Firstly - sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but as i can't PM i thought this may be the better way to ask.....

Hey maltd,

My partner and i are both located in Sydney and were looking at doing a tour of South America (both our first time). I was wondering how much it cost you to ship your bike over to South America and who you went with?

My partner has dual citizenship as she was born in Chile, so we were also considering buying the bikes in Chile however the prospect of buying in Aus and keeping the bike is also very tempting.....

Cheers =)

The information is great here and I used it to buy a vehicle in Santiago but I had one MAJOR PROBLEM!

Because I was buying directly through the Registro Civil (as most people will do when all the paper work is correct) I was unable to buy because I had missed a cruitial step in aquiring my RUT!!!!

Once you get your RUT from the Sii you need to take your number to the Registro Civil and get them to add it to their database. THIS TAKES ~10 days! Until the number is in the system you cannot buy a vehicle!

The problem is everyone who has blogged about it has either bought through a Notaria or a dealer. This step at the Registro Civil still happens when your paper work is sent in (but you just don't know they had to enter your RUT into their databse.

Hopefully this will save alot of people the frustration and problems I had for several weeks!

Cheers

Ben

Hi,

I am in Argentina, about to catch a bus to chile to buy a bike and ride north.
I've been trying in Argentina, however it seems much more hassle here and then there are still risks on the borders etc..

This thread has been great, however I was wondering of someone could please help me really simply to break down this process.

Am I on the right track? Any help would be much appreciated!!

- get the rut
- buy bike once you have rut..
- take papers to the civil registry??
- (and how or where or does insurance fit in anywhere??)

If someone could help thanks!!
And also, if anyone sees this and knows of bike websites for chile, or bike dealers, or has any other help.

Nat

And also, I'm not quite sure what was meant about being able to get the bike out/into countries.. What paperwork is required??

That's basically it:
When you buy the bike, you will need to go to a notario (notary) who will help you consummate the deal. He oversees the transfer of cash and then submits the paperwork to the civil registry or whatever it's called to arrange tranfer of the Padron (title).

He will also write and notarize a POA (power of attorney). This allows you to travel/ride with the bike w/o a padron. It actually gives you full power do do whatever you wish with the bike (buy/sell etc). If you want to leave the country, the POA should specify that (listing all countries by name), that is the case.

You can arrange to have the Padron (title) sent somewhere in about 4 weeks or you can go to any civil registry and request a copy.

I have never been queried about insurance in Chile, I believe it is required. Same applies for Bolivia, EC & CO. In Peru, I was asked on two occasions, once a copy of my international drivers license sufficed (at Puno/Copacabana border), the other time I covinced them that I left that paper at the border and was proceeding to Cusco to get another. One thing is for sure, if you smash a small child and have no insurance, you will have an international incident on your hands. Embassies will likely offer little sympathy or assistance and you will be caught up in a legal system that you do not understand. Criminal charges are a distinct possibility. Most insurance is country specific and will not help you when you enter the next country. Ride carefully.

Please review this excellent thread by Lachy for detailed info on buying used in Chile.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...santiago-45637

New bikes are nearly the same as I understand.

good luck

__________________
India Himal, 3mo,2x; Kazak/Krygyz/Tajik, 3 mo; Kashi-Lhasa, China 219! 6 wk; Nepal, 4 days/trekked 55; Santiago-Ushuia-Cusco, 7 mo; Peru, 3 mo; Chile-Medellin 3 mo; Medillin-Arica, 3 mo

Thanks so much for that!

It still all seems a little confusing, but well see how it goes.

It's not too bad, it took me about an hour & 1/2 to get a RUT in Santiago. After finding a bike we arranged to meet the next day at a notario that my seller recommended, the appointment took about 1 hour. They had a special room to do the cash exchange. In Arica, it took me about 20 minutes to get a Padron copy. It only took about 15 minutes to renew my RUT.

If your Spanish is poor or you are a little unsure of yourself, try contacting the hubb community in Santiago, they are very helpful.

__________________
India Himal, 3mo,2x; Kazak/Krygyz/Tajik, 3 mo; Kashi-Lhasa, China 219! 6 wk; Nepal, 4 days/trekked 55; Santiago-Ushuia-Cusco, 7 mo; Peru, 3 mo; Chile-Medellin 3 mo; Medillin-Arica, 3 mo

Thanks again, I'll post on here when I will hopefully be able to say that I have a bike and it was relatively easy touch wood

Hey people, So i'm in Santiago. After doing a lot of reading i was pretty confident that i could go through the steps required to buy a bike. Going to get my RUT i was told that i need a visa; which as a tourist i don't have, and after half a day at the immigration office i'm pretty sure i can't get.

Any advice would be appreciated.

I have seen this visa issue come up only once before (I think that guy was Austrian, and a bit flaky). The entrance stamp on your passport should serve as your VISA. How is your Spanish? Did you explain this to them?

I'd first suggest you try a different office, if there is one. You might try the same office at a different time. I am wondering that if you get a different person, it may go more smoothly.

Otherwise, I would send a message to the Santiago community, they are very helpful.

good luck

__________________
India Himal, 3mo,2x; Kazak/Krygyz/Tajik, 3 mo; Kashi-Lhasa, China 219! 6 wk; Nepal, 4 days/trekked 55; Santiago-Ushuia-Cusco, 7 mo; Peru, 3 mo; Chile-Medellin 3 mo; Medillin-Arica, 3 mo

HEY GATOGATO,
So you would Photoshop the Temporary Import and the Biketitle (vehicle registration certificate)? And when I as a Swiss will buy a Bike of a US...don't you think that look obvious faked? I mean y wouldn't have any Stamps in my Passport that proves I came down with this bike from the US. And why do you have to go with the previous bike owner to the Border? that loos even more suspicious to me....
What is the legal way to buy Bike of a foreigner(US, European or so)and cross borders between Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Urugay?

Thanks for your help,

Daniel currently in Bolivia

You can photoshop the papers, how good they will look depends on the original doc (foil stamps, water marks ect are hard to reproduce), your photoShop skills, and your knowledge of and access to various output methods.

In the end, most border officials do not care about gringos on foreign bikes because they know you didn't steal it and there are no taxes to be collected.

Why not do it legally? Just go to a notario, have a Power of Attorney written up. Pay the guy for the bike, sign. Pay the notario $20-$50 bucks & be on your way. I would, if possible, have the owner see me through the first border crossing.

__________________
India Himal, 3mo,2x; Kazak/Krygyz/Tajik, 3 mo; Kashi-Lhasa, China 219! 6 wk; Nepal, 4 days/trekked 55; Santiago-Ushuia-Cusco, 7 mo; Peru, 3 mo; Chile-Medellin 3 mo; Medillin-Arica, 3 mo

gr8 info, thanks.

__________________
http://www.2fortheroad.co.uk/

This is a fire sale.
To catch my flight i sell my bike. It's in very good condition and all the papers are up to date (insurance, road tax, etc.) I did all the checks. More Infos you can find here:

Chileautos: Honda CGL 125 2014 $ 500.000

With this little bike you can travel all around South America and sell in everywhere in Chile, which is not possible with bikes first sold in the South of chile ( I drove down from Santiago)¡
Payable in Chilean Pesos, USD, Euros or Swiss Francs.
Have fun riding up Ruta 40 and the Caratera Austral :-)

I am in Santiago now. Good second hand bikes with bigger engines are expensive here... A b/new KLR650 in Australia costs $7900 (on road) and over here $9500. Im about to spend $7500 on a KLR650 which has 15000km on the clock. Its 22 litre fuel tank is going to come in handy through the Atacama desert. I dont seem to have much choice. There are loads of small chinese bikes over here much cheaper which have a small engine capacity and I would have to carry a jerry can of fuel. The information regarding buying bikes on the site is bang on. I obtained my RUT yesterday... just have to agree on a price tomorrow, then wait 5 or 6 working days for the Government to do their job. I could have bought a bike privately but my spanish is poor and I didnt want to get stopped on the Argentinian border on a stolen bike