Sale of BMWs in Argentina
 

I'll be traveling from the US to Argentina with my son and would like to sell both bikes at the conclusion of our trip. Is there anyway i can do this? If not, what is the best/cheapest shipping option back to the US?

Thanks,

Jay

Hey Jay,

A bike trip to Argentina with your son, what a great experience.

You can sell a bike in foreign places such as Argentina but importing it by the local buyer incurs import taxes and hassle so most times the bike is shipped home or sold to a foreign traveller who then rides off on his own trip. You can ship it by sea or air, most people use air as it arrives at a predicatable time for usually not too much more money. Depends on the size and weight of your bike a rough estimate for shipping costs would be $1,500 - $2,000 per bike. There's a few other considerations to take into account when deciding how and where to ship from, there's quite a bit posted here on the subject or feel free to email me. Ride safe.

Best and easiest is to sell to someone from your home state (or would use your home address for title transfer). that wants to fly down and pick up and ride home. Find the best place to post it here and maybe you will find someone. beerchug

Many post here on this subject and many with more experience, but from what I have found it is not worth the many hoops you would need to jump through. Import fee are very high ( I think 70% of value in Argentina).

Shipping from BA Argentina check with Dakar Motos

:scooter:

In Argentina, it is illegal for a Argentine citizen to buy your motorcycle. There are a few exceptions such as if the Argentinine citizen has been living abroad for more than one year and is now moving back to Argentina; in this case the Argentine can have this one opportunity per lifetime to import the vehicle and pay 100% duty on the appraised value of it (appraised by the customs officials regardless of reality).
Legally, you cannot even sell the vehicle to a foreigner! At least if you abide by the terms written on the temporary import permit. Of course, this can gotten around with some clever thinking about 'where' the sale took place. So yes, you can sell to foreigners, if you can find one who wants a bike. Luckily there a large number of foreigners living in BsAs illegally so that is a good market to sell to.

You can also try to sell to an Argentine who has no intention of driving the bike in Argentina. If the bike is sold in Uruguay to the Argentine citizen, then no problems except that the bike can never enter Argentina with the buyer.

You should keep in mind that since the target market of people who can actually buy your bike is quite small that the price will be lower than in the US. Also b/c you have an expensive European manufactured bike, all parts and accessories are extremely expensive (high import duties) to buy in Argentina so that needs to be reflected in the price (what i mean is that the bike has high maintenance costs relative to a locally manufactured bike). If you price out a new BMW at a dealer in Argentina, it will be about twice as much as in the US, but that is for a LEGALLY imported machine, which yours is not. What I am saying is that the prices of legal bikes in Argentina is not relevant to the value of your bike in a sale.

All these factors about selling a bike in Argentina are nearly exactly the same in all South American countries. Paraguay is the one exception, however, super small and poor population so limited number of people who can buy.

When you get to BsAs and are thinking about selling the bike, send me a PM. I might be interested in buying as I am not Argentine citizen and therefore I can legally buy foreign vehicles, though I must not keep them in the country past their TVIP expiry.

The DarK Side ....
 

Some great info here!
After spending time in Argentina one thing I learned was that "certain" well connected people are in a position to do "not strictly legal" things regards importation of vehicles. This especially true for individuals in the military, police, diplomatic service and those with connections high in the corporate world.

Ever noticed how many nice Mercedes you see there? Do you think all the owners paid full import tax on them? Unlikely. As much as govts try to change, corruption is endemic in Latin America and Argentina is no exception.

If you find a buyer your worries are over. Collect the cash (US Dollars) and go. The bike and getting it "legal" or quasi-legal is now the buyers problem. With a BMW you are likely to attract a well connected and well off clientele who know well how to "Fix" things ... for themselves.

No one is going to talk to you about "details" about this. You don't need to know. Just collect your money and go. The buyer will get a bike for less than Half of what he would pay in Argentina. Only the govt loses ... and in turn the Argentine people. You decide. jeiger