Hi there !

As a new comer I am impress about the quality and volume of information that are here shared, all with a common goal: help the other riders

This is why I write here, looking for some help

Target: a tour of South America on bike

Me and my girlfriend will land in 2 weeks in Buenos Aires and we want to buy a bike and start exploring. The plane tickets are already bought

I have decided not to ship my bike because from this part of Europe is very expensive.

I am asking for your help as regards the best advice regarding buying a bike from south america. I have red a lot of reviews but from this and other forums but still I don t know how is the best for me:

1. to buy the bike registered in south american (argentina, brazil, paraguay)
1.a. the bike owner is a argentinian, brazilia, paraguean
1.b. the bike owner is a traveller (European like me, American or Australian)

2. to buy the bike registered outside of south america (Europe, America, Australia, etc)

What do you think ? which one is trouble free at the custom, less money payed to police / border.
What papers are necessary to carry with me in order to be ok ?

A lot of people are traveling in South America and, the ones who want to buy a bike from there, have the same questions as me

Thank you for your attention & feedback

All I know is that I want to start exploring this beautiful part of our world !

I knew that I wrote to much and might be complicated but for sure I am not the only one in this situation )

Anybody would like to share some ideas about how is better to buy a local registered bike or to buy from a traveler ?

????

Hi Rebel
From what I have read, in your situation an Argentinian registered bike cannot be taken out of the country for the first year. So buying in Chile is the prefered option. There is a large thread on how to buy a bike in Chile in this section because it seems Chile is a good option.
I think if you search more you will find answers to you question - I know I found information to help me decide before I went to South America.

I brought my own bike from my country so I do not have any more information for you on those options.

This is the guide I used to help me buy a bike in Chile

Guide to Buying a new motorcycle (or a car) in Chile for foreigners | Ondrej Jurik

Good luck, from what I understand Paraguay will be your best place to achieve ownership with you starting in BA.

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http://www.ytc1.co.uk

Argentina has some really arcane vehicle laws. If you buy a bike from someone from your own country who brought the bike in, you can take it across a boarder. If you buy a bike from a local you can NOT take it out of the country. The friendly folks at [url=http://www.dakarmotos.com]DAKAR MOTOS-HOME OF

From a friend who rode his BMW GS Alaska to Tierra del Fuego and back up to Santiago, 3 years ago: New BMW prices in Chile are 30-40% HIGHER than in the USA.

As an American who has lived in Brazil 25 years as well as Central America 4 years, Brazilians go to PARAGUAY to buy new vehicles: cars, trucks, bikes, also stereos.

If anyone knows the ins and outs of selling a Paraguyan-bought bike in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay or Brazil WITHOUT paying import duties into those countries, please advise.

At one time I drove my new Costa Rican licensed Toyota 4WD 3/4 ton Diesel to the US. I was given One Year to use the car "Duty Free" before re exporting it. Similar rules may apply in the Southern Cone countries (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, etc). Instead I licensed in Hawaii. I was never required to pay US Import Duties. That was 1977, could well be different today.

There are two duty free (tax free) zones in Chile where buying selling a bike is much easier. And by easier I mean you dont have to purchase new from a dealer and pay the 30-40% tax markup. One is in the north and the other is Punta Arenas in the south. This makes more sense as you are already at the bottom of South America and then you just ride north. This is where I am heading now in order to sell my american registered bike. I am finishing a trip from Alaska to Chile and have met several other people along the way who have both bought and sold bikes here for this exact reason.

2012 klr 650 if interested....

Rebel Rider,

Please check my website, www.xfiltrate.com. I have all the details there on how to buy a motorcycle in Argentina

Sending a PM...

Now I am for 4 months in south america and here is how I did it:
I have bought a British registered bike.
For the aduana (border ) I show the original papers of the bike and power of attorney (carta de poder). Until now, I have cross many times the aduana between Chile and Argentina and had no problem.
For the police, because I don’t know Spanish and I do not want to confuse them and I will show them the original papers but with my name at the owner. Until know, in 4 months, police didn’t stop me 
As a conclusion I have the following papers:
1. Original papers of the bike with the former owner on them
2. Power of attorney (carta de poder) – paper that gives me the right to use the bike
3. Sales contract – because I bought the bike
4. Original papers modified with my name
Papers 1,2 & 3 are made at notary and they are official.
For the aduana I show papers 1& 2
For the police (it wasn’t the case and only not to lose time explaining about carta de poder) I show paper 4.

Additional information: it seems that is easier to by a bike from a traveler than a South America registered one. I didn’t have any problem until now. What I have heard but is not verified by me is:
- If you buy a Argentinean registered bike you cannot go outside of Argentina 1 year
- If you buy a Peru registered bike you cannot enter to Bolivia because they are having some political conflicts or something like that.
What I know for sure is that buying a bike registered outside of South America (I am a Romanian riding a British bike) you will not have any problem.

Hope that the information is useful and I go to enjoy the landscape 