Buying a motorcycle or scooter in Guatemala late Jan 2018
 

I'm looking to buy a motorcycle (or event scooter) in Guatemala at the end of this month, ideally for under $1,000. I'd like to ride it down to El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Do you have any recommendations of where I could find a reliable person to buy one from? I'm going to be in Flores next week and then heading down to Antigua before I go into El Salvador. Please let me know if you have any insight!

As far as bikes on a budget, I would look at Italika and Bajaj. Italika is Mexican and Bajaj, Indian, and both have decent reputations and are sold in the countries you are traveling to, so should be easy to get repaired if necessary.

As far as where to buy, there are lots of moto shops in Antigua. Antigua Moto Group is an Italika dealer, and the owner has helped me get my bike repaired in the past, and I would recommend them. For not much more than your $1000 you could get a new 100-150cc bike. I am told it takes longer to get papers and license plate for new bikes so depends on your schedule.

Motodo is another dealer with a good reputation, although I have no personal experience with them.

The Chinese bikes have got a lot better, but I don't know enough to recommend anything.

The guys at Moto Tours Guatemala may have or know of something used.

I have a dentist appointment in Antigua on February 7, but don't have time to ride down this trip, so will be flying. Plan to go to Peten shortly after that.

Thanks so much for the reply Andy. Sounds like one of the benefits of a used bike is that it's quicker to get up and running from a legal standpoint. Is that correct? That might be my best option since I'm on somewhat limited time frame. If I do go with the used option I'll try to start with one of the adventure companies as I imagine they might have some connections and are more reliable. thanks again!

That is my understanding, although I have not bought a bike there myself.


That is where I would start.

Getting a used bike registered in your name can be done in 1 day , a new one might take 2 weeks .
$1000 or under might be tough ; the best place to look for one is GC .
Look at this site , so you can get an idea what's out there .
https://www.olx.com.gt/motos-cat-379

Pay at least 30% less of what they originally ask for and make sure all the papers are in order :
1) tarjeta de circulación (registration)
2) Titulo (title)

Suerte !

Thanks Guaterider. Really appreciate the great info. Because of my limited time this trip, and since I've already done most of Guatemala by bus and have a desire to spend my last month exploring Nicaragua, I decided to fly down to Managua and just rent a bike for a few weeks. Next time if I give myself a few months of love to but a bike in Guatemala and make the drive from Flores to Panama.

I bought a new Yumbo 250 (Chinese bike) in Sept. of 16. It was fine for what it was. It actually took my wife and I to a few Guatemalan destinations. Every mechanic and tire guy knows how to fix them if needed. But I personally had no problems for the six months I owned it. I also has happy trail racks. Other than oil changed every 1000 it was good to me. But with my wife on board I listed for more power so I sold it to a girl here in Guatemala. She wants to sell it and get a little Suzuki 125 because it is just too tall and too much for her. As far as I can tell you she did regular maintainence on it. It had 8000 km when she bought it and right now I am not sure. I paid Q12500 and replacement now is over Q13000. Her price is FIRM Q8000. If you are interested let me know. The bike and I are in Rio Dulce (Frontaras) Guatemala.
Rick
Phone (502) 3230 3436

Hey guys interesting posts.Is it easy to pass the bike in your name ,to cross borders etc? I hear is easier Guate then Mexico?
:thumbup1: cheers for info!

As long as you have the official original proof of registration and ownership for the bike in YOUR OWN NAME , the exact same name as appears in your passport and on your drivers license , you will have no difficulty bringing your motorcycle across the borders of any of these countries as long as your stated intent is to use the bike for yourself and will remove it from the country before the temporary import permit expires .

Actually the Mexican border process for this is no more difficult than any of the other countries . Mexico will ask that you put down a security REFUNDABLE deposit which will be no greater than 400 US DOLLARS IN CASH MONEY or an equivalent in pesos only if paying by credit card. That deposi varies with the age of the bike.
The Central American countries each use a slightly different routine an slightly different paper forms but nothing that cannot be worked through with a bit of calm and patience .

the question is actually that:
Is it easy to pass the bike in your name ,to cross borders etc? I hear is easier Guatemala then Mexico?
cheers for info!

meaning : is it easiyer to register in Guate or mexico?I guess is easier in Guatemala (?)(been to both countries but did not have to register there.
:thumbup1:

:innocent: ... and the answer remains the same . It is easy to take a bike into Mexico and it is easy to take a bike into Guatemala if the machine is registered in your name .

Actually by the way in which you constructed your question in both first and second instance it is not really very clear what exactly you meant. I do take questions literally as they are written and it took me until today to figure out what you want.Sorry for being so dense. :p

Since you are Italian it is forgivable that you may be having some difficulty with translating your thoughts into the English .
In first post you asked
" Is it easy to pass the bike in your name ,to cross borders etc?"
In the second attempt you ask ...
"Is it easy to pass the bike in your name ,to cross borders etc? "
and rephrase it a second time as ...
"meaning : is it easiyer to register in Guate or mexico?I guess is easier in Guatemala (?)"

What then exactly do you mean ? Are you asking if it is easy to cross
the border with a bike or do you want to know if it is easy to register a bike in the country ?

When crossing these borders you will in have to submit to the formality of temporary importing . If you think that is the same as registering the bike in a country that is incorrect .
A bike temporarily imported is not the same as one registered in a country .
To register a bike suggests that you want to keep it there permanently and that would involve the full process of importing the bike and paying the taxes and fees associated with that.
The phrase " to pass the bike in your name ..." carries with it the meaning that you are trying to bring a bike which is not really yours and wish to fool the border keepers into believing that it is your property .

O the inglese doh

Since the tile of your thread is " Buying a motorcycle or scooter in Guatemala " you might have been better off just asking exactly that in the post .
. And I understand that within the 4 countries Guatemala,Honduras ,Nicaragua and El Salvador there is a mutual agreement that a bike officially bought and registered in one will have no problem being ridden across their borders .
It is also possible to buy and register a bike in Mexico and ride it south into any country ,but you will have to pay their temporary import fees .
In both cases, buying a scooter in Mexico or Guatemala , it will take some paperwork and fees , but never having done this I cannot give you details . There are in the past others who have posted explanations here about that process.

yes u may be quiet dense as u describe urself ...which part of the question u dont understand ?!?

is it easyer to register (a motorcycle ) in Guate or Mexico?

I 've been in these countries several times and around the world twice.I rarely have problems in conversation (I speak 4 languages) but never bought a bike in these areas . I am actually quiet positive you CANNOT buy a bike in your name without a proof of residence/address, but there is a way around. that's the why of the question.....and I do not want to stop in central Am..the idea is reaching So.Chile! then u close with a huge discovery:

In both cases, buying a scooter in Mexico or Guatemala , it will take some paperwork and fees , but never having done this I cannot give you details .

......In fact I am looking for first hand experience more then this whtever long post with no really useful info. :online2long:

If you had read this very thread on which you post this question you would have come across post #5 by Guaterider where he explains that it is fairly simple matter in Guatemala for a tourist to get a bike registered to his name .
Also you could type into the little search box at the top of this page the search topic " buying a motorcycle in Guatemala " or "...in Mexico " and it will bring up a number of other threads with this topic .
You are not the first or only person who asked this and other riders have explained the process. One has to provide an address in Guatemala , or in Mexico if buying there but they make no difficulty about you not being a legal resident of the country as is the case of some (all?) of the Schengen Treaty countries in the EU. They will accept a local address for which you provide a utility bill ( water, elecrticity service ) which can be borrowed from a contact in the country .
Once a bike is legally in your name it is yours to do with as you please,travel to wherever you wish .
Disposing of the bike at the end of the trip in South America will be another matter.

Try this link : http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/sea...%20&gsc.page=1

And for Mexico try this link : http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...e-mexico-66645
You will find the information by MikeMike useful



My earlier long- winded response was due to my half -understanding of your 'question' .I have crossed all the borders of Central America many times with motorcycles and never had difficulty about getting the bikes through.
I am trying to be helpful ,seriously , but the manner in which you phrased the original question was not at all very clear about what you actually meant .
Only now in the last post do you ask it in a reworked and understandable simple way .."is it easyer [sic] to register (a motorcycle ) in Guate or Mexico?" ...but you still leave out the important bit about it being a bike bought in Mexico or Guatemala

Ciao Sergio @Forestwiz ,

allora , comprare una moto in Guatemala é molto semplice e lo puoi fare in un solo giorno. Mio figlio e io stiamo vendendo le nostre moto guatemalteche perché ci trasferiamo in Chile . Mandami un PM se ti interessa .



So, bikes can be bought very easily in Guatemala and it is be done in 1 day .
My son and myself we are selling our Guatemalan bikes , because we are moving to Chile . PM me , if you're interested .

Ciao che moto hai ? sono in Thailandia al momento.ce ne vuole un po prima di arrivare li' .ovviamente x comprare ci vuole una residenza? (vera o no.....tutto va'.. ) ;) grazie
Sergio