Kwelfl, please read the several private e-mails I have sent to you for my reasoning, especially the one I just mailed you....

And know for certain.... that I strongly suggest you do not attempt to purchase a foreign registered motorcycle, entered into Argentina by a foreign tourist "seller" in Argentina.

An alternative is readily available. Purchase an Argentine legally registered used bike from a reputable dealer or reputable private seller in Buenos Aires , and transfer the Argentine title to your name, there are many reputable agents that can do this transfer for you, for a small fee.

By purchasing an Argentine registered bike and transferring title into your name, you can then legally sell the bike in Argentina once you have finished your tour, or you can legally store the bike WITHOUT the need for a Temporary Vehicle Import Permit in Argentina for as long as you like.

To learn how to purchase a motorcycle registered in Argentina, as a foreign tourist please read the step by step process that I outlined when Jeff purchased his Citroen 3cv here. Go to:

South and Central America and Mexico: Buy new or used in Argentina and legally tour all of South America

__________________
Motorcycle Parking Buenos Aires, Argentina
www.xfiltrate.com
Discover how to legally Buy, Tour and Sell a motorcycle in Argentina

Hi kwefl

You are in the right way to get a travel bike, please PM or email this other guy to ask advices or tips to finish successfully your purchase. He already do it crossing to Uruguay whit the old Scottish owner, and now he legally owns a nice Klr 650 ’08 in really good conditions ready to hit the roads.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/members/morangad

The process to buy a Local Argentinean bike is easy too, but legally you can’t take it outside Argentina for the first year.
If your plans are to travel only in Argentina or if you fill confidence to in some way exit to a neighbour country by your own risk, is a good chance.
The trick to buy it in a partnership with a local (co ownership) can work but in this case the co-owner will be legally and penalty responsible for what ever you do with the bike, as an example if you have an accident and unfortunately you kill someone, both will be guilty, If you take the bike outside Argentina and never the bikes come back here, he will be responsible for smuggling the bike to other country. I never will be a co owner with a foreigner and strongly will not recommend to any one.

Saludos

__________________
Javier...
Dakar Motos “ ”

Kwelfl, if you are able to transfer the title of a foreign registered motorcycle to your name on a foreign title, and you have a serious accident, in Argentina or after crossing out of Argentina, among the questions the authorities will ask are:

1. When and Where did you purchase this bike?

If you answer, I bought it from a foreign tourist in Argentina, the very next question will be:

2. Where is your receipt proving you have paid the Import Tax, required to sell any motor vehicle in Argentina?

If you cannot produce this receipt, any good attorney, working for your insurance agency from which you purchased insurance for the bike, will claim:

"The bike is not legally registered in your name, you have fraudulently transferred the title of the bike to your name,, and therefore the insurance company is not obligated to protect you or pay any damages caused by you." Operating an illegally registered bike null and voids all insurance coverage.

*And, you will be "at fault" in any accident because the bike you were riding is not a legally registered and because of this your insurance is not valid. And, you and the previous owner of the bike will be liable for any damages and perhaps aside from being sued, you both might face civil charges.

Recently in Buenos Aires, the sale of several vehicles imported by various foreign diplomats assigned to diplomatic missions in Argentina, was front page news, because these diplomats transferred the titles of their foreign registered vehicles to the buyers, without paying the proper Import tax. Some of these diplomats have been expelled from the country and others are awaiting the courts to decide their fate.

I seriously investigated the charges against the diplomats, posted some of my results on the HUBB, and discovered that Argentine law prohibits the title transfer of any foreign registered vehicle to another foreigner or to an Argentine without paying Import tax, registering the vehicle in Argentina and then, and only then can the vehicle be sold in Argentina.

I know that you want to buy your friend's bike, I am sorry. All cases are very different, but in your case I must strongly advise you not to purchase a foreign registered bike from a foreign tourist in Argentina without paying Argentine import tax on the bike. Paying the import tax is just one step in the long process of registering a foreign registered vehicle in Argentina, so it can be legally sold in Argentina. xfiltrate

*In fairness to South American Auto/Moto insurance companies, any abnormalities in a vehicle title or registration (in any country) could be a loop hole for the insurance company, to avoid paying major damages and/or avoid representing the insured in court.

__________________
Motorcycle Parking Buenos Aires, Argentina
www.xfiltrate.com
Discover how to legally Buy, Tour and Sell a motorcycle in Argentina