Thread: Used cars in Panama

Originally Posted by whypanama

A lot of cars here are not sold in the U.S. I went home and tried buying oil filters for my Mitsubishi Nativa (Monterro Sport) and that was a joke. I just stocked up on maintenance parts for my Chrysler PT Cruiser.

Like everyone said above be very wary of used vehicles down here - especially diesel vehicles. Our 4X4 is gasoline and we will never purchase a diesel. Hubby was a diesel mechanic for an International dealer and I was an "engineer" with International - diesels are OK for big trucks, but be careful on SUV's. Big time expenses when something goes wrong for parts and oil changes are double of gasoline vehicles down here.

Mary
www.whypanama.com

Mary, how do you like your PT Cruiser?

Hi Romeo:

We love the PT Cruiser. We have had it for almost 11 years and we have 93K miles. We have 1 of 3 red ones in the country: 1 in the city and 1 in Vista Mar. We have a continental kit on the back hatch and stainless bumpers. Have a great mechanic in Anton that has worked on our vehicles for the last 6 years!

Mary
www.whypanama.com

Is it easy to buy the parts?
And what about the fuel efficiency? Is your's 1.8litre or 2.4litre engine ?

Hey Romeo:

It is a 2.4 litre engine, we are getting better mileage here then in the US!

Parts I usually order on line from the states and ship down here or have friends bring them down. I have had a TransComputer, radiator fan, brake rotors, brake pads, timing belt, oil filters, wipers, etc. shipped in or brought down.

Mary
www.whypanama.com

Is it difficult to get the same parts in Panama?

Hey Romeo:

Yes it is hard to get parts for Chrysler vehicles down here. The dealer is very expensive to have order parts for the car.

Mary

Originally Posted by whypanama

Hi Romeo:

We love the PT Cruiser. We have had it for almost 11 years and we have 93K miles. We have 1 of 3 red ones in the country: 1 in the city and 1 in Vista Mar. We have a continental kit on the back hatch and stainless bumpers. Have a great mechanic in Anton that has worked on our vehicles for the last 6 years!

Mary
www.whypanama.com

all right Mary , pimped your ride , cool , now i will have to watch for it in my travels as I would guess it is the only one with a continental kit in the country

Yes it is! You can see it around the Santa Clara, El Valle, and sometimes the Coronado areas!

Mary
www.whypanama.com

We just spent several weeks shopping for a car in Panama. My list included the Honda CRV and Nissan Xtrail. There is an excellent selection of both and easy to find one owner (lots of times lady driven) dealer maintained vehicles. The keys to getting a good used car... One owner; maintenance records and a knowledgeable inspection to check for accidents. Stay away from cars that have repainted panels and tow hitches!!!

That said, be ready for a full and frustrating day of paper shuffling when you decide to buy. The title swap process is tedious. The car I picked had a very small glitch in the inspection report and it was a major runaround getting it sorted. I speak pretty good Spanish but this was way over my head.. Luckily I had hired a very competent helper for the day. He made things happen that none of would have a prayer of accomplishing.

Suerte amigos!

Meck

Originally Posted by Meck

We just spent several weeks shopping for a car in Panama. My list included the Honda CRV and Nissan Xtrail. There is an excellent selection of both and easy to find one owner (lots of times lady driven) dealer maintained vehicles. The keys to getting a good used car... One owner; maintenance records and a knowledgeable inspection to check for accidents. Stay away from cars that have repainted panels and tow hitches!!!

That said, be ready for a full and frustrating day of paper shuffling when you decide to buy. The title swap process is tedious. The car I picked had a very small glitch in the inspection report and it was a major runaround getting it sorted. I speak pretty good Spanish but this was way over my head.. Luckily I had hired a very competent helper for the day. He made things happen that none of would have a prayer of accomplishing.

Suerte amigos!

Meck

I like the xtrail, very fuel efficient for its size. Meck, do you have any idea which year's is better? And any idea if it's easy to find the parts? And what about diesel vs gasoline.

I like the xtrail, very fuel efficient for its size. Meck, do you have any idea which year's is better? And any idea if it's easy to find the parts? And what about diesel vs gasoline.

We ended up with a CR-V, but I spent quite a bit of time researching the Xtrail. From what I found parts would not be much of problem, late 02 was the first year of production and they didn't change much until late 2006 and they are everywhere. They introduced a diesel model as well with a 6 speed tranny, that is by far their most economical version, they are a little hader to find. The gas engine is a 2.4, that is peppy and good on gas. They are all 4x4 which has it's advantages. I really liked the car. My first choice with the Xtrail was the diesel version.

Meck

Also gas 91 and diesel's prices have been frozen and gas 95 not. Obviously nobody knows till when but it is still interesting cause 95 has been going up fast. I am considering changing my car for a diesel. I got a nissan pathfinder and it's very thirsty.

Should we listen to Mary and stay away from diesel cars? She says they are very costly if something goes wrong.

Originally Posted by janl

Also gas 91 and diesel's prices have been frozen and gas 95 not. Obviously nobody knows till when but it is still interesting cause 95 has been going up fast. I am considering changing my car for a diesel. I got a nissan pathfinder and it's very thirsty.

and on average you will get 30% better milage with a diesel , and the resale would be better as most are looking for the best milage

New diesel is fine and doing the upkeep, but get rid of it before your warranty runs out. A used one is very questionable. As was stated above most Panamanians do not do regular upkeep (oil changes), etc.

Mary
www.whypanama.com

Originally Posted by Romeo

Should we listen to Mary and stay away from diesel cars? She says they are very costly if something goes wrong.

its a personal choice . if you drive very little , in my mind gas is ok . if you drive lots, diesel is cheaper and resale to most will be better . if you are buying a used car you want to have a good check on it before you buy , either gas or diesel , maintance is not what you are use to . as far as being very expensive to repair , i dont have a gas /diesel compareason , but i did the diesel in my old montero . all genuine montero parts from the dealer , everything except a crankshaft . material was $3400.00 labour was $600.00

The other thing regarding diesels is that they will outlast a gas engine by a least double. When we by our vehicle, it will most likely be diesel. I have rented the XTrail and it was pretty good on gas but our last trip we ended up with a new style Hyundai Tucson and I was really impressed.

I think friend that you should have to buy a little car there are lots of benefit of little car. if uses little petrol and go on long way. so by this car instead of big car.

Originally Posted by ALLON

I think friend that you should have to buy a little car there are lots of benefit of little car. if uses little petrol and go on long way. so by this car instead of big car.

I think everybody wants to save on gas ,thus buy a small car.
But with the kind of crazy drivers with huge SUVs , if an accident happens, your chances of surviving are slimmer.
I believe in destiny, but I am not willing to commit suicide,lol.

Originally Posted by Romeo

I think everybody wants to save on gas ,thus buy a small car.
But with the kind of crazy drivers with huge SUVs , if an accident happens, your chances of surviving are slimmer.
I believe in destiny, but I am not willing to commit suicide,lol.

I couldn't agree more. I have been involved in a couple of accidents. Size matters!