#412 – The Expat Files: Health Insurance, Car Buying, and Cultural Challenges in Latin America

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 I wonder Hello there all you expat wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started Okay, let's start off today's expat files living in Latin America with an email from Dale now Dale came down to one of my expat wisdom seminars some time ago with his better half Also an avid Richard Martin listener and for those of you who don't know Richard Martin

[00:47] Just go to prn.fm and look up the wake-up call. It's I think the best Socioeconomic broadcast on the air and by the way He also recommends on every show that you get the hell out of the United States Giving very sound economic reasons for his viewpoints, which he explains in great detail on every show. Anyway, Dale's email starts Oh boy, Johnny I just wanted to share with you the fact that I just got my new quote for health insurance through the Obama bummer plan It went from get this 460 bucks a month previously to now $1,336 a month about a 300% increase like that. So here's what I'm thinking what the

[01:36] Get me out of here, please Yes, Johnny. This is the year. My wife is fully on board with this, too now what I'm gonna miss about the states is my $500 a month car insurance payment my $1,200 a year car registration my $5,000 a month property taxes, etc. Etc. Etc. But you know what? I think I'll get over it and he signs off by saying Johnny. Thanks for opening our eyes. We owe you But beware we'll be coming down to sign up for another seminar real soon just to check in signed Dale Okay now for all you expat wannabes and gonna bees up there note that Dale and his wife are a pretty good

[02:22] Cross-section of the kind of people that come to my expat wisdom seminars people who are still sticking it out up in the first world But don't like it one bit until finally the straw comes that breaks the camel's back and they make their move and You know, unfortunately, it seems like every single time I get an email from someone They're telling me how bad things are getting up north and that they're getting worse and worse Is there any good news left up there? Doesn't seem like it that said let's address that Obama care business that Dale talks about now We all know a few years back when Obama hit the fan by saying there would be affordable health care for everyone Seems like only idiots and morons and blind Obama files were buying into that crap Wait a minute. I said idiots morons and Obama files. Sorry about the redundancy there

[03:11] Anyway for all you guys and gals up there who believe what your scumbag politicians tell you Then you deserve to spend the rest of your life under their protective umbrella. So tell me how's that working for you? That said there is one great thing I can tell you about that Obama care legislation It has been written into that so-called unaffordable health care law that if you live outside the United States You do not have to buy into the Obamacare plan and you do not have to pay that penalty if you don't Good news, right? Let me mention for the record now if and when you come down to my expat wisdom seminar I'll show you how to get on a group hospital and clinic plan that you instantly qualify for as Soon as you open a bank account and there is no blood tests and there's no physicals the doctors speak English

[04:02] It's a first world plan with first world facilities for the price of about $50 a month and that's not a single that's a family plan now being that this is your basic HMO style plan if you need a specialist you just dial a number make an appointment Let's say it's for a pulmonary specialist or nephrologist Well, you get your appointment often within a few days Sometimes even the very next day and you pay the grand total of about nine bucks. You heard that right nine bucks I'm sure up where you live the parking fees would be more than that Now, of course, there are lots and lots of other plans and that's just a basic plan But the amazing thing is that you get on it right away. There's no physical or blood test and it's good till age 99

[04:48] Oh, and of course the other unbelievable thing is that it's 50 bucks a month And if you need to go to the hospital for any reason at all There's a flat fee based on the amount of days you spend in the hospital For example, if you have to spend three days in the hospital You pay a grand total of about 50 bucks if you're stuck in the hospital seven days you pay about 90 bucks now if you're stuck in the hospital for more than eight days the grand total about 200 bucks no matter how many days you end up staying So that's just a little taste of how cheap and fantastic the hospitalization plans are down here in Latin America when you've got an experienced long-term expat like me to show you where to find them and To make suggestions as to the plans you should be getting on in fact at our expat wisdom seminar

[05:37] That's coming up now in January 2015 We'll be going to one of those very hospitals to show you exactly what it's like if you have to stay there And we'll be talking to some of the doctors and surgeons personally Yes, they do speak English why because a good third of them took their advanced studies up in the United States Not bad, huh? so just keep that in mind if you have any concerns at all about your health and medical welfare if you move down here to Latin America and if you want to get in on the act and come on and see these places for yourself and You want to come along on a hand-holding guided tour with me sign up for my expat wisdom seminar by going to WWW expat wisdom comm click on the seminar link and check it out You'll be doing yourself a big favor

[06:23] You won't regret it and now let's switch gears and we'll discuss an email from another Seminar friend someone who came to the expat wisdom seminar a while back and who's actually moved here down to Latin America This email just came today and is from one of our recently retired expats named Oscar and I'll paraphrase it here a bit He says hey Johnny Just getting ready to celebrate five whole months down here in a couple of weeks And I just love living in my new off the gringo tourist trail Latin American City And there's more good news. I finally sold my house up north pending the closing this Friday after being screwed on two lowball Appraisals, I'll be saving enough money by not having that dog to afford a car Can't decide between a Ferrari or a Porsche. What do you think? Just kidding?

[07:12] Anyway, the question is I've seen a number of pretty decent cars for around five thousand bucks down here on the local Internet buy-in sell Craig's list style sites, then he names the website and continues I'm looking for a four-wheel drive car or small SUV. What do you think? How would you go about it? Well, here's what I think about buying a car on the internet, especially down here in Latin America And by the way down here, you'll find these Craig's list style clone sites all over the place in Spanish, of course But it's always been my opinion that when a Latin person is savvy enough to be able to get on the internet Hook up with a website and sell things on the net He's someone who's likely to be too much an upscale gringo wannabe to be the kind of guy

[08:01] You're gonna get a great deal from in other words He's not gonna be a desperate seller if you're looking for desperate sellers, which I always am by the way And since it costs almost nothing to do internet ads, you know selling your car and such These guys who place those ads are unlikely to drop their prices and just keep riding it out and riding it out Whereas someone who puts an ad for his car, for example in a classifieds in the newspaper He just keeps losing money as that ad runs if the item is overpriced or it's out of the ballpark Anyway, that said there are a couple of ways to play it. So you do get the best price For one keep your eye on the classifieds for repeat ads that keep showing up day after day After not getting some bites for a while and dishing out the fee for the ad

[08:49] They'll be glad to hear your offer, whatever it is Believe me and also I'd say the great majority of people who advertise selling cars on the internet are actual dealers or small-time Car detailers who know just how to cover up a variety of defects So how do you know if the sellers actually a dealer like that? Well ask him on the phone if he's got any other cars for sale and if he says yes Well, he's a dealer and note if you're looking for a used car beware when you lift up the hood when it looks way Too shiny and beautiful because used cars will never really look that way under the hood unless they've been detailed out to look better Than they really are and also note when you get in a used car take a deep breath If it smells musty or has a synthetic silicone kind of smell That usually means that the detailers have been at work and there's some defects and problems that have been smoothed over

[09:41] like baby vomit for example or dog doo-doo or Even just to cover up the smell of a nest of fine young rats Remember I mentioned that in a previous show how that happened to expat Eddie Bottom line don't buy a car that smells like it's saturated with silicone spray on the inside or you're gonna be driving around breathing That stank forever. Now if you're not in a hurry to buy a car or even furniture My favorite way to shop is to check out those bulletin boards at the local supermarkets That's where you can really find some desperate sellers because you can tell a lot of these guys have given up on the classified news Ads they don't even have the money to drop 12 bucks a week Oh and another thing down here in Latin America People are big on putting an ad in the paper or on one of those bulletin boards that'll say right up front that they'll

[10:31] Take another car in trade along with a little cash and you know to me That's a red flag. What that means is, you know, this car that I'm selling is a piece of crap Otherwise, why would they take a trade in that's worth less than their own car? What's that really saying that says that their car which is supposed to be better than the one they'll trade you up for Is something they're willing to get rid of what's wrong with that picture? Oh and another thing doesn't it just drive you mad when somebody puts an ad in the classified papers Around a bulletin board and they don't put a price. Well, let me tell you Latins are notorious for pulling that and you know What's gonna happen? Don't you if you call that person and they hear that you're a gringo the price automatically goes up now Doesn't it at least when you're on or near the gringo tourist trail for sure?

[11:16] That's why for example if you're looking at a bulletin board which are nice because there's often big pictures of what they're selling and for example if there's let's say a dining room set for sale and Unfortunately as in many cases, there's no price listed Well a way to get around that gringo price business is to have a local Latin person call and do the inquiry for you Now do note when you're living way off the gringo tourist trail as I like to do That gringo price thing does not come much into play Except and remember this with real estate Especially when your apartment shopping the fact is the owner of the place often starts out highball and gringos and people who they think have money But believe me if you play it, right that doesn't last long Because you see if you're like some of the gringos

[12:03] I know you can pull out a big wad of cash something that the average Latin could never do and Have the owner of the place in the palm of your hand in no time when an owner sees you can Instantly cover six months or even a year's worth of rent That's when the real magic happens and believe me once I saw expat Eddie do this great trick right in front of someone Who is trying to rent him an apartment? There were in fact two other Latin ladies that arrived at the same time trying to rent the same apartment and with expat Eddie around They didn't have a chance we were standing in the living room and he took out a big wad of green and he counted out a Years worth of rent right in front of the owner and of course in front of the other two ladies who'd figured they lost The battle and they kind of snuck away

[12:48] Only then did Eddie hit him with a nice lowball offer and the owner said no But came down a bit but Eddie held firm all the while leaving his money stacked in nice little hundred dollar piles on the dining room Table well do I have to tell you that that apartment owner practically wouldn't let Eddie more precisely Eddie's money out the door And yes, Eddie got everything he wanted the guy wanted eight hundred bucks a month and Eddie kicked him down to 550 because he paid a year in advance now Of course, you're not gonna have that kind of advantage when you're buying a car because you're not renting it or paying monthly payments But do note by telling the seller you're willing to pay in cash. No check You'll certainly get his undivided attention down here in Latin America when you do buy a car

[13:34] If you have to go down to the bank and get a hero, that's G. I ro that's what their call down here or cashiers Check or bank draft you're guaranteed to be spending two or three or even four hours of your day screwing around with that Plus going to the lawyer's office etc to sign all the paperwork and check for a clean title Oh, and by the way in the last maybe two or three years throughout Latin America Now your lawyer can go on the internet and check the plate number and the VIN number on the engine block Etc to see if the car has been tampered with or stolen or much more likely the owner racked up some moving Violations or some parking tickets that he hasn't paid because you know I remember just a few years ago down here in Latin America You weren't able to check the plate on the computer So you were kind of taken a chance if you have bought the car all legal and everything in the lawyers office and did all

[14:25] The paperwork transfers and the title transfers and all that and took possession of it right then and there only to find Maybe some months later a costly surprise when you went down to renew the license plate what they called down here your Circulation, which is your yearly registration fee? So when you buy a car down here, you get a little laminated card called a circulation in Spanish circulation, but they're spelled almost exactly the same and You don't want to find that perhaps the previous owner has a hundred or a hundred fifty bucks worth of parking tickets that he never paid Now note in the past before you could check that instantly on a computer You'd have to go to your lawyer's office Give him the plate number the VIN number and he'd send out that information with his office gopher on his little motorcycle

[15:14] He'd go down to the municipal building etc stand in line for a couple hours where some government flunky would flip through some files And check it out manually so up to a few years ago It really wasn't smart to buy a car in Latin America and drive off with it the very same day You were much better off letting the lawyers gopher do his work before you made the final deal Oh, and by the way about people who take out classified ads and don't put a price in there I personally don't waste my time with idiots like that and I hope you don't either However, there are some instances where you're just so curious You have to call and find out what they want for it Like for example if you're into antiques or old cars or old vinyl or anything that's collectible up in the first world And maybe not so collectible down here because of lag time and all that

[16:00] Anyway when you see interesting things in the paper and on bulletin boards sometimes You're just so curious you got a call now that happens to me when I see someone selling a guitar in the paper That I know from my own first world experience is a classic and needs to be checked out But you're only gonna find that collectible stuff at yard sales and bulletin boards and in the paper Because you see down here in Latin America where only about 15% of the people are on the internet in their homes if there are any interesting collectibles on the net those people are well Clued in what they're worth, so I wouldn't be looking on the net for great deals on collectibles That's for sure now note I mentioned before that Latins are not very savvy internet users in fact I've yet to meet one that can do a terrific Lee thorough search

[16:48] But these days if you think you have a collectible for example a 1960s Batman lunchbox There's really no creative brainpower needed you can find out approximately What it's worth with about two clicks of a mouse that said people who do have a 24-7 internet service about? 15% of the homes in Latin America if they've got what they think is a collectible at home They just might know what it's worth maybe as for everyone else There's pretty much no such thing as comparative shopping you see it all the time They just pay the going rate for appliances at the store And don't bother to look it up in consumer reports or any of the consumer magazines And since they don't have the internet at home. They never look it up online

[17:33] That's just not the Latin culture And that's why oftentimes when you look in the paper, and you see an old antique Whatever it is that person has no idea what it's really worth And even if they had a real gym on their hands it had some kind of faint idea that it's worth a lot of When you're off the gringo tourist trail down here there are no first-world takers to pay that kind of price for example a few years back I was looking through the classified papers, and I found a classic old fender Stratocaster guitar a 1972 strat I think it was and of course you do see things like that in the paper here and there and most times These folks are desperate sellers anyway I called the guy up and I asked him first what the serial number was on this guitar And I looked it up on the internet, and I found out it was worth about

[18:21] $1,400 at that time on the first world market now one thing you got to know is when a Latin guy tells you the condition of his car or his guitar or his house or whatever he's selling if It's on a 1 to 10 scale you've always got to subtract two points immediately unless it's brand new Their idea of something in good condition will never match yours So when this guy said the guitar was about an 8 out of 10 to me that been a 6 So then I called him back about 10 minutes later after I found out it was worth about 1,400 I asked him what he wanted for it, and he said make me an offer now to me That's no way to start the haggling process I hate when there's no base starting price don't you and I said I'd have to see it But I'm not gonna drive four hours to look at it if he didn't give me a reasonable starting price

[19:09] So he said 500 and right away I jumped in my car, and I headed over there the guitar really wasn't eight It was in very good condition at least when you looked at it while it was sitting in the case But when you took it out you saw somehow There was a giant chunk of wood missing from the backside about as big as a scoop of ice cream Fatal flaw if I ever saw one sure it was fit for Pete Thompson to destroy on stage But not much else though You know it was a good try and since down here everything's an adventure At least that whole episode ended up being a story on the expat files right now Here's a recent story something that happened to me that I think you'll find interesting the other day I was in this big mall a big commercial center pretty upscale and while I was there

[19:57] I walked into the Apple store You know they do have Apple stores down here, and they're legit and license branches and all that now personally I know very very few people down here in Latin America that actually have an Apple computer Though many upscale Latins and expats have iPhones so anyway with nothing else to do I just popped into that Apple store and had a look at their products and the outrageous prices that they charge for Apple stuff Compared to the PC stuff etc and note that down here They're actually a bit more pricier than in the states, but not by much anyway I understand that Apple products are very big with the graphic arts crowd and such in any country even down here And I'm not saying anything against them. I suppose if I had tons and tons of money I'd have all Apple stuff too, but I am a dyed in the wool PC guy not because I like windows

[20:47] I don't like it much at all But you can buy a very nice low-end PC machine down here with a 500 gig drive or more with a lot of bells And whistles you know your basic HP Toshiba or whatever for around 400 bucks or less, but anyway I'm always curious about electronic stuff and what Apple's putting out So I was walking through the place and after I'd had my fill I walked out and noticed there was a guy sitting on the bench Ways down from the store who had been there when I first walked in a Latin guy of course who seemed to be making a bit More eye contact with me than I was comfortable with again He was a Latin because when you're off the gringo tourist trail everyone's Latin, but you so anyway as I walked past this guy And he was dressed pretty nice no suit or anything But he walked up to me and said in rather good English not perfect

[21:34] But rather good for anyone off the gringo tourist trail, and he said do you use Apple products to which I said no But I have some friends who have them and like them, but I'm a PC guy myself now I didn't say the following to him But if you want to know why mostly because everyone sells them you can get them fixed anywhere even at these tiny little hole-in-the-wall Shops, and I don't want to depend on going to one or two Apple service centers where every little replacement part Or repair is at least twice the price of the similar thing in a PC But I did say to that guy man your English is really excellent how'd that happen? Then he handed me a business card that was in English from Miami based Apple store And it said on it, and I still have it Jorge Castillo Apple products technical service. He said take it

[22:22] I'm a registered Apple technician And if you need any Apple service or any of your friends need any Apple service Just call me and I'll take care of all their technical needs and I make house calls Then I said what are you doing down here if your home office is in Miami? He laid the usual story on me saying that his family lived down here And well he missed him, and he hadn't been back for get this 20 years, and he said he worked for that satellite Apple dealership in Miami for five years and believe me this guy Really wanted to bond with me. I guess he felt like a fish out of water having been Deported from the United States and now being almost a gringo after 20 years up there He just didn't fit in with his people anymore So then why was he hanging around the vicinity of a local Apple store in an upscale mall worse yet when he told me he

[23:13] Was living with his family, and he mentioned the area he lived in a district I'd never recommend for gringos or expats. I realized exactly what position this guy was in here He was 20 years in the States illegal, but obviously pretty bright Working as a tech in an Apple store Which seems to verify the fact that the Apple stores up in the States don't care if they hire illegals I guess maybe they prefer them who knows after talking to this guy and believe me he really bonded with me He wanted to follow me around everywhere after we had our little talk by the way the Apple store Located in this giant mall wanted to hire him He said the fact he said he surely could get a job at any Apple store throughout the country But he turned down their offer when he found out what he was gonna get paid normal Latin computer tech wages

[24:02] 350 bucks a month plus commissions instead he figured and he figured rightly he could find Apple customers by hanging around the Apple stores offering clients he could snag to be their Apple go-to guy and repair guy and Like he said make maybe eight hundred or a thousand bucks a month and still charge half of what the Apple stores charged people Not to mention be his own boss And this guy who'd only been deported about a month earlier was already in the process of building his clientele Thus the reason why he was hanging around outside the Apple store now I have to believe me when I say this guy had a kind of a sad look to him like he'd lost Everything it was obvious. He did not want to be there in his own country But he wanted to link with any gringo possible because he really felt after 20 years

[24:50] He was one of us and I figured the guy was maybe 27 or 28 years old truly He really was a fish out of water now note when you're down here, especially off the gringo tourist trail You just might run into guys like that Since there's a lot of deportation going on and what I mean to say is you're gonna meet a lot of guys who are Motivated guys with first world standards with good skills like this guy However, as was typically the case with this guy He wants to go back to the states in a big way So if you were thinking like so many new expats do when they're into starting up a new business that he would be the Perfect guy to hire for your own business. Well sure for a while, but you're gonna lose him He's never gonna be happy until he sneaks back up into the states

[25:38] And by the way, when I asked him if he worked on PCs, too He said I work on everything and when I asked him about software He said I can get it all I can install it all I can repair I can debug anything you need Then I asked the sixty four thousand dollar question What about pirated software and his eyes lit up for the first time and he said what do you need? Of course, I was just testing him, you know down here in Latin America The problem with buying a new computer is that when you buy a PC, especially it's installed with Microsoft Windows All right or Linux with that you only get a two-month trial of Microsoft Office Which I believe down here the authorized version runs like 150 bucks. So for the average Latin That's a hell of a lot of money and can be half the cost of a new computer

[26:26] So naturally practically everyone down here is using a pirated version of Microsoft Office In fact, you look at any classified ad section of any big Latin newspaper And you'll see someone selling programs and when you call them and ask them if they have Microsoft Office They'll say yeah, we have version 2013 or 2012 or 2010, but never the current version Well, it doesn't really matter and they'll sell it to you on a disc for get this six bucks And you might ask does it work? Does it have all the features sure does everyone uses it and no one complains Anyway, I've spoken to a lot of long-term expats about this and we're all wondering what happens in the United States If you happen to install a big full featured program like that Which automatically checks on the internet for updates and fixes etc in the States

[27:14] What happens if you have to take that computer back to the repair shop loaded with a pirated version? I don't know. It's not an issue down here in Latin America, but up there in the States you tell me Oh and one more thing that Apple guys said never in a million years Did he dream he'd be riding a chicken bus instead of his Honda? You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border Email me the expat files at gmail.com And don't forget to check out expat wisdom.com to sign up for your free reports on Latin America See you next time. Nos vemos He knows