Robbed by Customs in Ecuador
 

A good friend suggested that I seek help on HU.
Ecuador customs took my '18 V-Strom XT at the border in October when I tried to escape. I've been trying to get it back using mostly incompetent lawyers ever since.
Back story: I rode in from Perú as a tourist in January 2020, only to be trapped with closed borders due to Covid-19. During the months of "imprisonment" I explored getting a resident visa to stay, which I got, but without permission for my moto because the gov't discriminates against foreigners from bringing in vehicles so the dealers can sell more.
For 2+ years I paid 3 different lawyers to nationalize my moto so I could sell it for needed $, while I kept it stored. Gave up and tried to escape last October.
Finally found a good lawyer (the 3rd) who went to Aduana with me. End result is they'll either fine me much more than I paid for it 4 years ago or refer it to the prosecutor who could take my savngs or put me in prison. It seems like my only option is to let the b#st#rds steal my moto and get out.
Any alternatives?

sounds like you bike overstayed the Temporary Import requirements. Some countries waived this during covid but no idea if Ecuador did or not.

If its overstayed I assume you need to pay the fine or legally import it and pay the import costs

take it apart and bring it over the border,then put it back together and enter peru legally.
in any case it looks like you can't use it ecuador legally.
or sell it in parts,better than give it to the state(aduana)

It seems your bike is impounded because it overstayed its TIP time limit. Hyperbole like imprisonment, government discrimination against foreigners and robbery might seem like a good idea for a certain target audience, but for others it might cause bemusement and enforce stereotypes about people from a certain part of the world.

If you still have access to the bike, I am happy to suggest ways of riding to Colombia or Peru (and entering these countries legally with your bike having not greased any Ecuadorian palms, nor saying adiós to Ecuador aduana). If it's locked away in a customs compound, then all I can do is wish you the best of luck.

There's no way I'm paying as much as 200% of what I paid for it new 4 years ago, even if I had it! I feel forced to walk away from "Milagros."

I'm looking at making a bid on a bike being stored in Madrid. I really need a contact there who could contract a mechanic to check it out for me.

I wish I still had access as Aduana has it locked away. Having lived and worked in or visited 100+ (111 actually) countries, I have learned to adjust in order to integrate. I did ask and try to pay a "fine" or multa, but was rebuffed.

Yes, there aew many stereotypes about Latinos, or any cultue but I believe the supposedly better cultures like the US are just as corrupt, just sneakier about it.

I would if I had it.

It be be nice to do that, but Ecuador discriminates against immigrants bringing vehicles, I believe so dealers can sell more!

https://www.worldometers.info/geogra...-in-the-world/

Stereotypes, ayy.

Reading OP's post, I think the resident visa is a key factor... Like other countries, Ecuador might have been willing to overlook overstayed TIPs on tourist-owned bikes when the owners had to GTFO because of covid restrictions, but if OP became a legal resident of Ecuador, then there is every expectation that he would need to import, legalize and plate the vehicle he owns and drives inside the country.

I believe Ecuador discriminates against immigrants bringing vehicles so that it does not become a graveyard for rustbuckets abandoned by gap-year gringos who flew home when their Che Guevara Motorcycle Diaries fantasy turned sour.

That many countries charge import taxes on goods, especially luxury goods like motor vehicles wouldn't necessarily come as a surprise to a seasoned traveller (you've been to more countries than even exist on the planet...) like yourself, I assume you'd have looked into the situation before pitching up at a "discriminatory towards immigrants" customs office?

https://customs.sirva.com/countries/...ods%20shipment.

Anyone can abandon a vehicle in Ecuador and leave via a land border or airport. The problem arises if you return and try to leave "legally" with the vehicle despite your paperwork/vehicle now being illegal.

An aside. I enjoyed the Motorcycle Diaries film, especially when Che and his amigo took a boat down the Amazon. It brought back pleasant memories :innocent:

Regarding the bike in Madrid, Spain also requires import taxes on vehicles for non-tourists and will fine people who try to export vehicles without the correct paperwork. I've just done the paperwork to sell an old bike to a guy who is going to export it to Africa, without it he wouldn't get past the port.

Also, to buy a motorcycle here you will need to have an ID number and a valid address from which to pay transfer tax, get insurance, etc.

Didn´t know you can live and work in 200+ countries.
Nearly every country fines you if you overstay your TIP. Has nothing to do that local dealer sell more. Simply a matter of equality. Otherwise, I just go to a country with lower taxes and by my car there.

In case you have access to your bike, disassemble it and ship it out of the country and better never enter again. If not you will have to make it legal in Ecuador.

I would have loved to import my moto and would have paid the required taxes and fees for it, but it's not legal for non-Ecuadorians to do. While I do own it, my moto was stored and never used after Covid and therefore was technically illegal or "irregular." During this time I paid lawyers to try to legalize my moto by working the system conflict of giving resident visas for immigrants, but not permitting importation. After years of no joy, this "OP" just tried to leave.

It isn't hyperbole to mention the potential of imprisonment when I have been threatented with jail if I don't pay the fine of more than what I paid for it 4 years ago. The fine is based upon what the moto would be worth here in Ecuador if it was legally imported, but which they won't let me do. It is neither hyperbole nor a stereotype when my statements are based on actual existing laws and practices. I agree that my suppostion of the reason for not permitting foreigners to import vehicles is conjecture, but it sure seems like discrimination to me.

If someone in the UK was to import an item and then fail. And refuse to pay the duty on that item then they too could be imprisoned. Your position is not unique to you. When you applied for residency you made it reasonable for the Ecuadorean authorities to assume that you were intending to live there as a resident hence the expectation that you would regularise the motorcycle’s tax status.

Imvho you're https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...fMIkqWklnZmt9H Stating the glaringly obvious only goes so far.

My tuppence
 

Sad to read you'll (probably) lose your pride and joy.
Unwritten obvious rules of travel include:
It's best to travel with a $3000 bike you can walk away from (for a reason) without crying too much.
Their country = their rules; like them or hate them, it's still their country; respect them.
Break any countries' rules and you will end up paying the piper.
What is behind you is gone. Stop whinging, look forward, lick your wounds and carry on travelling:mchappy:
Life's really too short:Beach:

p.s did you ever contact the Communities re your 'problem' in Spain? Just saying as no response ...

I offered to pay the taxes and any necesary fees, but it is illegal for immigrants to bring in vehicles. My moto was not "brought in" because it was already here legally, but became illegal by me becoming a resident.
Fine, just let me leave and take my stored-for-2+ years motorcycle and you can have back your visa.

Isn't this the deal your lawyers are asking for?

I can see the counter offer including both storage fees and some sort of penalty. You have had two years use of the visa, so to now ask to cancel it is a bit like sending back a half eaten meal.

You won't win the fight. When you ask governments "yeah, you and whose army" they can answer. There is a point you just have to walk away when the deal offered is just too poor to accept.

I can understand this law BTW. The UK has plenty of vehicles overdue for safety inspections in Poland and Rumania that shouldn't be on our roads. Not letting them in in the first place might be a hammer to crack a nut, but would work.

Andy

The way that the Ecuadorian authorities see it as that someone that has the right to live in Ecuador brought in a motorcycle and has not due the import duties required of anyone living there whether they are an immigrant or someone born there - so it is not an immigrant thing - locals buying a bike would have had to pay the same duties for the same bike. The only way to have avoided the issue was for you to pay the duty when you got the residency permit.

Can you sell the bike to a non-resident at a knock down price to take account of the fines due and they pick up the fines / storage costs and leave the country? You can then buy the bike off them again once it is outside the country. If they can't then I suggest that you write off the bike. Make sure that it is financially worth it - is the bike worth more than the fines / storage and talk to your lawyer to make sure it will work.

You're right dammit! Time to move on to the next adventure - the Stans and Mongolia, instead of the Carretera Austral and Antarctica. Not a bad consolation prize.

Enjoy it :thumbup1:

Andy

resident visa!
 

I rode into Nueva Loha / Lago Agrio Ecuador Nov last year from Colombia and in Feb this year the same route Back to Colombia
Crossing The San Antonio border Migration , Colombia and Ecuador was for me the most pleasurable No BS place I have ever seen in my travels They are adjacent to one and other in the same building 25 feet apart
Nueva Loja/ Lago Agrio is Hot as Hell of a place to be stuck during Covid Lock down
Wow what a story on how to lose your possesions
Rule No1, you cannot import a used motor vehicle into SA unless you are a Diplomat or the vehicle is a Antique or has Collector status and It is determined by Customs
Rule No 2 is that before you become a temporary Citizen is that you should know Rule No1
Live and Learn Muchachos

Thanks for the chuckle :)


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DR650s are antiques now aren’t they?

Have fun


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