Most of us who speak English as our native language have come here to enjoy the many benefits of living in this tropical paradise. Among those benefits is a lower cost of living. Vehicle prices are a big exception to the rule of lower cost, however, and you'll find no shortage of people wanting to "help" you pay as little as possible for transportation. Proceed with extreme caution.

On this page we'll touch on a few of the main reasons that buying a car here requires much greater caution. For more detailed information, click on the related links on the right side of the page under "Site Navigation."

Vehicles sold new in Costa Rica are not equal to the same makes and models sold in North America. One very popular SUV weighs a full 10% less here than the same model sold in the United States. Where did that extra weight go? The United States has strict laws concerning your safety, and requires that manufacturers provide features to protect your life and property in the event of an accident. In order to keep the prices competitive, manufacturers usually choose to exclude some of those features on the cars they sell in Costa Rica. In short, although driving is more dangerous here, the vast majority of vehicles sold here offer you less protection. That's a bad combination.

Vehicles which have spent their lives on these roads are considerably more worn than a vehicle which has traveled the same distance in North America. Costa Rican roads are filled with obstacles. If you haven't hit a pothole, washout, manhole with a missing cover, etc., then you have not driven here much. These things cause far more wear on your suspension than that to which you are accustomed. Further, your transmission and brakes work much harder going up and down mountains all the time. They wear out faster. MUCH faster.

The typical Costa Rican car owner can't afford all the maintenance recommended by the manufacturer. Most haven't changed the oil on schedule, lubricated the parts, cleaned the injectors or changed the filters as often as they should. This causes further premature wear on all things mechanical.

Vehicles imported from North America are not subject to the same title regulations here. Titles marked "Salvage, Reconstructed, Flood Damage, Lemon Buy-Back," etc. will have no such history noted on their new Costa Rican title. Odometer readings are not regulated equally here, either. A car purchased in the USA with 200,000 miles may be sold here with a new reading of 30,000 miles without any recourse. You can read more in detail on other pages within this site.

The cars listed for sale here at BestCostaRicaCars.com, however, are all fresh North American imports or late model luxury vehicles with locally verifiable maintenance records. They have verifiable odometer readings and title histories. They have been hand-picked for your peace of mind by a fellow expat from Texas with over 30 years of experience in selecting quality vehicles for some of North Central Texas' top dealerships. You can rest assured that the descriptions found in these pages are accurate. We can also locate and import almost any vehicle you can imagine if you have a desire or need for something you don't see here.

Bienvenidos a Costa Rica! If you have any questions, please write or call. We're always happy to help!