Owning a Car in Costa RicaIt is most assuredly NOT cheap to drive in Costa Rica. Besides gasoline, which is very expensive, there are the costs for Insurance, Marchamo Inspection, and Plates. Add maintenance and you can have a huge expense. To fill my tank (about 17 gallons) is 18,000 colones, currently $35.00 US. Read on!
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To Bring or To Buy?
Insurance
Marchamo
Vehicle Inspection
License Plates
To Bring or To Buy!
Please see To Bring or To Buy. TOP Auto Expenses Costa Rica InsuranceAuto insurance is not mandatory, but if you buy it, prepare to pay a ton. Coverage varies, and a web site like this cannot keep current, so I won't try. What I will do is give you MY cost. For my 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer, nothing special, with Liability, Collision, and Theft (no comprehensive), the cost is $1,600.00 per year. It is thus no wonder that if you are in an accident, the other guy probably does not have insurance. You can buy a liability policy only to protect yourself for about 30,000 colones each six months - currently about $65.00 US. TOP
MarchamoThis is the obligatory 'liability' insurance carried on all vehicles in Costa Rica. I think all it really does is fund the insurance monopoly! It must be renewed annually between November 1 and December 31. A car without the marchamo decal on the windshield is illegal after the 1st of January may be impounded. Marchamo cannot be paid if there are any outstanding parking or traffic tickets issued against the car during the year. It can be done at the MOPT offices, or at a number of private locations including all public and most private banks. The cost of the marchamo depends on the year, make and model of the car. Do NOT wait to do this as everyone is paying these and long lines are even longer. On my car (see above), I paid about ¢140,000 colones (December, 2006) or about $268.00. In December 2005, I paid $270.00 The amount of Marchamo you must pay will always be available on-line at: http://portal.ins-cr.com/csoa/ **You cannot get your Marchamo without a current inspection certificate! TOP
Vehicle Technical InspectionEach vehicle must have an inspection certificate in the car and a decal on the windshield that proves the vehicle inspection is current. Inspections are done at one of the many specially constructed locations around the country. They were built and are operated by a Spanish firm that won the contract to perform motor vehicle inspections.
The month of the inspection depends upon the last digit of the license plate. The vehicles are tested for exhaust emissions, brakes, lights, turn signals, windshield wipers and a list of other safely related features. Vehicles without a valid decal on the windshield and document in the car are subject to a fine if caught by the transit police. There is a charge for the inspections. In January 2003 a normal car cost ¢10,000, a bus ¢11,590 and a motorcycle ¢5,975.
Inspections are necessary each year on older vehicles, and after two years for new vehicles. TOP
License PlatesA car will initially be issued with a paper license (placa), which must be affixed to the front windshield. Because they fade in the sun it is advisable to affix a photocopy to the windshield and to carry the original in the glove compartment. There is an expiration date shown on the paper placa. If you are caught driving the vehicle beyond this date the fine is from 10,000 to 20,000 colones.
To renew the paper placa if metal plates are still not available (it can take a while), the paper license must be taken to the public registry in Zapote and they will put a seal on it to extend it. There is no charge for this service. The license cannot be renewed until the day it expires. There are services available to do this for you for a small fee. The public registry in Zapote sometimes has long lines, but there is another Registry is in the Plaza Mejor Mall in Rohmeiser (much faster!).
When metal plates come in, take photocopies of the following documents to the central registry in Zapote. * Provisional placa (paper original)--The original will have to be turned in
* Title deed to the car. (Titulo de propiedad)
* Yellow registration card. (Tarjeta de circulación)
* Resident ID Card (Cédula or carnet) or passport
Thankfully, the dealer does all this for you! Let them... they are pros at this stuff! TOP | 
