Buying motorcycle in Chile
 

Forgive me if this has already been covered. The only information on here I could find is several years old and I would like to have up to date information.
Traveling to Santiago Chile in next 2 months and have some questions.
Initial questions
1. Registering a foreign bike in Chile
2. Continuing to register a foreign bike as foreign. 90 day time limit to be in country?
3. Buying a new or used bike in Chile and register it there. Do we need address to register it to?

I'm in Santiago. Chile right now. I'm a British Passport holder and have just gone through the process. It is a new process, as there has been a law change, for forgeiners buying bikes here.

Bad News first. As a forgeiner, you can not purchase a bike in Chile without a Chilean Sponsor. To register a bike, you need a RUT number, ( tax number ). To get the RUT number, you need either a Resident or Chilean Sponsor.

Good news. I used a local called Camilio Riosf. +56 9 77668780. Email camilio.rios.f@gmail.com he speaks excellent English and also runs a high end AirBnb. ($15 a night, I pay ). I've been here 13 days. Very nice.

The process of getting your RUT takes about 3 or 4 hours,in total. Camilio takes you to the Tax Office, translates and fills all the Spanish paperwork in. He then Sponsors you. His Ltd company is liable for your tax indiscretions ! As you will receive a RUT number. You can actually start a business with this in Chile. But you must have this RUT number to register a bike. Or car.

He will also walk you to a local Notari. ( lawyer ) He rubber stamps all the paperwork. That costs about $8. So cheap. Camilio charges $90 to act as your Chilean Sponsor and translator.

Armed with your RUT number, I'd recommend going to Colvin & Colvin. The Santiago.Honda dealer. English is rare in Chile, but Winston ,the owner is fluent. I just bought a Honda XR 250 Tornado. And could not be happier with Camilio or the bike.

I'm now heading north to the Atacama Desert and south to close to Antarctica.

Hope this helps. Chile is very nice BTW

O and Colvin & Colvin are very honest, offering a Buy Back figure for any bike purchased off them. I paid $2,100,000 chp. And will get back $1,500,000 chp in 4 months time. Total cost, $600,000 chp. About $900 usd. Compare that to $140 usd per day rental.!

Great information there Willmoore, thanks for posting.

When we were last in Chile in 2011 a Japanese traveller we met on a Chilean registered Honda 150 had major issues getting into Argentina as his plate/registration did not allow him to take the bike out of Chile, not sure if that is still relevant, but always worth checking before anyone buys a used bike.

Sounds like you got a great deal and with the buy back option - a cheap motorcycle/trip.

I would still like to buy a used bike in Chile or Colombia and keep it there for more moto travels in the future.

did Colvin re-buying happen?
 

Hi Willmore
I'm planning a similar operation.
Did Colvin finally buy your bike back?
Regards from Barcelona

Colvyn do buy back for sure. The owner is a very nice guy. I was going to buy a bike from a French couple that Colvyn had agreed to buy back. I was desperate for a bike so I said get the offer from them and I'll make you a better offer. But the offer they made them was so high I couldn't compete!

Has anyone tried Suzi Santiago? I've read a couple of posts about them on here so I sent them emails and whatsapp messages. So far they haven't replied to my email and their response to my questions on Whatsapp have been not very informative. Not sure if they provide good service.

Patagonia trip on Voge 300 Rally
 

On my recent trip to South America I had a very good experience with Andes Adventure Bikes.
Without Martin Gerhardt I would not have managed all the formalities around purchasing a bike in Chile. As I didn't know him beforehand, I didn't want to agree to the remote authorisation procedure in advance.
At first I thought I might be able to do it myself. In Santiago, I quickly realised that the registration process is very complicated and time-consuming. He finally helped me to get the Voge 300 Rally authorised and ready to travel. I could have saved myself a hell lot of time with the remote procedure offered.
I have come to know Martin as a very reliable motorbike companion and a competent business partner with integrity.
Should I plan another South American tour, I will certainly contact him again.