Back in July, we bought a 4Runner in Santiago (Buying the car in Chile was fun!). We were going to be in Chile long enough that it made sense to own our vehicle versus rent it.
After Christmas, we decided to embark on a several month journey to the south of Chile. We drove the entire length of the Carretera Austral, and then we crossed into Argentina and drove Ruta 40 across the desert steppe to Puerto Natales in southern Patagonia.
As our time in Chile drew to a close, we would need to sell our car. This came with no little amount of anxiety given the trials and uncertainty of purchasing the car, but it turned out to be easier than expected.
In Puerto Natales (and I presume in Punta Arenas as well), good used vehicles are hard to come by. When a vehicle breaks in southern Patagonia (especially newer models), they can be difficult to fix. The mechanics and parts aren’t available. So rugged, reliable, common vehicles like 4Runners are in high demand.
In a stroke of luck, an outfitter we knew in Natales was willing to purchase our vehicle, so we didn’t have to go through the hassle of posting the car to the forums and trying to make a deal with a stranger.
The Process of Selling Our Car as Foreigner in Chile
Selling the car required an administrative effort at the notaria in Puerto Natales. Apparently some property sales can be made at the civil registration office. However, since I’m a foreigner selling a Chilean plated car, the transaction had to happen at a notaria. Why? Don’t know. But it worked.
The requirements for making the car sales transaction are not concrete, and the process may differ on which notaria you visit or the person sitting in front of you at the notaria.
As the seller (a foreigner), I needed the following information:
- My passport
- My RUT
- The original purchase contract
- The Padron / Certificado Inscripcion (which is like a US registration card + title)
- A valid permission for circulation (it’s like a US annual inspection + obligatory insurance)
- A print out of the vehicle history (Certificado Vehículos de anotaciones Vigentes), which had to be ordered within 15 days of sale.
- A print out of the statement that I owed no fines (Certificado Vehículos de Multas) on the vehicle (printed the same day of the sale).
The last two I purchased online for a small fee on this website under vehiculos: http://registrocivil.cl/principal/servicios-en-linea. The site would not accept my foreign credit card, but it did accept PayPal. The service emailed me the docs and I had them printed before I arrived.
Potential Issues When Selling the Car in Chile
As I mentioned, the requirements and process seem to be fluid, depending on the office and mood of the notaria.
We hit a couple snags that we made our way through a two hour process.
I did not have a version of the padron in my name. I thought I did, but I got the document confused with a different document I had printed. I did have the padron from the previous owner. It was several years old, but it was laminated by the previous owner and looked very official. This doc was able to meet with requirement for having the padron, given I had supplemental docs like the original (not a copy) of the purchase contract.
The issue that nearly caused a deal break was the fact I did not have a photo ID with my RUT. The RUT is a unique Chilean identification number. It’s kind of like a social security number, and it seems most critical for property and taxation. Chileans are issued a drivers license / ID card with their picture, information, and RUT. I didn’t have one of these, and it became an issue among the notaria admins behind the glass.
The issue was resolved as the notarias were able to triangulate the needed information from the many documents I had. They had my passport with my photo ID. They had the purchase contract which included my name, U.S. passport number, AND my RUT number. And they had the print out of the RUT document, which listed my full name and RUT number. With these three documents, the notaria had the confidence I was who I said I was as the seller.
Note that this entire process was in Spanish. Not even good Spanish, but Chilean Spanish. I could not have gotten through the process without help. The buyer, a Natales local, was able to guide us through the process and also to argue for why the issues above shouldn’t be blockers to getting the deal done. As the notaria through out curve balls, the buyer addressed the issues and pressed for forward progress.
My Advice for Selling a Car in Chile as a Foreigner
Sell to a Chilean who knows how to work through the notaria and their fluid processes. Maybe a foreigner could get through this, but they would need strong Spanish language skills at a minumum. I didn’t get the sense anyone at the notaria spoke English. If you don’t have this type of buyer, find an intermediator who could help.
Keep every document you ever have related to buying, owning, and servicing the car. Bring everything with you to the sale. You may not have exactly what they need for the transaction, but the body of documents you have could get your through the process.
Of course keep your fines from tolls clear. Every once in a while, depending on where you travel, check the websites of the toll roads for fines tied to your license plate. For me, it was site like costanera norte, pasaste sin tag, and pago.smc.cl/… There seems to be a lot of fragmentation in the toll road and fines world, so pay careful attention to the names of the toll roads you travel and any tolls you might accidentally pass without paying (it happens).
I thought I was jammed when the Registo Civil site wouldn’t accept my credit card so I could order the needed documents. Two credit cards and both debit cards were declined. The alternative was going to be to go in person to the office before going to the notaria. Spotting the little PayPal logo saved the day.
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