Abandoning 2 motorcycles in El Calefate, Argentina
 

Hi,

My friend and I have been traveling S America by motorcycle for the past 3 months. We bought our bikes in Medellin, Colombia and are now headed to El Calefate, Argentina. The issue is that we don't know what to do with our bikes after Calefate (we fly back to the USA at the end of the month).

Since the bikes were purchased in Colombia, I don't believe we can sell them in Argentina. Is there any risk associated with "abandoning" the bikes in Argentina? Not sure if customs would prevent us from flying out of the country. Any advice would be appreciated!

We were told by a shipper that it is illegal and whilst you won’t be stopped leaving the country, you will be apprehended if you try to return.
If you have time to ride them up to Uruguay you can leave them there for a year.

...and if you return to Colombia at some point, and have not returned the bikes, you may be fined for taking them out of the country for more than 12 months.

Try placing them on the Motorcycle Swap page and see if anyone is going the opposite direction.

You don't have much time as the end of November is approaching quickly.

There must be a way to authorize someone to legally sell the bikes to travelers while you go on your way. I have taken the steps in Peru, and I imagine the process is similar in Argentina. You'll need to find someone to sell the bikes after you have left the country. That person is either a saint or will get paid for managing the handholding and associated paperwork. Next, go to a notary and have documents prepared to give the agent (admin) the right to sell the bike on your behalf and a document that allows the "buyer" to take the bikes out of the country. One of these documents is called a poder. Send a private message to xfiltrate. He lives down the coast from Buenos Aires and may have advice for you. I recommend posting to the Horizons Unlimited group on Facebook as there are a lot of riders who provide timely advice.

I hear a lot about the "free trade zone" in Chile, but you are trying to dispose of the bikes in Argentina, so that won't be helpful.

Worst case, ride to the border of Chile, cancel the Argentine TIP, ride to the area between the countries, park your bikes with keys in the ignition, and walk away. Yeah, that is a ridiculous idea, but you'll be able to return to Argentina someday...but Colombia will be a problem.

Hola,
It is illegal to buy or sell a motorcycle entered into Argentina on a TVIP. Argentine Customs has a process called interdiction that allows extended stays in Argentina for foreign registered motorcycles. We assisted interdicting TVIPs of many foreign registered bikes during COVID. Below is a brief description of the process.
In the event you need to leave Argentina for an extended period
of time without your motorcycle, a valid TVIP may be
“interdicted” by customs officials if a responsible person is willing
to accept responsibility for the motorcycle and guaranty the
motorcycle will not be moved during the period of interdiction. .
Federal inspectors/AFIP will visit and identify the motorcycle in
situ, meet the person who will be responsible for the motorcycle,
and secure a notarized signature indicating transfer of
responsibility for the motorcycle. This process takes about two
weeks.
The motorcycle cannot be moved during the period of
interdiction and a new TVIP will be issued after Federal
inspectors/AFIP reinspect the motorcycle and release the
responsible person from responsibility. The process to release
interdiction also takes about two weeks. Once released from
interdiction, 3 days are allowed to exit the motorcycle from
Argentina.
Note: While Argentina interdicted many TVIPs during COVID, this
process is generally reserved for emergency situations.

I'm sure I read of a couple reporting their bikes stolen. When in fact they had given them away. They removed frame numbers and plates.

They went to the cops and reported them stolen.

With the police report, they had aduana remove them from their passports.

It saved them $6000 in shipping costs.


However, I don't know if they were responsible for the Duty on the bikes. Stolen or not.

I'm not suggesting you do this. But there are all sorts of methods.

It's South America. Corruption is king :rofl:

buy and sell
 

I don't get it,
people that think they can buy a Moto in South America and sell it in any country other than the country it was bought and registered in are out of there minds
Don't even waste your time its not worth it, or right, to be buying a Moto in a country that the Moto is not registered in
everybody may think there is a way but there is not
Your movements and vehicle registration can be tracked very easily at Aduana's and migration they have all the tools necessary to ruin your day
SA is not at all ass backward like you may think. You can't register a used Moto from one country to another unless it is a lawful Antique and its subject to taxes and importation duties .
buy where the Moto is registered is the bottom line
Foreign registry vehicles outside of SA is of course different
Do what ever and hope for the best

Dear SA Forum Regulars,

Please correct my understanding as needed...

I believe (but I am not a lawyer) that preparing a poster will authorize the new "owner" to ride a bike out of one country and on their merry way, perhaps to the country where it is registered. Once in the country of registration, the ownership can be transferred. In Peru, a document can be prepared to authorize a third party to transfer the ownership. The beauty of the authorization, I didn't need to be in Peru to transfer the ownership...

This is a recurring issue for North American riders headed to the end of the world, but not with unlimited time and resources to ride back north.

The scenario: A rider buys a bike in Colombia and wants to handoff the bike to another rider in Chile or Argentina. What are the options?

• Can a poder authorize a rider to leave Chile and/or Peru with a motorcycle?
• What is needed once the rider and poder reach Colombia to transfer ownership?