Car-less

While Kerri and I have been in Denver this past week, we took the opportunity to turn in the Mercedes at the end of our lease. For the three years we drove it, it was a great car. And we weren't too bad to it—showing it Salt Lake City, Dallas, Napa, and Denver. :-)

Bye Bye Mercedes!

We have not yet bought a car in Costa Rica so—for the time being—we are car-less. It's a bit odd—this is the first time we have not owned a car since 1997. Hopefully we'll be able to find a car in Costa Rica soon. We've been taking taxis for the last 7 months which hasn't been the end of the world because our time in Costa Rica has been so erratic, but it has gotten very old very quickly and its now time to pony up and buy something. Problem is, 1) cars in Costa Rica are very expensive (40-50% more than in the US), and 2) financing is very difficult to get and even more expensive.

Before our travel schedule got crazy in June and July, Kerri and I went out searching for a car last May. We were beyond lucky when we rolled up to the first dealership we saw, found a 2002 Mitsubushi Montero Sport that we loved, and at a price we felt we could afford. We had a mechanic come by to look at the car, he gave us the thumbs up, so we put a $200 deposit down to hold the car. Yes, a $200 deposit.

We started talking on the way home and Kerri reminded me of some guidance we had heard from another ex-pat to do your due diligence when buying a car in Costa Rica as a lot vehicles in Costa Rica came from Louisiana in 2005. We asked why that would matter and he reminded us that Hurricane Katrina had hit Louisiana in 2005. Insurance companies wrote off the cars that were in the hurricane as losses, then turned around and sold them at auction to dealers who cleaned them up, and then turned around and shipped them to Mexico, Central America, and South America to sell. Apparently, to sell to unsuspecting ex-pats.

So we went home, logged-on to CarFax.com and ran the VIN number from the Montero Sport. Not only did the vehicle's last known address appear as New Orleans, Louisiana, but the last registered mileage reading on file from 3 years previous was 128,000 miles. The odometer now read 78,000 miles. Not only had the vehicle been salvaged from the hurricane, but somewhere between Louisiana and Costa Rica, someone had turned back the odometer 50,000 miles—at least.

We called the dealership and got our $200 back. Rest assured, we'll be checking the VIN on any further cars we look at.