La Palma, Costa Rica of Bust
Feb 21st, 2008 by Don Ray
Are you ready to drive into Costa Rica? Ok. lets be on our way. I got all the paperwork that I needed from my insurance company in David, but the PTJ in David was unable to process their paperwork. Not to worry. We can do it in the Frontera.First thing we will do here is to go through the exit side of Panama and get the passports stamped. While I was in line, I saw them checking cars for drugs and took this photo.
Now before we can process the car paperwork at the border, we need to go by the PTJ. To get there, we will go back and go down the main road that passed Wang Chang. The PTJ will be on our left. Keep your eyes pealed. Ah, here it is.
The agent needs to get the motor vehicle numbers. To do this he takes a piece of carbon paper (bet you thought there was no need for carbon paper any more) and wipe it across the motor number as ie is doing in this photo.
Then he needs to get the chassis number as he is doing in this photo.
Now the agent will call and verify that this car has no outstanding loans or fines that have not been paid. After that is complete you will be given the paperwork to be taken to the Panama boarder officials so that you can drive the car into Costa Rica. Remember to have copies (I recommend 4) of car title, passport, car transit paperwork
You will buy insurance for the car that is to be driven.
Now we are ready to go to the Costa Rica side. First we will need to fumigate the car, which also has a fee. make sure your windows are rolled and we will go through this contraption.
At the Costa Rica Side you will have to have your passport stamped and pay a fee to bring the cart in. During this phase you will use whatever copies that were not given to Panama.
The time at the PTJ in Panama took about 15 minutes. From that time until I am driving in Costa Rica took another 2 hours and 45 minutes. You really have to want to drive into Costa Rica to go through the hassle.
We have a ways to go before this day is done. However, it is now about 3:00 PM and I am about starved. How about you.
It is not far to Villa Neily and we will stop there. What luck. They have a Chicken Bros. I like it better than KFC, so lets stop.
I am now full as a tick and ready to get moving.
No more photos until tomorrow. I will tell you that the roads were much better going to La Palma than they were last year. That is to a point and then the pavement ended. Once we got to the unpaved roads, the speed dropped to about 20kph.
We reached La Palma a little before dark. It took about 2 hours from Villa Neily. The next few days will be spent around la Palma and the beaches in Puerto Jimenez. Get a good night’s sleep. We have things to see and places to go.
Don,
They must’ve seen you coming @ the frontera..I’ve never seen a dog sniffing around there! Ok, I’m just joking!
It can be kind of a hassle to take your Panama tagged vehicle to CR but when one considers the convenience & cost savings over renting a vehicle, the advantages quickly add up. Like to the tune of $50-70/day! Also, gas costs more here so motorists should remember this.
I see you photographed the CR ’spray booth’. Last few times through I drove right by it. I hate the smell of the poison they try to kill you with & furthermore it costs about $5 for the privilage! Nobody seems to care and in reality any pathogen will find its way across that vast chasm of asphalt populated with sneezing, wheezing & coughing pedestrians anyway. I know some people like to ‘play by the book’ but consider the asininity of so much we toe the line for and pay to boot!
Hi KK. I noticed that some cars got a real search. They opened my trunk, peeked in and shut it.
Yes, I went through the spray. Don’t care for it, but I do play by the rules.
Hi, Don;
Well, they’d better have a car lift and a mechanic to check the engine number on my car (Hyundai Tucson V-6). It’s on the lower front of the engine block under all the accessories and you have to remove the undertray to see it.
The more I hear the less and less I’m inclined to cross the border by car.
Gotta be an easier way..
Mike
Maybe there is an easier way, but I have driven to CR twice and they have done the same thing both times. I would think you should have a tag on the frame of the car with the engine number too. I thought the purpose was to know it in case a car is striped and sold as parts.
Cars disappearing in CR is not that unusual.
Nope. Almost no cars even have the motor number in their title, certificate of origin or export documents. The VIN is attached or stamped all over the place but Panama insists on also using a part number that even the cars’ manufacturers don’t use for vehicle identification.
It’s really only used in servicing the vehicle if there is an engine part that may have been changed during the engine’s production run. I have been told that some small block GM V-8s don’t have one at all, but I find that a bit difficult to believe.
LOTS of people have had difficulties importing cars into Panama because the normally ignored motor number wasn’t put on the export documents. It can usually be cleared up pretty easily, but still…
Life in the 3rd World has its quirks.
Mike
Well, you know much more than I do about this subject. I agree that things get more difficult in doing what should be simple things in Latin America. I don’t think Panama is unique.
I am one who imported into a Panama a chevy with a GM v8 small block and indeed it does NOT have a unique motor number. It does have a number on the right front located behind a bunch of bolt on stuff that must be removed. The number is useless as it is just the date, factory code, and engine type. It held me up a few hours, but they finally put the VIN number for the non existent engine number. This motor type has been made since 1955, you would think by now they would have figured this out after thousands here in Panama have this set up.
You wrote in here that they check to see if there are any loans
on the vehicle, does that mean you can’t take your car to Costa Rica if you have an outstanding loan. I am a pensionado living in Panama and bought the car in Panama through Banco General for the loan. thanks for any info
Susan
That is what I understand. Let me know if you learn something different from the bank.