Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into the practicalities of living as an expat in Latin America, covering a range of topics from bringing electronics across borders to the cost of repairs and the challenges of driving in the region. He shares personal anecdotes and discusses the impact of globalization on pricing, the role of insurance in traffic accidents, and the cultural nuances that shape consumer behavior.
Johnny begins by discussing the logistics of bringing electronics from the United States to Latin America. He addresses whether expats should bring their own gadgets, the availability of name brands like Samsung, Sony, and Apple, and the language settings on software. He also explains the customs process, including the possibility of bringing used items without paying import duties and the challenges of bringing new items, especially on the tourist trail. Johnny highlights the economic impact on local governments and the trend of globalization reducing price differentials between the U.S. and Latin America.
He then moves on to the cost and practicality of buying electronics in the U.S. versus Latin America, highlighting the financial and warranty implications. While buying electronics in the U.S. may seem cheaper due to lower sales tax, the process of importing them back to Latin America involves additional costs and voids the warranty. He also addresses the challenges of getting repairs done in Latin America, where service centers often charge upfront fees and parts are expensive, making repairs costlier than in the U.S. Johnny emphasizes the importance of understanding warranty terms and the reality of repair costs in the region.
Next, Johnny discusses the affordability and accessibility of appliance repair services in Latin America, comparing them to the United States. He highlights the presence of both certified service centers and numerous mom-and-pop repair shops, which offer significantly lower prices due to low labor costs. Despite the often poor working conditions, these small shops can effectively repair even high-tech devices. Johnny also reflects on his own experience as an engineer, noting that while he used to fix appliances himself in the U.S., he now prefers to rely on local repair services due to the time and effort involved.
He then recounts a car accident he experienced while driving in a foreign country. He was cautious due to poor road conditions and fog, but another driver hit him, causing significant damage to his car. He took the car to a local repair shop, where the cost was much lower than expected in the U.S. However, the repairman later added extra charges for parts and labor, which Johnny found frustrating. Despite the issues, Johnny concludes that it's not worth investing in expensive cars or comprehensive insurance in this region, as the cost of repairs and potential accidents can be high, and insurance doesn't cover personal vehicle damage.
Finally, Johnny discusses the chaotic and often blameless nature of traffic accidents in Latin America, attributing this to widespread disregard for traffic laws. He highlights how insurance companies play a significant role in guiding individuals on how to handle accidents, often advising them not to admit fault. He also shares a personal anecdote about replacing a windshield, noting that local shops offer cheaper alternatives to branded products. He touches on the cost of electronics and consumer goods in Latin America, comparing prices and warranties to those in the United States, and explains how manufacturers adjust warranties based on cultural differences in maintenance habits.
Topics
Import duties and customs regulations, Availability of electronics in Latin America, Globalization and price trends, Expatriate experiences and practicalities, Cost of electronics, Warranty implications, Repair costs in Latin America, Importing electronics, Consumer behavior and service centers, Appliance repair in Latin America, Cost of living in Latin America, Engineering and DIY culture
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:34 The Question of Bringing Electronics from the U.S. 00:01:05 The Practicality of Bringing Electronic Junk 00:02:06 Customs Regulations and the Tourist Trail 00:05:20 Globalization and Price Trends 00:05:45 Price Comparison Between U.S. and Latin America 00:06:12 Calculating the Savings and Tax Implications 00:07:09 Modern Repair Services and Part Availability 00:11:26 Appliance Repair in Latin America vs. the U.S. 00:12:28 Cost Comparison Between Repair Shops and Certified Centers 00:16:10 Cost of Living in Latin America: A Car Accident Example 00:17:29 The Accident and Damage 00:18:37 The Repair and Cost Discrepancy 00:22:21 Conclusion on Car Insurance and Costs 00:22:44 Traffic Accidents and Blame in Latin America 00:23:23 Insurance Companies and Their Role in Accidents 00:24:15 Cost of Electronics and Consumer Goods in Latin America 00:25:48 Warranty Differences Due to Cultural Maintenance Habits
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now as I wonder My thoughts ever straight Hi everybody I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files Living in Latin America the show that tells you what it's really like to live work play and or retire in Latin America I tell it just like it is so let's get started Expat wannabes asked me a lot as to whether or not they should bring their own electronic gadgets and stuff down instead of buying them here and they want to know if they can get all the name brands like Samsung and Sony and Apple down here and they want to know if all the software
[00:48] They're loaded with is in Spanish or English and if it's in Spanish, can you convert it to English easily? Then they asked me if you've got the variety you've got in the states and can get all the models and add-ons and Aftermarket stuff that goes along with all those toys and gadgets these days But the main thing is if you've got a lot of electronic junk up in the states TVs smartphones surround sound home theaters and stuff Well since first worlders are all loaded down with that stuff expat wannabes ask a very good question Wouldn't it be better to just pack that junk up and bring it on down as used items that way you don't have to pay New item import duties at least that's what most people up in the first world would think Well, yes and no and it's a yes if you can actually carry it by hand and walk it on through
[01:35] you know get it all on the airplane even if you have to pay a little extra because generally you're only allowed two or three pieces Of stowable luggage or 50 pounds of luggage weight here that figure thrown around all the time at airports Because you see if you walk it on through customs like that and what your hand carrying through Isn't in its original box or wrapper It's obviously a used item and 99 out of a hundred times. They'll just wave you right through sure You'll have to box that stuff up in one way or another as long as it's not brand spanking new and sealed in the original Box or wrapper however you can bring a certain amount of brand new stuff through to and no one will say a thing That is if you're off the tourist track if you bring brand new stuff into Panama or Costa Rica if it's obviously in the box and new Oftentimes they'll ask you for the receipt and nail you with an import tax right then and there at the airport and depending on
[02:27] The item it could be up to 33% of what you paid for it what you have on your invoice And if you don't happen to have a receipt They'll decide what it's worth by referencing it to some kind of a master list they all seem to have and you'll have Absolutely no bargaining power whatsoever they'll tell you what you have to pay and that's it and that's what happens when you're on the tourist trail because Customs official there have long ago figured out that gringos will fork out the dough a 50-buck tax on a new DVD Player you might be bringing in is a bit of an irritation, but it's no big deal. It's not the end of the world It's not a weak salary like it is for the locals How do you think governments in those high-volume tourist zones make money by gouging gringos when they can of course? And gringos on vacation will fork out the dough an extra 50 or 100 bucks
[03:14] Isn't going to stop them from having a good time and government officials have figured that out However, if you're off the tourist trail, and let's say you're flying in from Dallas to Tagusi Galpa, Honduras What you'll see when you land and pick up your luggage is first of all practically no gringos Secondly, you'll see a lot of short brown Latin people flying in from the states or other Latin American countries oftentimes carrying more boxes and packages that a human was built to handle and perhaps 95% of those packages and boxes won't be original it'll be repackaged stuff They really are bringing in new TVs and printers and stereo equipment that they're trying to pass off as used and you know They're not fooling the customs agents off the tourist track locals get away with that all the time
[04:00] There that custom agents are very lenient or should I say lazy and lenient? Which describes about 98% of all government workers in Latin America? That's yet another reason why expats love it down here so much But there is a limit and you only can push these guys so far and that limit is approximately what you're physically able to carry Now you might wonder why every Latin visitor to the states comes back to his country with arm loads and suitcases full of stuff Obviously your first thought must be that you can't get some of that stuff down here or if you can't it's way too expensive With all that electronic junk coming on through you have to assume that it's much cheaper in the states Well, you know five or so years ago. That was definitely true All that manufactured medium and high-tech electronic stuff was a lot cheaper in the states
[04:48] But now with globalization in the flood of products from Korea and China, Indonesia, Mexico, India You name it now in most cases. There's almost no price differential at all Which makes you wonder why so many Latins coming back from the states still play that game Well, you know All I can make of it is that most Latins haven't really figured it out yet that the price differential is almost gone And it's not really worth the effort anymore as usual There's that lag time in Latins are a little slow to catch on and to prove that that differential is almost gone Let me give you some examples here I'm looking at the Sunday ads in the biggest El Salvador newspaper And there's a full page with televisions being sold by a well-known Latin American electronics chain called Curaçao Kind of their version of Best Buy now here. They have a 32-inch LCD
[05:36] LG brand television for three hundred seventy five bucks reason why I mentioned this model is because it's in Consumer Reports magazine as a Best Buy Now Consumer Reports says you can get that same model in the states for between three hundred and thirty and three hundred fifty Bucks so what's the differential between buying it now Salvador or buying it Miami about thirty five bucks, right? But you have to consider that Florida has a six percent sales tax and when you buy anything in Latin America There are sales tax called EBA IV a that's included in the price and never added on later like it would be in Florida So if you buy that TV in Miami for three hundred and thirty dollars the six percent sales tax on that's twenty bucks So in the end you save about twenty five dollars if you buy that thing in the states
[06:24] And now you got to pack it up scuff it up a bit to make it look used Drag it on the plane and through customs and when you get it down to San Salvador your home country sure you've got it There and you save twenty five bucks, but it's no longer covered under the manufacturer's warranty or guarantee Unfortunately, it works like this when you buy something in the states and you look at the fine print on that guarantee You'll find it almost always says Valid only in the continental United States and even if it doesn't have that restriction good luck taking it to a service center down Here in Latin America sure they'll be able to fix it. All right and in a hurry It's not like it was years ago where your washing machine or TV would sit in the shop for a month while they shag Down the parts from somewhere now. They've got the internet and if they don't have your parts on hand They'll have them in three days
[07:10] But even if you have your warranty in hand signed sealed and delivered they just won't honor it They figure why should they you didn't buy it from their local distributor? No money passed hands down in their neck of the woods. So take it from me. They won't honor it That's even if it says you have a worldwide guarantee like that junk you see on late night TV ab busters Ginzu knives and chia pets that stuff says it's got a lifetime guarantee too But you got to send it back which will cost you more in shipping and handling than the price of the product and yes down here They do have those late night Ginzu knife miracle bra and ab buster commercials and because of the lag time effect It's all the rage right now down here In fact, there's really big money to be made in those late night commercials here
[07:55] Which are ridiculously dirt cheap to run compared to up in the first world and they work so well because the public is just beyond Gullible and they believe every product testimonial they see in the paper or on TV I guess just like we did in the 50s in the 60s. Yep. It's that wonderful lag time thing again Anyway, if you got a broken item and it's under warranty and they charge you anyway, who are you gonna sue? Are you gonna stand on principle and say no, I'm not gonna pay for this Then it's a Mexican standoff that you're gonna lose you're not gonna get it fixed now Are you then it'll just end up in the junk closet with all the other broken things? You can't bear to part with and speaking of that Here's a good time to go through the motions of what it takes to get something Electronic like a TV or a stereo fixed and what you actually have to go through to get an appliance repaired
[08:45] Well, first of all in Latin America when you take something in to get repaired anywhere They'll make you pay half of what it'll cost or the parts cost up front because you see down here in Latin America Where labor is dirt cheap parts are nearly always much more than the cost of labor For example, I had a nice stainless steel high-end Panasonic microwave oven Which I bought down here in Latin America and unfortunately it blew out a couple of years past its warranty Now the most expensive part of a microwave oven is the part called the magnetron Which is the workhorse of the unit that actually makes the microwaves It's the thing that buzzes when you turn it on, you know, dude So I brought it into the service center and here's what they generally do whether it's a TV computer microwave or whatever
[09:31] They ask you for five bucks To diagnose the problem and they get back to you a day later to tell you how much the whole repair is gonna cost now I know they do that in the United States too But I don't think they charge only five bucks for however long it takes the technician to diagnose the problem And of course, they apply that five bucks against the final repair charge Now the reason why they do that is because Latins are notorious for squeezing the absolute last ounce of use out of every single thing they buy and people will bring in a 20 or 25 year old broken TV microwave or computer that looks like it's been through a nuclear war then steamrolled with a bulldozer and some of these appliances are duct taped and Chicken wired together and then we're on their last legs ten years ago
[10:16] Yet they still seem to chug along after many heroic repair jobs Remember, this is a very poor society and for the majority of these people the cost of a microwave oven is like four or five Weeks salary and if service centers didn't charge five bucks up front then the owner if he gets a high repair estimate We'll just abandon his appliance there and never pay and the repair center will have wasted their time Diagnosing it and have yet another piece of junk on their hands years ago that used to happen all the time But these days they charge the five bucks up front now case in point what happened to me and my broken microwave oven I paid my five bucks and they call me back the next day and said it would be $80 to fix it That's when you have to decide whether it's better to buy a new one or get it fixed
[11:03] But here's the thing that 80 buck repair I was telling you about $65 of that was the magnetron the part and the labor only 15 bucks now think of it in the states You couldn't get a repairman to change a fuse for 15 bucks in the states. It's the labor. That's the big cost down here It's just the opposite and by the way there's service centers, and there's repair shops down here It's just like it was years ago in the states. They actually do have thousands of mom-and-pop TV and appliance repair guys Now I know I'm showing my age here But I remember when the TV repair guy would come over to my mom's house in his rickety truck Open the TV set poke around change some tubes and that was it well It's still like that down here in Latin America even though appliances Don't have tubes of course and mom-and-pop repair guys don't have cars or trucks no overhead
[11:53] So the prices are ridiculously low so down here you have your certified service centers like Oster and Panasonic and black and Decker and stuff and You have hundreds if not thousands of those little mom-and-pop Appliance repair shops every neighborhood's got a half a dozen and you can spot them in a second or little hole in the wall joints with a couple of rusted washing machines and old boxy TVs out front now I tell you no matter how low-class and hole in the wall these mom-and-pop repair shops look Those are the places you want to take your bus at appliances when they're out of warranty Because you're gonna pay about half of what you'd pay at the regular authorized service center And because of the dirt cheap labor costs down here even the authorized service centers are half again as expensive as the same
[12:39] Kind of work done in the states and by the way if your broken item is out of warranty Who cares if you get it fixed at the authorized service center or not? The little mom-and-pop shop will still guarantee the work And I'm always amazed that when you bring in a broken computer or something packed with electronics They can absolutely fix it just as well as the qualified service center And the amazing thing to me is they can do that kind of work considering the really disgustingly crummy working conditions They're working out of this hole-in-the-wall joint and the extended family is always living somewhere in the back And that includes the mangy dogs the chickens and a few parrots to kids running around screaming dogs chasing cats wet laundry on the clothesline and Believe me if you don't check the bottom of your shoes before you get back in your car
[13:27] You could have a very odiferous drive home, and you wonder how these places survive how they make ends meet But they do even more strange you wonder how these guys can fix these high-tech computers and plasma TVs and stuff because you know these days everything's so compact when you open it up It looks like a rat's nest you know it beats me And I have some experience because in my former life I was an engineer and even I would never want to take a crack at opening up a smartphone or a laptop computer I'd probably never get the cover back on again But seriously a guy like me an engineer should be able to fix things like broken microwave ovens Since that's not really high-tech. That's not even medium tech anymore. That's 50 year old technology That said you might be thinking if Johnny's an engineer or used to be why doesn't he just pull out that bad?
[14:15] Magnetron and pop a new one in himself. Why does he have to take it to the repair shop does he have Alzheimer's or something? Isn't that what engineers do tinker with things like that? Well. You know when I first got down here That's exactly what I did. I fixed practically everything myself That's because in the states. I fixed every broken appliance. I had to basically all engineers do that It's not that we're so great at fixing things. It's that we have no fear of taking things apart no fear of trying That's one of the things we learn in engineering school We just don't have that common man's fear of electricity in general every engineer. I know it's been shocked a thousand times That comes with the territory anyway when you're an engineer you feel guilty about paying repair bills when you know you can do it yourself
[15:02] It's like a plumber hiring someone to fix his pipes No way right, but you know what when I did my own repairs on my broken stuff up in the states I could easily save myself a hundred dollars in labor charges And you know when you do that it feels good Then when I got down here to Latin American finally realized I didn't have to waste a half a day screwing around my broken dryer I could pay a mom-and-pop repair guy 10 or 15 bucks labor and save myself a few cuts and bruises and some scraped knuckles Which is always what happens when you're screwing around fixing big appliances after any repair job You always seem to have a scar or two so that's one of the beauties of living down here You don't have to tackle a job like that that might steal a half a day your time just to save a hundred bucks Because you won't be saving a hundred bucks
[15:48] You'd only be saving 10 or maybe 15, but again if you're a dyed in a wool do-it-yourselfer type then maybe that's your hobby Nothing wrong with that, but personally instead of fixing the timer in my dryer. I'll call somebody instead I'd rather sit on the veranda and watch the toucans and the parrots steal my avocados to each his own, right? And since people always ask me about the cost of living here's another great example of how cheap things really are down here Now about three weeks ago. I got into a really nice car accident by nice I mean it wasn't a total wreck, but it was a beauty I was driving down one of those roads with a lot of potholes, and it was a very foggy night typical October November weather here the end of the rainy season where often bad visibility is made
[16:35] infinitely worse by the fact that a percentage of cars trucks and buses down here do not have working headlights or tail lights something that Drives us expats Absolutely nuts, but since cops don't enforce that law all we can do is be extra cautious And hope we don't rear end one of those idiots so anyway I'm driving out in the boonies where there's not too many street lights at all so except for my headlights It's dark I'm in the center of my lane Going about 20 25 kilometers an hour in a 50 kilometer zone because I know there's a lot of potholes in that area I know that Street and even on a good night It's hard to see them and when it's foggy like that you can't see them until they're right in front of you so I'm driving along kind of cautiously in a guy's coming fast in the opposite direction and I could see by his
[17:22] One working headlight that he was hitting those potholes pretty hard He was bouncing and when he came alongside of me He hit a pothole and swerved right into me Completely side swiping my car from the front end all the way down to the rear That's the front bumper front quarter panel front and back door and the back quarter panel wiped out along with my side view mirror Which he snapped off and it was just dangling by a cable and the other guy with his one headlight kept on going And to this day, I have no idea what kind of car he was driving or what kind of damages he had But you know, I have visions that his car was a late model SUV So that he's suffering plenty too But I doubt it it was probably a piece of junk because normally guys and gals with nicer cars
[18:09] Keep their headlights and taillights in good repair Anyway, the next day I took my sad-looking car to the mom-and-pop car and body repair guy And he had it for two weeks and now it looks as good as new and you know My car is your standard cheap run-of-the-mill mediocre compact a perfect low-profile car that doesn't stand out at all However, it's less than a year old. So all the parts are extremely expensive Like parts always are for newer cars So anyway, when I drove it to his house, he looked at it and gave me an estimate of two hundred and thirty dollars for the Whole job now that included all of his labor costs and the paint and you know me I just had to go on the internet and find out what the average body shop in Chicago Would charge for a repair like that and it came in at a little over
[18:58] $2,000 now you got to be thinking that there's something that doesn't sound quite right about this It doesn't add up is my mom-and-pop repair guy cutting corners big corners How can he do the whole damn thing for a tenth of the cost of what it would be in the States? Well, it's like this he paid about thirty dollars for the paint and he made $200 for two weeks work now for him That's pretty damn good money since most people make between 250 and 350 a month down here So at that rate he's making about a third more than that and believe me the guy's an artist But still why so cheap one reason is he does it out of his home and this guy's humble. He lives cheap Here's a guy who can repair anything and anything having to do with cars and he's never owned one
[19:46] He can't afford to but there's more to the story He called me up a day after he had the car and he said Johnny I mean he said Don Johnny because they always do the don thing, you know, anyway, he said Don Johnny I have bad news for you He said that two little trim guard strips that run alongside your door Well, he went down to the dealer and they're $100 each and I needed two of them one for the front door one for the back And he was nervous when he told me that and then he said, you know Don Johnny If you don't put those two matching strips back on the car, it won't match the passenger side at all But he said I have an idea I could finish the car off perfectly without those side strips then on the other side of the car take the existing ones off and fill in the holes polish it and paint that side and
[20:31] The car will look fine and perfectly symmetrical. No one will know the difference. Then he said I guarantee it And so to take the strips off the other side of the car Solder up the holes where the strips were fastened and repaint that side completely He said would cost me $60 extra. So the whole job cost me about $290 on top of it He saved me a hundred and forty dollars because I didn't have to buy the trim strips and that my friends is how you do Business down here in Latin America. And when you work with these mom-and-pop guys, there's no taxes. No paperwork No receipts but to find a good honest guy like that. It's about word of mouth This guy for example was referred to me by my lawyer who has a tendency to get into little fender benders now
[21:17] And then and he has nice cars and he wants to keep him looking that way So this little guy is my lawyer's personal repair guy But my lawyer did warn me before he referred him to me. He said you're a gringo Don't let him nickel and dime you to death and guess what the lawyer was right the little guy tried a day later I got another phone call from him. He said Don Johnny don't worry I don't have bad news for you, but we have to talk about the mirror on the side of your car He said he checked with the dealer and a new mirror assembly was a hundred and twenty dollars He said, you know, I can fix the mirror assembly part fill it in and paint it like new But the mirror itself is broken So I'll have to go get one cut at the glass shop to fit and that'll cost you an extra six dollars and fifty cents
[22:02] And I hemmed and hawed a little bit on the phone. I said, all right do it. I'll give you the 650 I'm good for it. I promise and you know when I think about all told what that accident cost me It just totally reinforces the fact for me that it's just not worth it to have anything but the basic cheapest Liability insurance on your car no matter what model you're driving and that can be about a hundred fifty bucks a year Down here. They call that precero partido, which is third-party insurance and it pays for the other guy Of course and all the hospitalization for both sides But it just doesn't cover your car in a crash And by the way, if you do get in a car crash and both parties stop to get out and look at it Which believe me isn't always the case You'll find it'll be almost impossible to figure out whose fault it was both sides will just lie their asses off
[22:52] I've seen it. I've been in accidents like that not when I was driving But when someone else was driving they get out and they start pointing fingers right away And why is that that's because people break traffic laws so indiscriminately down here They run so many red lights and stop signs that I'd say a good half of the accidents that I've seen are caused from a guy Running a red light and smacking into a guy just heading through his green light minding his own business And when all is said and done and the insurance company and the cops get there nobody I mean nobody takes the blame and there is a good reason for that That's because your insurance company will always be on the scene before the cops and they'll advise you exactly what to say They'll actually coach you in fact down here. There's so much competition now with insurance companies to get your business. They actually have
[23:38] Advertisements posted saying if they don't arrive on the scene of your accident within 30 minutes You'll get a year's premium for free and what happens then well when you dial that hotline number the first thing the lady says on The phone and I've been there believe me. She says don't admit anything Wait for the insurance adjuster to come and when the insurance adjuster does arrive He takes you into his van and listens to your story in private And then he says if anybody asks you anything you're a gringo no hablo español. I'll do the talking So there's that gringo advantage working for you again, right? You gotta love it down here And by the way just a few weeks ago an expat friend of mine had to replace his windshield because a rock bounced off the back Of a truck and cracked it well he went to the Toyota dealer, and they wanted
[24:25] $225 to replace it which was still about a hundred and fifty dollars cheaper than the prices They charged in the first world for the same service He checked it on the internet then he went to one of these mom-and-pop glass shops And they installed a generic windshield for a hundred bucks that looks exactly the same as the Toyota one except when you buy from Toyota you get a tiny little Toyota emblem etched in the glass Big deal, and you know the little guy at the glass company said the breakdown was $80 for the glass five bucks for the seal and the caulking and $15 for the labor for installation now if true-to-life stories like that don't make you want to move down here tomorrow I don't know what will but let's get back to that El Salvador Sunday newspaper and the cost of electronics and consumer items now
[25:11] December 2012 Consumer Reports magazine has an LCD 42-inch Samsung a Best Buy for 650 bucks up in the States now in that big Sunday newspaper in Salvador they have that very same TV on sale at Curaçao appliance store for six hundred and thirty dollars again That's taxes included, but notice. It's actually 20 bucks cheaper here than it is up in the States How'd that happen and yes these days TVs and electronics and appliances come with a factory guarantee Though like I said in a much earlier show if it's a five-year guarantee in the States It's usually a three-year guarantee down here if it's a two-year guarantee in the States one year down here And if it's a one-year guarantee in the States could be six months down here, and why is that that's because big?
[26:02] Corporations like Samsung Sony LG Ford Honda and Toyota well They figured out a long time ago that Latin third world consumers are not like first world consumers All you have to do is take a drive-through middle and lower class Latin America And you'll see just how Latin people take care of their things basically they don't and it's not just about the lack of maintenance either like I said before look at how Americans take care of their cars versus the way Latins do a car that's a year old up in the States still looks brand new basically and down here that same car after a year is going to Have at least a dozen door dings from idiots in the parking lot who just don't give a damn same thing goes for their TVs Appliances I think Latin's ever changed the lint filter in the washing machine until the thing breaks down
[26:48] they don't even know it has one and Like I said before an automatic dishwasher might only last a few months since the cleaning lady Who's operating the thing never was told that you have to pre rinse the corn kernels and rice off the plate before you put it In the dishwasher oops you see what I mean, so basically big manufacturers know about cultural differences And they adjust their warranties accordingly No wonder when you're driving through a wealthy neighborhood And you catch a glimpse of socks bras and underwear out on the clothesline It's not that the family prefers that time-tested natural outdoor drying technique It's because the cleaning lady is either afraid of using the dryer She doesn't know how to use it or she ruined it a long long time ago South of the border
[27:35] down Mexico way That's listening to the expat files living in Latin America coming to you each week from somewhere south of the border And don't forget you can email me on anything at all about Latin America the expat files at gmail.com See you next time