– 2001 Hyundai Galloper 2.5L Turbo Diesel 4 X 4 was purchased in Leon, Nicaragua 

Two bank cards, two credit cards, eighteen ATM withdrawals over two days, ninety minutes at a lawyer’s office, followed by the exchange of 350 twenty dollar bills, just 74 days after we arrived in Nicaragua we are the proud owners of a Hyundai Galloper 4 X 4.

– This tank should get us ANYWHERE we want to go in Nicaragua!

16 Comments

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  4. Hi Guys. As a fellow Canadian, who also hopes to escape to warmer climates one day, I wanted to let you know that your blog has been full of helpful information on Nica.

    One question I do have is about the purchase of your wheels. I had read that you couldn’t register a vehicle in your name in Nica unless you were a permanent resident and that most people put in someone else’s name and hope for the best. Is this true/false or is there another way? Your insight is certainly appreciated.

    Thanks

    1. Hi Sharman,

      You need to have a Cedula (Nicaraguan Residency card) to register a vehicle in your own name. However, You can purchase a vehicle without a Cedula though. All you need to do is have a lawyer draw up a document that outlines the purchase details of the vehicle.

      The registration, insurance and safety inspections stickers all stay in the name of the original owner. You are still able to renew insurance and get safety inspections without ever contacting the original owner.

      If at any time in the future you do get a Cedula it is easy to transfer the car over at that time.

      Many Nicaraguans use this method of transferring ownership so that they don’t have to pay transfer taxes.

      I have seen vehicles that have been owned by five different people over the years and the car is still registered in the original owners name. To a Canadian this seems shady, but this practice is the norm here and is completely legal. No police check point has ever even asked for our legal document showing ownership. We just show our registration card, insurance card and drivers licence.

      Cheers,
      Gordon

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