So what is the Guru answer? Well,I say buy a new car. They are as cheap here as the states or cheaper and there are cars here which the Japanese ship to other countries that are not available in the states. Have you ever heard of a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado in the States? The Prado is Diesel, 4X4, a bit but not by much smaller that a Land Cruiser, and fully loaded? You get what you pay for here. Good price, Very good vehicle. I have one.

Now about driving: Coming from Costa Rica in the beginning I was freaked out at how fast the drivers in Panama move around BUT the difference is; Every Costa Rican drives a different way, very aggressive and with no courtesy. When I'm in the central valley of Costa Rica where most of the cars are I see on the average of 2 fender benders a day. Yes you read correctly, two a day. In Panama I have seen 3 fender benders in 2 years.

Panamanian drivers will let you in a line and they will let you cross streets when lines are blocks-long. Panamanian drivers are courteous, well maybe not quite as courteous as gringos but for me,living down here for 31 years,I find the Panamanian drivers a breath of fresh air after being in Costa Rica and playing dodge ball with the Tico drivers. Oh and not to forget, Panamanians give pedestrians the right of way. In Costa Rica the drivers have the right of way, you step off the curb in CR and you may have just taken your last.

But I got off the subject here, the purchase of vehicles. When you purchase a new car in Panama the dealer does it all, paper work, helps get the car loan if you need it etc. etc...

But if you do purchase a used car from a private person you have to make sure all the paper work is right. I know of one bloke who purchased a car from a private person one year ago and he still does not have the car in his name. Why? Because the original owner has yet to prove there are no leans on the car. This is a simple paper but someone has to do it. Get it, it has to be done, if not you can not register the car for the oncoming year with new yearly stickers showing you car is healthy for the road.

Last but not least, NO do NOT bring your car from the states! The boat ride will take off 5 years with the salt spray from Mother Ocean. Hey that's a good name for a company Mother Ocean; oh I forgot I already started that company. Back to the story, it's just not worth it, I mean if you do have this bonding thing with your car that you can't bare to break away from and you have been its only mechanic from date of purchase (like it's birth date) then bring it over but don't complain to me when it starts to rust from within.

Je je je je je and that's all folks.

Guru

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Real estate for sale in Panama

Comments (2)

Alina: I am selling my car Hello! I have a LEXUS RX350 2007 for sale, it is in great conditions. I Love it but I need to sell it because I am moving out of Panama. I promise I will do all required paper work properly If anyone is interested my e-mail is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it I hope you enjoy living in Panama, as a Panamanian I sure enjoy sharing this beautiful land with all of you. 1 March 23, 2008 Sujane: Used and New Car on sale- Find dealers, listings and contact in your area The www.Zibe.com aims to answer the basic question of it's users- How to buy a used car or new cars. All that users need is reviews and information from a trusted source. So it has compiled a list of certified cars scattered among state, counties and cities. Users can come down to the site and directly make research on different cars, compare their prices and select the best models. The search process is also simple- “Just enter the car make and zip code and you can get best car models of your locality”. For the utmost benefit of users this list is constantly upgraded and new models are regularly added. Presently the inventory of Zibe.com contains 175,000 listings and 2.4 million photos to make the buyer more demanding. 2 June 16, 2008

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