Buying My Car In Costa Rica-Part 2
by: carpediemtrips
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Word Count: 896
Now, it was Rodrigo's turn to give me the scoop on the cars mechanical
viability. I have had cars checked out in the States before, but never
to the extent that Rodrigo went through it. It wasawesome. He brought
me down in the pit to look at the underside and showed me two seals and
an o-ring that needed changing; a tie rod was bent and needed changing,
the oil pan shield was missing; and a couple of various bolts &
screws had been lost or fallen out. Then when he got the engine torn
apart, I watched him check compression on each cylinder; head gasket;
plugs and points for fouling; and several other minute details. The
bottomline: the overall car needed some work, but the engine was in
great shape. After having Rodrigo draw up a list of the repairs with
prices, I went back to my "player" to negotiate. I wanted him to lower
the price enough to pay for the needed repairs. After some hedging, he
agreed until he saw the repair bill. He immediately flew off the handle
and went charging in to Rodrigo's office. I watched from outside the
tiny office's large window. I have never seen two people talk so fast
at the same time with such passionate emotion. Their arms were flailing
and the veins on their necks stood out. What had I started; I was
starting to get nervous. Then, as if the eye of the hurricane was upon
us, they both came calmly walking out. My "player" had broken apart
each repair and negotiated a lower price for the labor, and in three
instances had agreed to do the repairs himself. So, instead of a $450
repair, it was going to cost him $150. He had succeeded in lowering my
mechanic's labor rate, which would end up saving me many dollars over
the years. We made an appointment to meet at my lawyers office in three
days, in order to give him time to do his
portion of the repairs. I scheduled Rodrigo for the fourth day, and
called a taxi, Standing outside my lawyer's office, I watched my car
drive up with a stranger at the wheel.
He claimed to be the older brother of the player. His brother was back
in the States buying another car, and couldn't make it. I got nervous
again when he asked if I brought cash. Player's brother speaks perfect
English, but keeps eyeing me up and down like he is sizing me up for a
quick score. I did have cash in my satchel, and quickly buzzed my
attorney's door to let us in. My attorney, Louis, quickly took a
dislike to the brother for some reason. Louis kept asking me if I'm
sure I want to buy the car, and the brother kept asking to see the
cash. We spent thirty agonizing minutes checking to see if the car's
paperwork checked out with the Cost Rican authorities on the internet.
When brother had to go out to the car to get ID to prove he was the
owner of the car, Louis turned to me and said; " Where did you find
this guy? The VIN # on the car checks out, but someone attempted to
scratch it out and it's barely readable. IF his Id checks out, he has
changed addresses three times in the last 6 months. Plus it makes me
nervous when you bring almost 7 million colones in cash to my office."
I waited a minute and said, " I 'm not buying the guy, I'm
buying car Costa Rica.
And besides the fact that your mechanic thinks the car checked out,
that is the prettiest color of green I have ever seen on a vehicle."
First, Louis frowned at me; then he gave the biggest belly laugh I have
heard in a while and kept muttering verde, verde. (Now, every time I go
to his office; he laughs and claps me on the back as if we had gone to
school together.) Brother comes back and amazingly checks out; I give
him the cash, sign the papers , leave Louis to turn in the legal
documents, and head down the street to the insurance office.
Now, I don't know about you, but getting car insurance in the States
has never been something I have enjoyed. I was fully prepared to suck
it up and persevere. But much to my
surprise, it was one of the most pleasant experiences I have ever had
in an office. After getting buzzed in, I was setting in front of
Andres' desk within 45 seconds. He brought me a "café con leche" , took
my paperwork, and asked me one question. " Do you want full coverage
including theft, or do you want liability? Full coverage costs $400
dollars for 6 months and liability costs $200." Considering the fact
that in the 4 blocks that I had driven my car, I had almost been
centerpunched twice; I took full coverage. I gave him my credit card
and my passport. He refused my drivers license and said it is not
necessary. Five minutes later I was insured. He followed me out and
took four pictures of my vehicle for
Costa Rica car insurance, gave me a warm handshake, and sent me to get the safety inspection sticker.
About the Author
Author Bio
Randy Fauchier goes on frequent Costa Rica Vacations, Carpe Diem Trips advises on Planning A Trip To Costa Rica to Make your Costa Rican vacation a memorable experience, and be relaxing at the same time.
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