To buy a bike in Chile can be a relatively simple process, once you have found and bought the bike you will be able to leave Chile into Argentina and some crossings into Bolivia and then travel in S. America
You get a RUT
You find a bike.
Pay for it and do some paperwork.
Wait a week or so for your official ownership paper.
Go anywhere you want.
I believe the hardest part is actually finding a bike.

Getting a RUT

You will need a RUT, this number is very important and without it you can do nothing, luckily it is very easy to get. Go to an office of Servicio de Impuestos Internos with your passport and tell them you want a RUT to buy a bike. You will be given a form to fill out, name, D.O.B. that sort of stuff. you will need an address, you can use wherever you are staying. You have to go to the office corresponding to the address you give, check the office in Servicio de Impuestos Internos - Chile, there are 3 or 4 is Santiago. You will be issued a RUT on the spot and be given a slip of paper with your new RUT on it. Keep this piece of paper safe, you will need it to buy the bike, This piece of paper is valid for 3 months. When you get your RUT the office of Servicio de Impuestos Internos will make you a plastic card with your RUT on it. To collect this card take the piece of paper with your RUT on it to the exact same office where you got your RUT and they will swap your piece of paper for the plastic card. THEY WILL ONLY HOLD THE CARD FOR 6 MONTHS, after this they will throw it away, so make sure you collect it, or get someone to collect it for you. The peice is paper is valid for 3 months only, but the card does not have an expiration date. you will need the card to sell the bike, so collect it and take care of it


Finding a bike

online sources for bikes are as follows
Chileautos.cl: miles de vehiculos nuevos y usados this is the main classifieds site for used vehicles, this is your best chance. if you can´t find what you want here it probably won´t be easy to find!!
Portal de Motos - Ventas de Motos - Foro - Clubes - Actualidad y Noticias not as good as chileautos, ads remain for a long time so many of the bikes here have been sold.
El Mercurio.com - El periódico lder de noticias en Chile El Mercurio is a large newspaper in Santiago, look in the classifieds section.
MercadoLibre Chile - Donde comprar y vender de todo. the ebay of S. America. (you will see mention of Deremate.cl in other Hubb pages, but it is now part of Mercadolibre)
Rastro.Com :: Autos - Casas - Trabajo - etc... I did not use this site but i know of it.

there are other web pages, but by far the best is chileautos.

there are two areas in Santiago where there are groups of stores. One area is on Calle Lira. If you go to the corner of Calle Lira and Ave 10 De Julio Huamachuco you will be in the middle of the shops. There is a strip of shops for about 400m. There are many very cheap Chinese bikes and not much else, however Lira is a good place to know as there are lots of cheap spares, tyres, tools, clothes etc. The other area is on Calle Vitacura. there are shops with Japanese bikes, the area is at the end of Vitacura as you go away from central Santiago, near to where Vitacura becomes Calle Tabancura, these shops are much more spread out than in Lira, over a couple of ks. You can easily walk the area, but you will need to take a bus or taxi from central Santiago. There obviously are other stores in Santiago but not grouped together as much as in Lira and Vitacura. Calle Los Condes is a place to look if you need to find more bikes.

When searching for used bikes look for bikes advertised with ¨papels al dia¨ this means the papers are up to date. It is possible to buy a bike without papers up to date (i did) but this will cause headaches and i would recommend against it unless you have some good help from locals.

A bike with up to date papers will have the following;

- Seguro Obligatorio
- Certificado de Revision Tecnica Clase B
- Certificado de Emisiones Contaminantes
- Permiso de Circulacion

Once you have found a bike

Hopefully the bike you want will have all the papers up to date, papels al dia. the other document that the owner will need to have is the Padron.

Check that the person on the Padron is the same person who is trying to sell you the bike. It is perfectly possible for someone to sell you a bike using a power of attorney from the owner, hence the person selling you the bike would not be the same as the person on the Padron, however be wary of this and get some help from knowledgeable locals if you are going to take this route.

if the bike has papels al dia and the owner has their Padron there is one more piece of paper you need to check, the Certificado de Anotaciones Vigentes this will confirm that their is no finance owing on the bike and who is the current owner of the bike, it will also tell you how many owners the bike has had. If there is no finance and the owner matches you are ready to proceed.

Now at this stage, if not before, i would highly recommend to contact the Santiago Community through HUBB. There are members who speak English, but obviously you can reach more if you speak a little Spanish. These people understand the system well and you are likely to find someone who can answer any questions and even hold you hand through the purchase, they can tell you what look out for and where to go to get something done. Once you have found a bike, or not, but have a feel for what you are doing, get in touch with these people. Tell them what you have done, what you want to do and any specific questions.

If you have agreed on a price, and the papers are OK you are ready to proceed. i bought my bike from a dealer so am not very familiar with the Notaria, I signed the Contrato de Compra-Venta de Vehiculo and picked up all my papers later that day. However i understand the following is the correct sequence.
- Go to a Notaria (basically a quasi lawyer) with the vendor, the Notaria will charge around 22,000 pesos for their services and you will have to pay this
- Pay the vendor, receive your copy of the Contrato de Compra-Venta de Vehiculo, you will have to pay the Notaria, and the Impuesto, the Impuesto is 1.5% of the amount the bike is sold for, and is a tax. You should also get all the old copies of seguros, permisos, revison tecnicas if the owner has them.
- Go to the Registro Civil with the Vendor and the Contrato de Compra-Venta de Vehiculo, pay the inscription (just another tax, i paid 21,000 pesos) and receive the Solicitud de Transferencia, this is you new but temporary ownership document, the bike is now yours, all you have to do is wait for your Padron...

From what i have read on the HUBB it may be possible to obtain a Power of Attorney at this stage from the previous owner and then to leave Chile immediately using this document. As far as the Registro Civil is concerned the change in ownership is being processed at this stage and it takes a minimum of 5 days for the bike to be officially transferred into your name. When this transfer is complete you can obtain a Padron from the Registro Civil. Your copy of the Padron is posted to you in something like 15 days, however you can get one much sooner, i had to wait 7 working days, but was reliably informed anytime after 5 you should start asking. You simply present yourself at any Registro Civil with the Solicitud de Transferencia and ask if the bike is in your name yet. When the transfer is complete any Registro Civil will print you a copy of your Padron on the spot for around 800 pesos. Therefore if you can afford to wait in Chile for a week or so you will have that small piece of yellow paper with will let you leave Chile (please see post below about problem areas leaving Chile)

good luck,

I arrived in Chile with no idea except i wanted to maybe buy a motorbike, i started reading the HUBB and left one month later with a bike and my Padron. A realistic time-frame from paying for you bike to obtaining a Padron is 1.5 weeks, but this could be less depending on how much you push people to go fast. It is possible to buy the bike faster and more cheaply by going directly with the owner to Registro Civil. However this won´t be normally possible if the you buy from a dealer

Government Departments

Servicio de Impuestos Internos: (SII), Servicio de Impuestos Internos - Chile
office (there are others): DIRECCION REGIONAL SANTIAGO CENTRO (this is the office to go to if your address is in central Santiago, but don´t stress, if this isn´t the correct one for your address they will tell you where to go)
The Servicio de Impuestos Internos will issue you your RUT (Rol unico tributario). This is a tax number and is the first step and the key to buy your bike.

Servicio de Registro Civil: www.registrocivil.cl
offices: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación
The Servicio de Registro Civil is the register of who owns the bikes, it does the vehicle transfers, issues the Padron,

Municipalidad :
The Municipalidad is where you present your paperwork in order to pay for the Permiso de Circulacion if you have to renew papers. The quickest are Providencia, Vitacura y Las Condes. I went to the Municipalidad in Vitacura, there is a Registro Civil in the same building and was very fast.

Papers and Certificates

Seguro Obligatorio: (seguro is the word for insurance in Spanish) The seguro is attached to the bike, not to an individual, is valid for a year and must be bought to obtain the Permiso de Circulacion. it costs around 35,000 pesos. It can be bought from many places but at the Municipalidad it is easy and the cheapest. This does not have to be in the name of the current owner (but obviously the bike details must match), it all depends on when it last expired and when the bike was sold last.

Certificado de Revision Tecnica Clase B & Certificado de Emisiones Contaminantes - these two pieces of paper are obtained at the same time from any shop authorised to give Revision Tecnicas. The Revision Tecninca is a roadworthy certificate, things like lights, brakes, suspension, number plates, reflectors, tyres are checked. The Certificado de Emisiones Contaminantes is an emissions test. New bikes do not need a Revision Tecnica until they reach a certain age (not sure how old) These two certificates cost around 8,000 pesos and must be got to obtain the Permiso de Circulacion.

Permiso de Circulacion - this is the final certificate to be obtained in the annual process of renewing paperwork. A bike with the Permiso de Circulacion must have the Certificado de Revision Tecnica Clase B, Certificado de Emisiones Contaminantes and Seguro Obligatorio. To obtain a Permiso de Circulacion you have to present the Certificado de Revision Tecnica Clase B, Certificado de Emisiones Contaminantes, Seguro Obligatorio and your Padron to the Municipalidad. You have to pay to receive the Permiso de Circulacion, the amount is a percentage of the value of your bike the more expensive your bike the more you have to pay. I had to pay 23,000 pesos for a 2001 Honda Falcon, but my friend had to pay 80,000 pesos for a 2008 Yamaha. Once the Permiso de Circulacion has been obtained all the paperwork for the bike is up to date.

Contrato de Compra-Venta de Vehiculo - This is signed by both the vendor and you and you receive a copy when you have paid for the bike,
it says who the buyer and vendor are, confirms that the impuesto is paid, this piece of paper is done by the Notario. If you complete the sale with the vendor by going directly to the Registro Civil, is not necessary to have a signed contract in notaria, you do it verbally in front of an officer and then they give you the solicitud de transferencia

Solicitud de Transferencia - This is issued by the Registro Civil at the time you present the Contrato de Compra-Venta de Vehiculo and pay the inscripcion, this says who the old owner was, who the new owner is and confirms you have paid the inscription, it is your ownership document up until you receive the Padron.

Certificado de Anotaciones Vigentes - This confirms who is the owner of the bike, and lets you check to see if there is finance owing on the bike, it will also give you a list of previous owners of the bike, it can be purchased over the internet from the Registro Civil, or from their offices for around 800 pesos and should be provided by the owner. Always read it before signing and paying.

Padron (also called Certificado de Inscription) - This small piece of yellow paper is from the Registro Civil. It does not confirm or deny that the bike has all the necessary paperwork. The Padron confirms who is the owner of the bike and that alone. The Padron is the piece of paper that will let you leave Chile free from troubles and the piece of paper that you will have to present when you cross borders. All the other papers may be requested by the police in Chile, but the Padron is the only thing you will need to show when you are out of Chile.

Seguro Obligatorio for Argentina, Peru, Bolivia - This is not a requirment in Chile or to leave Chile, but it is a requirement in Argentina, Peru and Bolivia and other countries and it can be purchased easily in Chile from Magallanes Aseguradora Magallanes It can be bought for a number of days, 6 months or longer. I paid 25,000 pesos for 1 month, I recieved an A4 page printed in colour with all my bike details and 2 dates, the date it is valid from and the date it is valid until. It can be bought over the phone or from an office, you will need the details from your Padron or Transferencia to purchase it. It is valid for Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Paraguay, Peru and Uraguay.


Renewing Papers

- Seguro Obligatorio
- Certificado de Revision Tecnica Clase B
- Certificado de Emisiones Contaminantes
- Permiso de Circulacion

When these papers expire it will be your responsibility to to renew them. This is not difficult, the only potential problem is with the Revision Tecnica. It requires side reflectors front and back, both the front and rear number plates. However if your bike fails you have about 3 weeks to correct the problems and represent the bike, the second time you will not have to pay again as long as you represent the bike within the time limit indicated on the papers. If the bike you are going to buy does not have a front number plate (placa patente) and you are going to have to renew the papers, make sure you ask the owner for it. Another one can be obtained from the Registro Civil without too much trouble or too much cost, but it is easier not to have to do this.

If the papers for your bike are going to expire while you are going to be travelling in another country i would not worry too much, they can be renewed when you return to Chile, no one will ask to see the above papers except possibly the police in Chile and if you explain that you are on your way to renew them you should be OK.


A few other things

- For tyres and equipment you can look in Calle Lira,
- For cheap tools go to the corner of 10 de Julio and Vicuña Mackenna and walk down 10 de Julio towards Lira.
- There are limits per day on ATM withdrawals in Chile and fees are charged by the ATMs, you can obtain Cash from Citibank and Banco de Chile using Visa, but with a limit of $500USD per bank per day.
- I wrote this with the help of members of the Santiago Hubb Community and a lawyer who i stayed with in Sanitiago.


Selling the Bike

This is an easy part. Put and add in Chileautos.cl: miles de veh�*culos nuevos y usados and Portal de Motos - Ventas de Motos - Foro - Clubes - Actualidad y Noticias . Buy a local SIM card so you have a local phone number, they are not expensive. Make sure to advertise the bike with Papeles al Dia, also point out to everyone that you are the owner, this is a definite selling point (many people sell bikes on behalf of the owner, more complicated for the buyer). I also had luck with parking my bike during the day on the sidewalk of Calle Lira (Saturday is the best day) with a sign with the price, phone number etc.
When you find a buyer, agree on a price and you are ready. it does not matter to you if the buyer wants to use a Notaria or go directly to the Registro Civil, because the buyer will be paying all the fees. (because you are a gringo they will probably try to negotiate that you pay some of the fees, but just firmly decline).
One thing you will probably have to pay for is the Certificado de Anotaciones Vigentes. but the cost is less than 3000 pesos.
The paperwork you will need is all the bike papers (or at the very least the Permiso de Circulacion) and your plastic card with your RUT, you NEED this now so this is why it is so important to collect it within the 6 months)
You meet the buyer, sign a few papers, collect your cash and you`re done

For the record, I bought a 2001 Honda Falcon for 1,950,000 it did not have papeles al dia and i had to pay 80,000 more to do these. It had 8,000ks when i bought it, but very obviously someone had fiddled with the odometer. I sold it 6 months later with 29,000ks. I advertised it for 1,900,000 and sold it to the first person who saw it for 1,870,000.

Other Hubb threads to read

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ile-help-13298
One of the same guys from the Santiago Community who helped helped Pill Wycks helped me three years later!

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...buy-sell-27330
another article on buying in Chile

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/south-and-central-america-mexico/leaving-chile-chilean-bike-foreigner-25921
A post on not being able to leave Chile and cross into Peru and Bolivia, please also read my post below.