem leaving the country without the bike. Going back in... I'm not sure, but I highly doubt you will have a problem.


I heard it's legal to import a motorcycle in Peru only if it's less than 5 years old (and with the appropriate taxes). However I sold my motorcycle which was 10 years old to a Peruvian friend with connections (under the table I guess, but he later asked for the title so I think he made it legal). I flew out of Lima without the vehicle I entered with, no problem. I have another friend who lives in Peru, rides a motorcycle with tourist tags, and flies 1-way out of Peru all the time with no questions asked.

selling in Argentina
 

I assume the bike has a foreign registration????
If it does I have never seen the regulation
you speak of indicating that if a foreign registered vehicle / bike is older than 1989 it might be sold legally in Argentina
by a foreign tourist who has entered the vehicle/bike into Argentina on a TVIP (Temporary Vehicle Import Permit)
that clearly states the vehicle/ bike may not be sold in Argentina.

Believe me I have looked at all regulations regarding selling foreign registered bikes in Argentina. I have looked at all
the options indicated on the HUBB and have not found one that is legal - meaning that you would continue to be
the owner of your bike and responsible and libel for damages if you sold it illegally in Argentina or anywhere else for
that matter.

I know of a situation where the foreign tourist thought he had legally sold his foreign registered bike in Argentina - but
found out he still legally owned the bike after the bike was abandoned by the person who "bought" it after killing a pedestrian.

The foreign tourist is being held libel in a court of law because the Argentine "buyer" had not purchased insurance - for obvious reasons
- he knew he did not legally own the bike.

The only way I am aware of for you to sell a foreign registered bike in Argentina is for you to nationalize the bike -
First, you must become a permanent foreign resident of
Argentina, a process that takes 3 (three) years and you must prove a monthly income and reside in Argentina for those three
years - then once your permanent foreign residency is approved you have 6 months to legally nationalize one foreign registered
vehicle/ bike - of course you must pay the import fees and the cos of nationalization . I paid more that $3,000.00 US dollars
to nationalize a 1986 Harley Davidson plus securing my permanent residence status costs me several thousand dollars more.

The laws are in place to protect Argentine business and prevent the illegal sale of vehicles and bikes by foreign tourists who have entered the
vehicle/bike on a TVIP not through a nationalization process.

sorry this data is not very encouraging, but you can park your bike in Argentina legally for 8 months with a tVIP and then return to ride it or ship it
out or just renew your TVIP for another 8 months

xfiltrate

Selling the bike legally in Paraguay
 

I've seen that every country has it's regulations about importing, i know Argentina it's quite hard and maybe impossible or not viable, Brazil, forget. But you still have the option to sell it legally in Paraguay, personally I've helped many bikers to sell their bikes and I'm still happy to it again, I live in iguazu and whenever I've some time free I help bikers on this kind of issue. I even sold my bike to a guy in Paraguay and followed the steps to legalize it there and couldn't see any problems on it.

All you have to do is to go with the new owner to a notary and make a kind of contract and that's it, the guy who's buying knows exactly what he's buying and you got the contract mentioning that you're not the owner of the bike anymore.

It may not be the best price they will pay for it in Paraguay, but still, you can negotiate, also bikers should consider if it's worth selling it for a price bit lower, paying a good amount to take back home or parking somewhere and paying a ruge amount of money and then get linked to something that you have to come back to pick it up.


Cheers

Rod

"Selling" continued
 

Rod, Thanks for your informative response , I am aware that foreign tourists have sold foreign registered motorcycles in Paraguay. Good to know someone is in place to help guide those who do not understand the process, keep them safe and legal.

One question, perhaps mistakenly, I am holding the belief that the motor vehicle department of the government of Paraguay transfers titles, not notaries and the foreign tourist seller remains the legal owner of the motorcycle (responsible party) until the title (date and time stamped) has been officially transferred by the motor vehicle department - with a new title issued and new plates..... otherwise there would be no legal control over ownership.

Perhaps I am mistaken and you can enlighten me and others.

As for paying "a huge amount of money" for parking - I invite you to visit my web page and discover the very reasonable rate charged for professional safe and secure motorcycle parking.

As for being "linked to something you have to come back and pick up" that my friend is relative to the individual, our clients want a motorcycle in South America for future visits and do not wish to pay shipping and deal with port fees etc. I have had nothing but positive feedback from clients.

Now, I do agree, that our parking service may not be the right for everyone, but over the years we have had many, many satisfied clients and many continue to park with us. Thank you for this opportunity to explain my point of view.

xfiltrate

Checkout Overland Argentina Travel - WikiOverland

and

Overland Chile Travel - WikiOverland

I sold my vehicle in Argentina to a foreigner, it worked great.

-Dan

Buying/Selling bike between foreigner
 

Did anyone sold his bike to other foreigner tourist ?
In which country this is the more easy ?

Heard a lot of story about american who sold their bike to other foreigner passing through U.S registration (mean the bike is legally sold in USA) and paer going back and forth.

Could be easy between american, but don,t know how complicated it will if it sold between for example Canadian and American.

Heard that it's possible in Uruguay, but the way to do it are a bit tricky.

Paraguay, Bolivia seem posible too.

Advice and how too will be appreciated here.

Thanks.

selling bike
 

does anyone have any similar experience of selling a bike in Columbia?
I have a Bolivian bike that I want to sell but understand it can be very difficault and import taxes are high.
thanks

I have absolutely no experience with any of this, but I did have at least a dozen strangers seriously offer to buy my USA-plated motorcycle in Colombia (2002 Kawasaki ninja 250). When I asked a Colombian friend about this, he said they would just take the plates off another motorcycle and they would never have any problems or have to pay import duties.

I do believe it would likely be difficult to sell 100% legally.

Hello Vorteks, I'd be in Tarija in December. That would be the perfect place to sell my bike (Honda Falcon 400cc). According to your post people are willing to buy it. But would there by any problems involved, either for the buyer or for myself?

Many thanks in advance. Kind regards,