Buying a US registered bike in Argentina
 

Hey All,

I've been reading the forums and getting more confused. I am a Danish citizen and want to buy a US registered bike off a non-US citizen in Ushuaia, and drive it up to Alaska, then sell it again.


I have two questions:

1. How do most people complete such a sale? With a bank to bank transfer (which means the seller pays tax on the sale), or Western Union, or some other method? The price is over 10k so quite a lot of money.

2. What paperwork do I need to make this legal, to be insured and to get through all of the countries back up to Alaska?

I hope someone who has done this can provide accurate and honest information, because there seems to be contradicting information in the forums.

Many thanks in Advance,

P

Buying a bike in Argentina
 

Monitors, I will keep this short and to the point -
and hope you or others also offer advice.

P, I am responding to your query only because no one has.

The process for purchasing an Argentine registered bike in Argentina is laid out on our web site: www.Xfiltrate.com - Professional Motorcycle Parking As a foreign tourist it is perfectly legal for you to purchase an Argentine registered bike in Argentina, but you cannot take it out of Argentina.

Purchasing a foreign registered bike in Argentina is complicated and risky.
It is illegal to purchase a foreign registered bike that has entered Argentina on a TVIP (temporary vehicle import permit) and if the TVIP is expired (8 months is the maximum granted for each entrance) in Argentina....even the current non USA citizen owner might have the bike confiscated at the border if attempting to exit Argentina. Guess this answers the sales tax question - hopefully the government will not know of the sale.

My suggestion for large transfers: find a bank, and there are two I know of, in Buenos Aires and take a several advances, on different days, in Pesos AR on your credit card. If you do use Western Union - have you considered the danger of walking the streets with a large sum of money? Many, many thefts have occurred by look outs watching who enters and leaves the Western Union office. You can blend in better at banks.

Yes, there is contradicting information on the HUBB, I hope others respond here and explain the reasons why. Primarily, it is illegal.

I offer very brief and honest answers to your questions, from someone who has lived in South America 12 years and been there and done that. You can PM me with questions, as I have been warned not to be too lengthy here.

PS. I am currently waiting responses from every South American consul in the States to provide, in writing, in English, the laws and penalties regarding the sale of foreign registered bikes in their countries. Thus far none have answered.

xfiltrate

In practice, if you wish to complete the transaction as completely and legally as possible back in the US (Xfiltrate has already explained what Argentina thinks of the idea, and if you don't believe him, have a look at a confiscation notice I posted on another forum.

Can't sell our car in Argentina! | Drive the Americas

It is a partial OCR scan of the original and then translated by Google so it is not perfect, but the key word is "hijack" which is poorly translated "confiscation". It is one of three or four I know of)
Anyway, back to the point I was going to make - there may be distinct advantages in buying a US bike off a US citizen since they may be able to advise you on procedures back in the US and suggest a state where remote transfer might be possible.+

Often a poder is involved at least initially, but some get away with using a poder for months and even years, but this is getting more problematic as Peru seems to be taking a dimmer view of shonky vehicle ownership and it is said that the southern border of Mexico is also sometimes uncooperative. Xfiltrate will also explain why mandatory insurance using a poder may not be available or if it is may not be valid.

Obviously it is possible but there are significant risks and whatever method you use, may involve variable risks and will almost certainly not comply with Arg law so don't ask, don't tell applies.

As far as payment goes, I have never paid inside Argentina and instead do an international transfer from my home bank to the sellers bank. Costs $25 but is secure and you are not walking around with a backpack full of worthless pesos. The seller will certainly insist that he does NOT get paid in pesos anyway because he can't take them out of the country and trying to get them changed into euro of dollars would be difficult to impossible.

BTW don't pay all upfront. Seller needs to share the risk and accept a large amount only after you have left Arg. Doesn't eliminate the risk to you, but at least reduces it.
Get the seller to suggest a way of selling/buying so he has to do his homework as well. All they want to do is get their money and fly off into the sunset leaving you to sort out any problems.

Too many variables to give you an a), b), c) method guaranteed to work

Buying US bike in Argentina
 

As expected, Tony Lee has offered very good solid advice without condemning, just confirming that vehicles do get confiscated after entering a foreign country on a TVIP and then are illegally sold in that country.

Just to clarify a couple points... and I will fade away from this...

I have done a complete survey of each of the 50 States and determined a few, very few do offer the possibility of a remote title transfer, but most of those require the buyer to have a valid residence in that state. It is a simple matter to go to the Dept. of Motor Vehicles web site for the State the bike is registered in to determined if a title can be transferred remotely. Some States require US insurance to be purchased.

There is a big problem with a bank to bank transfer if the seller only has a bank account in Argentina. (Seller is stated to be a non US person) Any international transfer, including ZOOM from a US bank is converted into pesos prior to entering the sellers Argentine account AND you have left a large footprint - "follow the money" is not just a joke. Argentine banks are obligated to explain large deposits from abroad - and there are limitations and reporting requirements for Argentines receiving transfers from abroad.

Insurance companies will track all title transfers prior to paying any liabilities and the bank transfer is a dead give away that the sale was consummated in Argentina and illegal - thus releasing the insurance company and leaving you and the real owner hooked into a really big problem if personal injury or substantial property damage was involved.

Tony Lee's excellent advice of not to pay very much until you have successfully exited the bike from Argentina should be heeded. If the bike is confiscated, the seller then shares the loss along with you.

If, by chance, your seller comes up with a plan - you might want to share it here for vetting.

xfiltrate