Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller explores the challenges expats face when buying or building a house in Latin America. He highlights the importance of expats taking control of the construction process, as local builders often use low-cost materials and have different standards than those in the first world. Johnny also addresses moisture problems, which are common in Latin American homes, and contrasts them with the more regulated and moisture-resistant building practices in the first world.
Johnny discusses the prevalence of moisture and water damage in Latin America compared to the first world. He explains that in the first world, builders take precautions to prevent moisture issues, such as using vapor barriers and waterproofing, and offer guarantees against such problems. In contrast, in Latin America, moisture damage is common and often ignored, with people painting over the issue rather than addressing it. Johnny attributes this to a lack of understanding of moisture management, resistance to change, and the fact that Latin contractors often use a 'band-aid' approach. He also mentions that while this issue is problematic for expats, it has inadvertently helped tourism by preserving the charm of old Spanish-style villages.
Johnny explores the unique charm and challenges of living in Latin America, particularly focusing on the aesthetic appeal of old Spanish-style architecture and the practical issues that come with it. He explains how the rustic, deteriorated look of these buildings, often due to water damage and earthquakes, is highly desirable for tourists but problematic for expats. He also highlights the common issues with existing homes, such as water damage and lack of natural light, and offers advice on how to mitigate these problems, including the installation of skylights. However, he warns about the poor quality of skylight installations and the tendency of contractors to overuse silicone caulk, which can lead to leaks and unsightly repairs. Johnny concludes by advising expats to test skylights thoroughly before finalizing installations.
In this segment, Johnny discusses common issues expats face with mold and mildew in Latin America, particularly in closets. He highlights the importance of installing skylights and louvered doors to allow air circulation and prevent mold growth. He also mentions the frustration expats feel when their clothes, especially leather shoes, get ruined by mold during the rainy season. Johnny then shifts to the topic of security, explaining that many Latin American homes lack windows and skylights due to security concerns. He notes that while security bars are often installed, they can make windows and skylights look unattractive. However, he suggests that living in gated communities can reduce the need for security bars. Finally, he warns that property owners must take responsibility for addressing water damage and mold issues, as contractors often provide only temporary fixes that fail over time.
Johnny discusses the challenges of waterproofing and painting in Latin America, emphasizing the importance of using first-world products to avoid substandard materials. He highlights the availability of high-quality products from first-world franchises like Ace Hardware (known as CMACO in Latin America), Walmart (called Price Mart), and Sears, which offer the same guarantees and return policies as in the United States. However, he warns against buying products made in Latin America, as they are often of lower quality and do not hold up as well as their first-world counterparts. He also mentions the lack of consumer protection in the region and the tendency of local manufacturers to make exaggerated claims without standing behind their products.
In this segment, Johnny discusses the differences in product warranties and guarantees between Latin America and the first world. He explains that even though products like Cuisinart food processors and flat-screen TVs come with a three-year warranty in the manual, when purchased in Latin America, the warranty is often reduced to one or two years. This discrepancy is not just a matter of policy but reflects a cultural attitude toward maintenance and repair. Johnny attributes this to a broader cultural tendency in Latin America to neglect routine maintenance and prevention, which leads to shorter warranty periods. He also notes that expats frequently encounter this issue with various products, including cars, where the warranty is significantly shorter in Latin America. The segment concludes with Johnny suggesting that local businesses may not honor first-world guarantees due to the high costs of warranty-related expenses.
Topics
Expats and construction in Latin America, Moisture problems in Latin American homes, Comparison of building standards between Latin America and the first world, Moisture and water damage in Latin America, Comparison between first world and Latin American construction practices, Impact of moisture damage on tourism, Old Spanish-style architecture in Latin America, Water damage and its impact on expat life, Skylight installation and common issues, Cost-effective home improvements in Latin America, Mold and Mildew in Closets, Security Concerns in Latin America
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:01:19 Construction and Building Standards 00:03:51 Moisture Problems in Latin America 00:05:17 The Importance of Waterproofing in the First World 00:06:04 Moisture Damage in Latin America 00:09:30 Opportunity for Expats in the Waterproofing Business 00:10:13 The Aesthetic Appeal of Old Spanish-Style Architecture in Latin America 00:10:53 The Role of Water Damage in Creating the Rustic Charm of Latin American Towns 00:11:25 The Economic Impact of Water Damage on Latin America 00:11:28 Water Damage as a Challenge for Expat Homeowners 00:12:16 The Cost of Dark and Dismally Lit Homes in Latin America 00:12:52 The Benefits of Skylights in Improving Light and Reducing Humidity 00:13:34 Common Issues with Skylight Installation in Latin America 00:14:38 Silicone Caulk as a Common Fix for Water Damage in Latin America 00:15:15 Mold and Mildew in Closets 00:16:35 Security Concerns in Latin America 00:19:29 Water Damage and Mold Issues 00:20:21 The Vicious Circle of Waterproofing in Latin America 00:21:13 Warning Against Substandard Products Made in Latin America 00:22:29 Cost-Effectiveness of First-World Brands in Latin America 00:25:16 Introduction to Warranty Discrepancies in Latin America 00:25:48 Cultural Attitudes Toward Maintenance and Repair 00:27:18 Economic Implications of Honoring First-World Warranties
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:01] South of the border, down Mexico way, that's where I fell in love. Hi everybody, I'm Johnny Mueller, and you're listening to The Expat Files, living in Latin America, the one of a kind show that tells you what it's like to live, work, play, and or retire in Latin America. It's a fact that millions of Europeans and North Americans have already made that big move south of the border. You might know someone who already has. Maybe it's your dream to do it someday. Well it's a big move and it's not to be taken lightly, and that's just what this show is all about. So let's get started. You know, since I started this thread about buying land or building a house, suddenly I'm getting a lot of emails related to just that.
[00:47] And for all of you guys out there who've been trying to email me and haven't received an answer back, that's because my email wasn't working for all these months. And the new one, which works, is The Expat Files at gmail.com. So send me an email and ask me anything you want about Latin America. And of course, I'm more than willing to oblige, as long as you can put up with the fact that I'm noted for roaming all over the place and telling my own brand of strange but true stories. But eventually, I do get back around to the point. So just bear with me, okay? Now staying on the topic of constructing a house, if you recall in a past show, I said you should never judge a worker by his toolkit, because if you do, you'll think that most Latin American house constructors couldn't build a decent doghouse.
[01:34] But of course, that's not true at all, because you should see some of the houses down here, they're works of art. But unfortunately, most of the standard housing units, middle class and below, do look a lot like upscale doghouses. But that's not for lack of talent, that's for lack of money. And if you don't have money, like 90% of the Latin population, what you end up doing is going down to the hardware store or building supply, and buying the absolute cheapest building materials, and then of course, the whole project's gonna suffer, and it shows. But expats should know better, right? I mean sure, we all price shop, but we all know the difference between a Kohler faucet and a no-name brand made in China, at least I hope you do, because you're the one along
[02:19] with your architect who should be selecting the fixtures and looking very carefully at the details. Because if you leave decisions like those to your building contractor or your architect without any input from you, well you might be able to get away with that in the first world and come out okay. But if you don't take control right away when you're buying building supplies and fixtures down here, your contractor and architect are so used to lowballing everything and they're on such a tight budget. Well they're bound to assume you want that kind of low budget quality too. So right off the bat, you shouldn't assume anything, and you have to set the standards for them or they'll set them for you, which can be a big mistake for expats. So what I'm saying is if you leave all the buying up to them, you can be sure your fixtures
[03:04] and your final details in your house are gonna just look cheap and substandard. It's just that Latin builders have their own standards and they're not first world. The average building contractor or architect down here has never built anything first world. And though they're absolutely capable of it, they need somebody to show them how. And if you're not there looking over their shoulder quite a bit and pastoring them sometimes, you're gonna get Latin American style construction and believe me, you don't want that. In fact most of the expats I know that buy an existing house, even if they got it dirt cheap, and they usually do, that's why they buy it. Anyway, in a year or two, most expats I know will take a house like that and do some major renovations and bring it up to first world standards, or as close as they can anyway.
[03:51] Now I want to talk a little bit about moisture problems, the one thing that plagues almost everybody who buys or builds a house down here. Now we all know that if a house has moisture problems, it could pretty much screw up all your good work eventually. I mean not only can it screw up your clothes and your walls and your furniture, but you walk into a house that's got moisture problems and it's likely to smell just like you're in a fish tank. Now you might be wondering why I'm harping about this because up in the first world, moisture problems are usually easy to fix. If you're roof's leaking or you got a wet patch from above, there's a hundred guys you can call. Either you look on the yellow pages or go on the internet, right? And when they're finished, you get a nice guarantee out of it. And if you got moisture problems at ground level or in your basement, well that's a little
[04:37] bit tougher and more expensive to fix, but there's a dozen companies out there in every city ready to do the job, right? And the fact is, most people that have bought a house in the first world in the last 20 years at least, well it's pretty rare that there are any kind of serious moisture problems because the building codes are strict and building contractors as they build know they have to be careful and take various steps to prevent water seepage and damage. And so before they pour concrete, they put down vapor barriers and they put special high tech films between block and concrete and earth and they lay special drainage tiles around the whole perimeter and they use special high pressure equipment to spray on layer after layer of impermeable films. The fact is, builders don't take any chances up in the first world.
[05:23] They don't want any callbacks a year or two later for moisture problems. Because if there is one, let's say in a basement corner, chances are they'll have to bring an excavator in and dig around your foundation and waste a lot of time and money or they could have done it right in a few hours when they were first laying the foundation. And don't forget, in the first world, every building contractor offers some kind of guarantee against moisture problems and it's easy to take them to court and win if he doesn't come back and fix it right. And with all the bad publicity that goes with trying to sue a contractor and the fact that there's reporting services like the Better Business Bureau, well that's really bad PR for any contractor. And they know it. And why am I telling you all this? Because in Latin America, every single house I've ever been in has water or moisture damage
[06:09] and it makes no difference if the house is newer old. And it's just so prevalent that nobody seems to even give a damn. But expats sure do. Because we're not used to walking into a house that smells like a fish tank. And when you go to visit somebody or go to a party and you sit down in a living room, even an expensive living room, I'll bet you anything that if you look up at the ceiling, you'll see some kind of water damage or at least some mold or mildew. Because that's pretty much the status quo down here. And what do most people do? They paint right over it. Now that's when you begin to wonder, just what kind of standards that people are willing to accept. Because wouldn't you think, after 500 years of living in a subtropical climate, that Latins would have a really good handle on the moisture problem? Wouldn't you think?
[06:55] Well, you'd be wrong about that. And it's amazing to expats that Latins haven't really figured it out yet, considering that 80% of Latin America has only two seasons, the rainy season and the dry season. And that means for half the year, every Latin person gets a bird's eye view of what a daily torrential downpour can do to a house that's not really waterproofed correctly. And believe me, the rain really takes its toll. And you'd think after all that time and all that moisture and mildew and all that destruction and deterioration, they would have some tricks and quick permanent fixes. But they don't. And most of the time, they only succeed in postponing the leak to the next rainy season. And while these Latin guys chase down their leaks every rainy season, us expats just sit
[07:42] and scratch our heads. We just can't understand why they don't attack those leaks like we do in the first world. Because the thing is, first world contractors figured out a long time ago that it's better to slap on a coat or two of high quality waterproofing on the concrete below the foundation while the house is being constructed than to go after the moisture problem that's likely to ooze through the other side of the wall a few years down the road. Personally, I just don't get it. I've been to at least a hundred construction sites and I've never seen anybody put a vapor barrier down. And for that matter, Latin contractors don't even seem to know the basics about gravity and drainage. In fact, I can't even tell you how many times I've seen roof gutters pitch the wrong way. Like I said, I just don't get it.
[08:29] And I still don't get why they don't use vapor barriers. And a vapor barrier is just a roll of plastic. It's the cheapest, simplest, easiest thing you could do to prevent excess humidity and water seepage. Duh. In fact, most single-family contractors don't even know what a vapor barrier is. Even though around a construction site there are rolls of plastic sheeting, just perfect for use as a vapor barrier. But they don't use it for a vapor barrier, they use it to cover construction materials that might get damaged by water, like sacks of cement and tile grout and steel rebar. But the problem is, the contractors down here are just very resistant to change, and they keep doing things the way they've been done for hundreds of years. That is, unless you insist otherwise. But I have to say, the irony of it is, in some cases, long-term water damage in the
[09:19] long run has actually been good for tourism. I know that sounds strange, but bear with me here. But before I explain that, I'd just like to mention that the waterproofing business, first world style now, now that would be a great business for an expat to get into. And why not? There's water damage everywhere, and Latin contractors sure can't handle it. Though if you check the yellow pages or the internet, there are Latin businesses that offer that service. Companies like that are listed, but from what I've heard from expats who've actually checked into it, the majority of these guys are into the band-aid approach like everything else in Latin America. So it's easy to see, anyone trained first world style can make a killing. Anyway, let me get back to that little irony on how long-term water damage has actually
[10:06] helped tourism. If you've ever been on vacation to Latin America, some of the best and most quaint tourist spots you'll ever see are in old Spanish style villages, where churches, houses, and cathedrals that were made a few hundred years ago have become popular tourist sites just because of their old age and rustic, deteriorated charm. You know what I'm talking about. Where some of the outside plaster work has fallen off years and years ago to reveal some of the structural brickwork, which gives it a kind of noble rustic look. You know what I mean, the Roman Colosseum crumbling building effect. And if you think about it for a minute, all that rustic charm that makes all those old Spanish towns down here in Latin America so desirable for tourists and photo ops, well
[10:53] all that comes courtesy of years and years of persistent water damage. With the odd earthquake thrown in for good measure. And because people like that old crumbling Spanish style look, when somebody finally does a restoration on a building like that, they're always careful to leave a few pieces of key plaster work missing from the facade, so as not to disturb that ancient crumbling look. After all, the tourists don't want to see a brand new looking 300 year old building now do they? So actually, in a twisted sort of way, you might say that a certain amount of water damage was actually good for the Latin economy. But water damage is absolutely no good for an expat who's trying to build or buy a house. And if you're smart, you can avoid all that if you're building a house from scratch. But unfortunately, you're never that lucky if you're buying an existing home, because
[11:42] almost all existing homes have some kind of water problem. And you're just going to have to deal with them or they'll drive you nuts. And for one thing, I'll guarantee you that in due time, your roof is going to leak. It never fails. In fact, I can't tell you how many houses I've been in where they bring out the buckets as soon as the clouds start forming. And if you have any kind of skylights or domes, which I highly recommend really. Because unfortunately, another problem with the way they build houses in Latin America is that a huge percentage of them are dismally dark. I mean they're short on windows and natural light in general. And there's two good reasons for that. The first being, windows and skylights are much more expensive than a solid roof or a plain wall. And since builders and owners are always doing things on the cheap and they're under very
[12:28] tight budget constraints, that's what you usually get a lot of solid walls and a lot of solid roofs. Now the thing to remember is that if you have humidity problems, like every house in Latin America, and you don't have a lot of natural light coming in during a day, you're just never going to get that musty old grandma smell out of your house. But you'd be surprised that by popping in a few skylights, how you can get rid of that problem in a hurry. And believe me, they're very cheap down here because they don't double glaze anything. It's a one piece system. And that means for just a few hundred dollars, you could get a nice four by four foot skylight or even bigger, which would surely cost you triple or even four times that in the United States. But beware of skylight installers, they have very low standards.
[13:14] The thing is, a lot of expats buy existing houses and when they find out they're dark and damp inside, they pop in a few skylights. And that always brightens up the place. And the extra sunlight eliminates a lot of the humidity problems, which is a good thing. But more often than not, they also discover to their dismay that their brand new skylights usually leak. And you might not find that out for some months until the rainy season and you find out you have to drag out the buckets. And it seems like everybody's got that problem. There isn't a single skylight installer, I think, that knows how to put one in correctly. Oh sure, everything might seem just fine for the first six months when you don't see a single drop of water. But I guarantee you, after that time, one of your skylights is bound to start dripping.
[14:01] And if you can never get the guy back to fix it, you're in for a real treat. Because he's not going to take it off, take it back to the shop and rework it. He's going to take out a big tube of silicone caulk, glop it on everywhere, and sure enough, in most cases, he'll lay it on so heavy, it'll look no better than a bad caulk job in a Motel 6 bathtub. You don't want to look up at it because it'll look like hell. But in Latin America, with all the water problems they have, contractors seem to think that the more silicone caulk, the better. And so you see great mounds of it everywhere, on roofs, in bathrooms, in kitchens, in sinks. I guess you could say that silicone caulk is a Latin man's duct tape. And you and I know that after about six months, any kind of silicone caulk repair just looks
[14:49] downright trashy. So the bottom line is, when you're having a skylight installed, keep your eyes on the installer. Don't let him glop on the caulk, because you'll be sorry. And I found that the best way to test your skylight after he's finished, and before you pay him his final payment, is to go up on your roof with a hose and nail it with full water pressure all the way around. That's the only way you're going to tell if that thing's going to leak during the rainy season. And if you don't do that, it's your fault and all bets are off. And I have to warn you here about closets, because closets are the number one place for mold and mildew. And to solve that problem, another trick that expats have discovered, but not too many Latins of course, is to pop a small skylight into the roof of each closet, and to make sure
[15:36] each closet door is a louvered door, so air can flow constantly in and out. Because I can tell you one of the biggest complaints in Latin America from any expat, especially women expats, is that it doesn't take long at all, maybe just six months, for all your clothes to get ruined, and that includes your shoes, especially leather ones, which during the rainy season will almost always get a coating of greenish white mold and mildew on them. And when you talk about mass shoe destruction like that, every rainy season, that's enough to make any woman cry. But it doesn't have to be like that if you follow those simple rules, a skylight and a louvered door in your closet. It's that simple. So do you think Latins would ever do that? Sorry, they don't.
[16:22] Problems like humidity destroying your clothes, it's a little thing that seems to drive expats nuts. But somehow, little annoyances like that don't seem to bother Latins in the least. Like I said, I just don't get it. But that's why they call it the third world. Oh yeah, and while we're at it, I have to mention the second reason why Latin Americans don't put nearly enough windows or skylights in a house, which makes most of them really dark and dismal inside. And that second big reason, it's security. Because as most people know, when somebody wants to rob your house, if he can't get in through a door, he's going to come through a skylight or a window, right? So it's easier just not to put them in. Because in Latin America, when you do have skylights and windows, normally you'll notice there's ugly looking security bars installed right over them, which kind of defeats the
[17:12] purpose of a nice looking window or skylight. But you see, what most people don't know is that if you build or buy inside a gated community where there's a fence or a brick wall encircling the entire perimeter of the subdivision and there's a guard station controlling the movement of cars and people in and out, in that case it's not necessary to have security bars on windows or skylights. Because the reason for living in a gated community and paying that extra maintenance fee is so you can feel secure in that colony and not worry about getting robbed. But if you happen to buy or build a house on an individual lot somewhere, well then it's a good idea to have security bars at least on your first floor windows and on skylights if they're on the first floor. Now you heard what I said and that bears repeating.
[18:01] Security bars are only necessary on first floor windows and skylights on the first floor. And that's because we know that thieves are predictable. And they always choose the easy way. They don't like second story work, they don't like dogs, and they don't like cameras. Now because a lot of expats are creative, I've seen a lot of their houses down here in Latin America that look absolutely spectacular. And they have just a few windows on the first floor and they're quite high up and difficult to get to. But on the second and third floors, well that's where the action is. I mean that's where the main living spaces are and that's where all the windows are. And like I said, if you have windows high up on the second floor, you don't need security bars on them. And it helps that a lot of these smart thinking expats have designed their first floor ceilings
[18:48] to be quite tall, in some cases 10, 12, even 14 feet high. Which means of course the second floor begins at a higher level, making it even more difficult for even the most persistent of thieves to get up to that second floor and try to break in through a window. So what I'm trying to say is that there are a lot of ways to make your house absolutely spectacular and still make it very inhospitable to thieves and yet not make it look like an ugly barred security fortress. But stay tuned because in another show I'll be talking about necessary security measures that you should be using around your house. But back to the business about water damage and water problems. Well it seems you as the property owner, well you're going to have to do a little homework here.
[19:34] That's not to say that contractors aren't good at building houses down here, they are. But after they walk away and you've paid that last payment and then the rainy season comes and you find you've got six or seven leaks in the house. Not to mention the mold that's accumulating in your closets. Well by then it's a little too late to get the contractor back because he's not going to know what to do about it either. I mean the normal solution at that point is for your contractor to take out his trusty silicone caulking gun and buy a few gallons of waterproof paint. And you know how that stuff works, you clean the surface and you apply it and two years later the paint's bubbling and the water's oozing through again. And when that happens the contractor offers the very same solution, another couple of coats of the impermeable paint.
[20:21] And now you're in the vicious circle that every Latin American homeowner finds himself in. I mean how many times can you keep applying coat after coat of impermeable paint that's not really impermeable? Before you finally give up like the rest of all the Latin American homeowners, I'm telling you right now you don't want to be stuck in that situation. So you have to do a little homework yourself. And what works up in the first world works just as good down here. So just pick up one of those thin do-it-yourself volumes, Reader's Digest or Time Life or whatever, or even go on the internet. There's plenty of places where they give you the complete skinny on how to waterproof a new house. And the big surprise is you can get all those high-tech waterproofing materials down here in Latin America. Because a lot of the big first world hardware chains have landed and they stock all those
[21:09] products even if nobody but first world expats are using them. But here's a big word of warning on that. Whatever you do, don't buy any waterproofing products that are made in Mexico or any place in the third world. Because every builder I've talked to down here says they're substandard compared to the first world products. And it's the same thing with paint. Almost all the first world product lines like Sears and Sherwin-Williams are down here. And it's always better to use one of them. Because even though the Latin American brands look good, have guarantees and have plenty of marketing behind them, they don't hold up for long. Like for example one of the biggest ones called comics out of Mexico. Well they offer all the colors and guarantees just like Sherwin-Williams.
[21:54] But believe me, their products aren't half as good. And as for the guarantees, one big painting contractor told me that with comics paints, no one he's ever known in his 25 years of painting has ever got a free gallon of paint out of comics. For any reason. And the comics products themselves never last as long as Sherwin-Williams, never clean up as good, and if you go back at a later date and buy some more, you never get the same color twice. Even though they guarantee it on the label. So why do people continue to buy comics and why is it the biggest paint company in Latin America? Because it's about 25% cheaper than Sherwin-Williams, Sears or Ace Hardware paint. And oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, Ace Hardware is down here in a big way. They have hundreds of stores in Latin America.
[22:41] But most of them don't go under the name Ace Hardware, though you'll see the Ace Hardware logo on many of their products. What these stores are called down in Latin America are CMACO. C-E-M-A-C-O. So if you see one of these samako stores, and you'll find one or more of them in every big city, when you walk in, you'll find it's like walking in any very large Ace Hardware in the first world. And then there's always Walmart, which is called Price Mart in Latin America. And when you walk in one of those, it's like walking in a very large Walmart in the first world. So the point is, down here you can buy all those waterproofing items that you can get in the first world at any one of these first world franchise stores down here. And if you live way out in the boonies, or in the Bolivian Highlands somewhere, you can
[23:29] still order all that stuff on the internet, and it'll get to you safe and sound. But if you buy it down here at a Walmart or your local Ace Hardware or Sears store, yep, and they do have Sears down here too. Anyway, you'll be surprised to find that the prices are almost exactly the same as in the United States. And to tell you the truth, I really don't know how they do that. But if you want to check out how to ship things, either by container, through eBay or Amazon or direct from the supplier, check last week's show, where I talked quite a bit about how to ship things down here from the first world. So let me repeat, don't buy any waterproofing material or paint that's been made down in Latin America, because it just doesn't hold up like the first world stuff. And though there may be some brands that do, I haven't found any yet, and I don't know
[24:18] any building contractors that'll vouch for any brand name down here. And because up in the first world, the consumer protection agencies are very strong, and they have consumer groups and magazines like Consumer Reports. Most of the manufacturers have to stand by their products or go out of business. But down in Latin America, consumer protection is nothing but a big joke. Everybody makes big claims and guarantees, but it seems like no company that makes a consumer product really stands by it in a big way. Down here, it's all about making the sale, getting the money, and getting the hell out. And moving on to the next customer. That is except if you buy from a first world franchise that's down here, like Sears or Walmart or Office Depot. And in that case, they offer the very same guarantees that you get in the first world
[25:05] and the very same return and exchange policies. Well, wait a minute, let me take that back. Some of us expats have noticed a very strange thing. Down here, when you buy a new appliance or an electronic item, even when you buy it from a first world franchise store down here. For example, a Cuisinart food processor or a flat screen TV. If you look at the manual and the warranty card clipped inside of it, you'll see that they both have a three year warranty. But when you buy it at Sears or Walmart or wherever, at the checkout counter, they'll tell you it's only got a one or two year guarantee. In other words, in Latin America, your guarantee is usually half or less of what it is in the first world. Even when a longer guarantee is printed right in the instruction manual.
[25:53] But when you say to them, look, it says right here three years, their comeback is, yes, if you bought this up in the United States, then you get three years. But down here, it's only two. Now let me tell you, this has happened to every single expat I know and on a wide variety of products, including brand new cars. And in that case, a car might have a three year 100,000 mile guarantee. Whereas down in Latin America, the very same car has a two year 50,000 kilometer guarantee. Now I've talked to a lot of expats about this phenomena and we've come to our own unscientific conclusion as to why that is. Well, you see, like I mentioned in previous shows, the Latins as a culture are not into repair and maintenance. And like I said before, the word oil change doesn't appear to be in their vocabulary.
[26:44] The thing is, the way most Latins deal with life, they only go to the dentist when they can't take the pain anymore. They only go to the doctor when they're half dead. And you could forget about any routine maintenance on anything that might be in a service manual. And well, that's because they never crack open a service manual. Not that first world people do much cracking of the manual either, but at least people up north take care of their cars. Anyway, the consensus among us expats is that in a society like this, where they put absolutely no value on maintenance or prevention, well, if local businesses started honoring first world guarantees and warranties on products, well, in the end, the company just won't make any money. Because the service department warranty expenses would absolutely suck them dry. Anyway, that's how we expats figure it.
[27:37] You've been listening to The Expat Files, living in Latin America. And don't forget, you can email me about any question you have about Latin America. That's theexpatfiles at gmail.com. See you next time. Nos vemos.