Episode Summary
In this episode, Johnny Mueller provides an in-depth look at the challenges and costs associated with buying, selling, and shipping cars to Latin America. He outlines the high costs of shipping cars from the U.S., the additional taxes and duties upon arrival, and the limited benefits of importing a car unless one qualifies for a special residency status known as 'pension auto.' He also touches on the possibility of reducing import taxes through creative methods, such as altering vehicle values or damaging the car's exterior to lower its assessed value. The episode serves as a guide for expats considering whether to bring their cars to Latin America.
Johnny also discusses the experiences of a 'green gringo' who attempted to import a car into Latin America by using a photoshopped bill of sale to reduce the import taxes. He explains that while the plan initially seemed risky, it ultimately worked because the customs officials accepted the bill of sale, allowing the individual to save money. He highlights the importance of understanding the legal and financial implications of importing a car, especially for expats and pensionados, and advises against buying from used car dealers due to their tendency to hide defects and manipulate odometer readings. Instead, he recommends buying from individual sellers or those with a repair history.
In another segment, Johnny discusses the challenges of buying a used car in Latin America, emphasizing the importance of checking for repair histories and potential issues like 'idiot lights' that indicate car problems. He highlights the common practice of individuals selling cars without full disclosure, the importance of inspecting cars in person, and the need for buyers to be cautious about cars with persistent warning lights. He also mentions the prevalence of disabled airbags and the possibility of owners tampering with diagnostic systems to hide issues. Johnny recommends using diagnostic tools and checking for specific warning lights to ensure the car's safety and reliability.
Johnny provides practical advice for expats looking to buy or sell used cars in Mexico and Central America. He emphasizes the buyer's market advantage, suggesting that buyers can use a car's mechanical issues as a bargaining tool. For selling, he recommends using Spanish phrases like 'Vendi' (for sale) and 'Hensia' (agency) on the car's windows, along with details like 'F' (full) and 'MEC' (mechanical). He also advises posting ads in local cafes, supermarkets, and online platforms like OLX.com, while highlighting the importance of legal protection by involving a lawyer during transactions. Johnny stresses the need for thorough due diligence, especially when buying from individuals, to ensure the car's title and paperwork are legitimate.
In the final segment, Johnny discusses the complexities of vehicle registration and ticketing in Latin America, emphasizing that citations are typically issued against the vehicle rather than the individual. He shares stories of expats who faced issues with previous owners' violations, even if the fines are minimal. He also highlights the importance of legal checks when purchasing a vehicle. Transitioning to financial advice, Johnny explains the challenges of obtaining credit cards in Latin America, noting high interest rates and the risks of credit card fraud. He advocates for using cash or debit cards instead, citing his personal strategy to avoid financial pitfalls. He also references a recent news story from Guatemala about the failure of a credit card interest rate cap law, illustrating the broader issue of financial exploitation in the region.
Topics
Buying and selling cars in Latin America, Shipping cars from the U.S. to Latin America, Import taxes and duties, Pension auto residency and its benefits, Creative methods to reduce import taxes, Car importation in Latin America, Photoshopped bills of sale and import taxes, Pensionado status and its benefits, Buying used cars in Latin America, Used car dealer dishonesty, Buying a used car in Latin America, Checking for repair history and car issues
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:01:18 Buying and Selling Cars in Latin America 00:02:00 Why Shipping a Car to South America is Not Worth It 00:02:32 Pension Auto Residency and Its Benefits 00:03:51 When It's Worth It to Bring Your Car Down 00:06:03 The Green Gringo's Car Import Plan 00:07:08 The Successful Import and Savings 00:08:17 Pensionado Status and Its Benefits 00:09:30 Buying from Individual Sellers 00:12:01 Importance of Repair History in Used Car Purchases 00:12:15 Recommendation to Buy from Individuals Instead of Dealers 00:13:16 Advantages of Buying from Individual Owners 00:13:45 Importance of Having a Car Checked by a Mechanic 00:14:14 Significance of Airbag Warning Lights 00:16:22 How to Identify Tampered Idiot Lights 00:17:23 DIY Diagnostic Tools for Car Safety 00:17:51 Using Car Issues as a Bargaining Tool 00:18:16 Tips for Selling a Used Car 00:22:53 Importance of Legal Protection in Car Transactions 00:23:24 Vehicle Registration and Ticketing in Latin America 00:24:04 Financial Advice for Expats: Credit Cards and Debit Cards 00:26:13 Credit Card Interest Rates and Legal Issues in Latin America
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 out to play and now as I wonder Hello there all you ex-pat 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 You know on a previous expat files show probably the last show can't remember. This is show 830 man count that I Anyway on that show we were talking about the state of cars and driving and taxis and buying and selling cars, too
[00:48] In fact, that's a big topic of discussion amongst expats Hmm you have to get around and forget the chicken bus and if you take ubers and taxis all the time and that adds up Ah, but then there's the old faithful tuk-tuk. Oh, man, they're cheap All right, but they're like riding a tricycle with a lawnmower engine on it and like most everything else in Latin America It's fun and an adventure the first time but sometimes once is enough more than enough So what to do what to do? So let's begin with the topic buying and selling cars here in Latin America and whether you should drive one down from the states Is it worth it or not? And of course most people don't drive a vehicle down for most people It's too scary a proposition, especially if you don't speak Spanish
[01:33] Besides that you can only drive a vehicle down to Central America or Mexico anyway Cuz you can't get past Panama not unless you fly or take a boat You did know that still there's no highway that goes from Panama to Colombia. It just is impassable It's all swampland and impossible for now So when people say they're driving down to Latin America, they're talking about Mexico or Central America. That's it By the way, I can tell you right now It's completely nuts to ship a car to South America from wherever you are up in the states Cleveland, Milwaukee Montreal, whatever why because it's a long long way and they ship by volume and poundage. You're gonna pay at least 2,000 bucks to have your car shipped and then once it gets to the Latin country
[02:19] You'll have to pay some kind of duties fees and taxes Generally that turns out to be around a third of the blue book value of your car And the only times you can really get away with paying a tiny little import fee and taxes Is if you've got a certain kind of permanent residency called pension auto residency many Latin countries offer that kind of residency basically for people over 55 who are getting some kind of permanent pension like a work pension or Social Security So as a pension auto, you have to prove a recurrent monthly income from anywhere from a thousand bucks a month to 2,500 depending on the Latin country you settle in so if and when you qualify as a pension auto as a general rule You're allowed to bring a car into that country once every five years and a container full of household furniture and goods
[03:09] Without paying any import tax or duties That means you can ship your car down from Seattle or Cleveland and only pay the shipping charges Hmm. What about those shipping charges? Well, you can ship to Central America and Mexico for under a thousand bucks I've heard people say they've got a car shipped down from Milwaukee Cleveland Weber for as low as 600 bucks But then again, if you're not a pension auto resident in the country, you're shipping your car to you'll have to pay around 30% of blue book That's in addition to what the shipping company will charge So I say considering all that unless you are a pension auto Skip driving or shipping your car down. That is unless you Absolutely. Love your car. It's a one-of-a-kind or maybe it's got some kind of sentimental value
[03:57] Your grandpa gave it to you and his will whatever or perhaps you own Herman Munster's coffin car or one of the original Three or four batmobiles then by all means bring them down and take me for a spin while you're at it In any event if you're gonna ship or drive a car down as a rule most Latin countries will give you one to three months Leeway to drive your car around before you have to pay that final tax that 30% I was talking about Oh and by the way during that one to three month period if you sell the car The new owner will have to pay the tax and he'll know that so you'll have to discount the price accordingly now there are some ways to fudge on the taxes by coming up with your own receipt and Lowball in the figure if you guys are good at photo shopping or have someone in your family up in Cleveland or Tucson that can alter
[04:43] Or materialize beautifully detailed sales receipts. Hey, there's one in every family, you know But you can't push the price down too low because as you're coming through the border with your car the local large-ass bureaucrats from the Atuana We'll have a look at it. Remember they have access to the blue book values to everyone's on the Internet these days even large-ass bureaucrats But that doesn't mean you can't fudge it a little bit and save yourself a few grand on import taxes Only you don't want to take a car that's valued at 10 grand in the blue book and show them a receipt for 1,500 that won't fly neither will that old story that your mom dad or grandma gave you the car as a graduation Present or sold it to you for a buck even though it might be true. Oh, you can tell them that story
[05:29] All right, they heard it a million times, but you can be sure they're gonna tax you against the full blue book value However, there are other tricks you can play if you're driving or shipping a vehicle down For example, I know of a new gringo expat who just drove his car down. He had a hack of his own He made sure his 2014 Ford Escape, which is by the way a pretty good vehicle to have down here It's got heavy suspension. I think some of me gonna have four-wheel drive Anyway, he had a friend of his a mechanic pound the hell out of one of his back doors and back fenders Lots of deep dents and scratches. Oh, it looked bad All right, but not damaging anything but the metal and the fender itself meaning no broken rear view mirrors windows or tail lights Turns out our green gringo guy knew fully that's exactly what Latin body men are very good at
[06:17] Fixing metal and they'll do the repairs extremely cheap So he drove through Mexico on down through Guatemala Honduras Salvador Nicaragua Costa Rica onto his final destination Panama armed with a photoshopped bill of sale that was heavily discounted from blue book Of course, he was nervous when he handed the adwana guys his paperwork, but he spoke no Spanish So under any circumstances when you don't speak the language, you're always a little nervous That's natural But he also knew and his lawyer advised him ahead of time if worse came to worse and the government slugs did not accept His photoshop documents. They just revert to blue book value and you'd have to pay 30% of that in other words nice try He had nothing to lose. It didn't work. So big deal and you know when it came time to settle up
[07:08] The adwana slugs took a look at his car saw the huge dents in his door and fender and accepted his bill of sale No questions asked. Oh and by the way, the blue book on the car was around 15 grand and his doctored sales receipt said 7500 exactly half a blue book. So figure it out He's got a $15,000 car that needs maybe four or five hundred bucks worth of bodywork and he saved 30% of 7500 more or less 2,500 bucks and the worst that could have happened. They could have charged him 30% on blue book Oh and that 30% isn't a straight tax It's a combination of a couple of taxes generally an import tax of 15 to 20% Plus what they call the Eva tax IVA, which is what they call vat tax in Europe known as a national sales tax
[07:56] So again, don't think I'm advising you to do anything illegal All I'm doing is telling you the good bad ugly and great things smart astute and sometimes stupid and clueless Gringos do once they get that plan B going and move down here to Latin America It's good to know what Gringos and expats are doing and what works and what doesn't oh and once again You won't have to worry about any of that if you're a permanent resident pensionado status Then every five years you can ship down or even buy a car in your chosen Latin country and not pay any of the import Duties or taxes. So if you're up there in age receiving a decent pension or Social Security Pensionado status might just be for you check with your Latin lawyer. He'll guide you through it But since these days anyway
[08:42] Very few people drive their vehicles all the way down through Mexico to Central America or even have their vehicle shipped down That means most people will just buy one when they get here So let's talk about that a bit and your choice is number one buy from a used car dealer I'm assuming most people will buy used because it's not really recommended to buy a new car here in Latin America Not your first time around anyway, so you can go to the used car dealer or buy from the individual owner So what about used car dealers here in Latin America? Well, they're just as honest and trustworthy as used car dealers up in the States I believe the most recent polls will tell you the only profession John Q public trusts even less than used car salesman is you guessed it?
[09:28] Politicians, which is why in almost all cases It's better to buy from an individual on olex.com and the newspaper bulletin boards or word of mouth And it's a buyer's market since so many US cars have been driven or shipped on In fact looking around a bit you could say there are way too many cars for sale in Latin America Which is good for you and that's forced used car prices in Mexico and Central America Anyway to be pretty much the same as they are up in the States Though always remember that the prices of cars in South America are much higher than they are in Central America and Mexico In fact in some South American countries like Brazil, you could be paying double and remember everything's negotiable In fact, it's infinitely more negotiable here in Latin America There is a poor you come from now the problem
[10:15] I see with going to a regular car dealer here used car dealer That is is that they're really good at covering up the defects You know, they detail them up really nice and if for example, it's an oil burner or the lifters are making noise They'll put an additive in the gas tank or with the oil in the crankcase to make it stop for a while till someone buys it Drives it off the lot and finds that out a couple weeks later Typical used car lot tricks other tricks they use the brakes could be almost gone But they won't tell you about it as long as they're still working You know when brakes are at their bitter end just about to fail They'll still work and those used car dealers They know how to roll back the mileage and kilometers on the odometer In fact long ago when I was a clueless gringo myself, they pulled that trick on me
[11:04] So you can't really a hundred percent believe what the mileage is on a used car not for cars on the lot of a used car Dealer anyway, I'm talking about the mileage or kilometer number You see on the odometer on the dashboard That is unless you have access to the mechanics and oil change reports as far back as you can get them Which is why a lot of used cars had dealerships won't have a repair history book in the glove compartment Like most cars do it'll just be conveniently missing because that's a record of the mileage, too Because every time you take it to a mechanic they write that down don't they so just know that if you're buying a used car That's been driven down from the United States or shipped down from the States and not originally purchased new in that country at a local dealership, you'll almost never be able to find out the mechanical repair history on that car
[11:52] That's why if you can you should always look to buy a car that was purchased at la Hensia that means the local new car agency Honda Toyota Nissan Whatever because then there'll be a repair history on that car at least for the first few years Anyway, and believe me an incomplete repair history is better than none at all All right, suppose you're looking to buy a used car as mentioned It's not recommended to go to a used car dealer you want to buy it from an individual So you go on olx.com it's all in Spanish So you have to have someone help you out there though, even if your Spanish sucks You can usually trudge your way through it. It's a very good learning experience, too So I recommend it who knows you may have spotted a car that you like on one of those Grocery store bulletin boards or word of mouth or right on the street because oftentimes you'll see a car
[12:41] That's got a for sale or se vende sign on the windshield So next you set up an appointment you meet the guy at a local McDonald's or Walmart parking lot That's also common and safe for everyone. You look at the car. It's not so bad It's obviously used the engine compartment all scruffy and dirty backseat McDonald's wrappers, you know Latin style It's used it's Latin American So expect plenty of stains of unknown origin on the upholstery and all that but in a way That's good. Now. You can see what the cars really like because when you go to a car dealer a used car dealer They'll have detailed it out to the point that you won't know how the previous owner took care of it That's one of the advantages of buying from an individual owner So now you get into the driver's seat you start up the engine sounds okay, but wait a minute
[13:29] There's an idiot light that won't go out. Maybe two. Hmm. That's par for the course and the owner He doesn't mention it till you bring it up. What's this all about? Obviously, there's something not right the car is trying to tell you so that's why they call him idiot lights In other words, you'd be an idiot not to stop and have them looked at by a real mechanic But you know, this is Latin American. I can tell you this I've been in hundreds if not thousands of cars with idiot lights permanently blazed in a way So you bring it up to the owner and he says oh that don't worry famous last words They're always on but it's no big deal car works fine. Not a problem Well, of course that all depends on which idiot lights are blazing away For example, if it's the airbag light That means one or more your airbags will not go off if you get into an accident not good, right?
[14:19] However, if it's just the generic check engine light It could be anything or maybe nothing which is why if you like the car you have to have that stuff checked out by someone hopefully a mechanic who's got the app and Who's got a specific multi-pin connector for his cell phone that he can plug into your car's? Diagnostic connector port and how do you find one of those guys? Well, you heard me talk about that on the lat show So once again, this is Latin America So don't be surprised when you get into a used car that you're thinking about buying and you fire the thing up You see a few idiot lights that won't go out and being that you're a first world gringo That could scare you though. It doesn't seem to have much of an effect on practically any Latino or Latina vehicle owner Hmm details details. That's why they call it the third world
[15:07] You know now suppose you slide into the driver's seat start the thing up. No idiot lights. That's a good thing, right? Well, normally yes, but I know for a fact that some Latinos even gringos who are selling used cars Especially when there's something went on or near the gringo tourist trail They're well aware that gringos and expats are hesitant to buy a car when the idiot lights won't go out So what they'll do instead of taking the car to a mechanic and spending the money to see what's wrong and possibly having to get it Fixed they'll reach back behind the dashboard and yank the offending light And if they're not so sure about doing that, they'll go to YouTube where you can find everything Including how to disable perpetually blazing idiot lights, which you have to admit is pretty sneaky So then how can you know if someone creative gringo or Latino guy hasn't pulled that trick?
[15:56] There is a quick and easy way to tell you know, think about it for a second. All right times up You just get into the driver's seat put the key into the ignition Turn the key one click That means not all the way to actually start the car Because if you recall on the first click on the ignition all the idiot lights will light up Yep, all of them at least momentarily and if you see one or more that haven't lit up, they've been Disconnected just remember some idiot lights are much more important indicators than others For example, if the idiot light that says break remains lit That means you're very close to needing a brake job or maybe your brake pads are worn out or shot already And you really have to have them looked at oh and about idiot lights for airbags You'll find it's very common in Latin American cars. Even the newer ones. They're not fully loaded with airbags
[16:46] Maybe just one or two. Why because they haven't got a big brother agency to lay down those kind of rules So if you buy a new car often, they'll only be a driver and passenger side airbag. That's it Now suppose the owner has a fender bender and they go off man to have those replaced It's very expensive could run a thousand bucks. That means almost no one here in Latin America replaces an airbag once it's blown So if you're one to worry about such things The only way you're gonna know if the airbags in your newly purchased used car actually work is to have a mechanic check them out Hey, and if you're even just a little bit mechanically inclined yourself You can go on Amazon buy the cable 25 or 30 bucks and you could actually do the complete Diagnostics on the car or cars yourself. It's dead easy
[17:32] You just go to the app plug in the car model year and run the diagnostics right there. Why not? It's exactly what a mechanic will do if you drive it into his shop Why not do it yourself if you're so inclined Oh, and if you're looking for a used car and you find an idiot like problem and you still like the car use their malfunction as a Bargaining tool you could say to the guy. Hey look and he's a brake job airbags, etc. Etc. You want five grand for the thing? I'll give you three. Like I said, it's a buyer's market with used cars, especially in Mexico and Central America So you've got the cash you've got the upper hand make it work for you All right, then what if you've driven your car down or shipped it down or you bought a car down here a while ago And now you want to sell it Well, I've sold a few cars over the years and here are a couple of my tips number one
[18:20] You need to paint or scribble or get one of those white felt markers and put the words say Vendi Across the back windshield or side windows of your car. That's S e v e n d e two words Say Vendi means it's for sale. Okay, let's say you're selling a 2006 Honda Civic you put save and a 2006 a Hensia meaning agency in Spanish, which means it was bought when new at a local new car dealership Which is a selling point meaning it wasn't a wreck driven down from the states and restored then next to that you write f Slash e which means full e kippo means it's fully equipped Everyone puts that down whether it's fully equipped or not. Then you put MEC if it's mechanical
[19:07] That's a clutch or a UT if it's an automatic So you've got all that scribble painted or with a magic marker on your windows of your car along with your phone number Though don't expect to get too many calls if you're not on what's up because that's how people live down here through their what's up Alright number two You'll need to print out some half-page color ads with a photo year model price and post them at as many cafe Internets restaurants and tienda bulletin boards as you can Also post that stuff on bulletin boards of the big supermarket chains in your area, but you'll have to get permission You just can't post it bring it to the information or customer service desk and the manager will sign it and date it You'll get two weeks on that board usually and bring your own tape and some bulletin board pins because often there will be none
[19:54] Oh and stick to bulletin boards and upscale malls and supermarkets in high-end neighborhoods Why because you'll want to market to people that can actually afford to buy your car Remember poll folks live in poll areas rich folks in rich areas number three put an ad in a local newspaper with the biggest Classified section for three days in a row that'll cost ten or fifteen bucks depending how many words you use make sure it runs On a Monday, that's usually the biggest car ad day of the week. So then what about marketing to gringo expats? Well, as much as I hate fake book twaddle Instagram and all the vomitus social media sites Latinos and for that matter gringos and expats live for that stuff and they're all over it In fact, all the gringo iced areas large and small have their own fake book
[20:42] Hangout groups where people are posting things to buy and sell all the time So you'll want to get on one or more of those However, if you want to sell to the locals, I found the best option is to use OLX.com except of course, it's all in Spanish, but you can maneuver your way through it generally cuz it's just like Craigslist Anyway, you could put up six photos or more and your ad will last a month and it's free You can get the top listing for a month to for around ten or fifteen bucks But that's not necessary Now if you haven't got any bites or haven't sold the thing after a couple of weeks You just repost it you're on top again and you drop the price a little now What's cool about OLX.com is you can see what other cars similar to yours are going for and people put up plenty of photos
[21:27] So you can see what condition their cars are in the competition that is and how they lie So start your price out where everyone else is but do tell them right off that you are a gringo because they know We're much more likely to take care of our things and change the oil and have mechanical checkups regularly And even if you don't that's what the stereotype is That's what they'll be thinking so why it dissuade them of that fantasy Yep, the gringo advantage rides again number six I suggest you go to a high-end car wash place there a few around and have them wax and clean it inside and out Including a pressure wash of the engine compartment that'll cost you at the most maybe 20 or 25 bucks Yep, I'm talking about having the car detailed inside and out and waxed 20 or 25 bucks
[22:17] The trick here is to try to keep it washed and clean while you're trying to sell it unlike what? Latinos will do when they put their cars up for sale, which is normally nothing Don't let it look scruffy or dirty when you're showing it number six if and when you get a firm offer You must do the deal at your lawyer's office so he can make sure that the guys on the level and if the buyers writing a check your lawyer will go right down with Him and you to the guy's bank to make sure he's got money to cover it in his account and or he'll make the guy Get a bank checker hero at that very moment Yep if you're selling or buying a car you have to get your lawyer in on it and that's especially important if you're buying a used car because There's no gringo in the world who can tell if the title and paperwork are legit and the cars have been registered properly
[23:06] We're talking about now if you buy from the owner if you buy from a dealership They'll do all the paperwork and you won't need your lawyer But I repeat you should try to stay away from used car dealers if you can anyway if you buy from an individual party It'll be your lawyer or your lawyer's office who will investigate to see if that cars got any liens against it or traffic violations or citations Issued against the plate because here in Latin America if you get ticketed by a cop, it's not the person that's ticketed It's the vehicle with the corresponding registration and plate number In fact, I can tell you a number of stories where gringos and expats bought cars, but didn't have the paperwork checked with a lawyer They wanted to do it all themselves Only to find out when they went to register it in their own name and get the plates renewed The previous owner had racked up a bunch of moving violations
[23:53] Even though those kinds of fines are minimal here in Latin America The exception being Costa Rica with some of the biggest moving violation fines in the world that aside who needs a 50 or a hundred Dollars surprise like that. All right, let's change gears a second. No pun intended Now you've heard me many times in the past say you have to get a bank account once you get down here and get that Plan B going and when you do you're automatically eligible for debit cards Yep, you'll get one the minute you walk out But as far as getting a credit card, you almost never get one right off the bat Not unless you've been a customer at that bank for at least a year now It's always been my opinion that you should only use debit cards if at all possible Oh, that's not to say I don't have a credit card or two But I never use them except to withdraw money from a bank or an ATM and that goes for debit cards, too
[24:45] I always use cash and never pay for anything with a debit or credit card and I'm firmly convinced That's why I never have any problems with excessive or false or fake charges on my bank statements So that's how I do things but man, I rarely see anyone else doing it that way Everybody seems to be living on their plastic gringos expanse and locals go like and of course I get the arguments from people saying yeah But if I get a bad charge on my credit card, my bank will make good on it They'll take charge off instantly But if there's a false charge on a debit card, you got to jump through all kinds of hoops to get it strained out well, you know that might be but since credit card theft and fraud and Identity theft are on steroids these days. I've got my plan. It's been working great so far and I'm sticking with it
[25:31] Another reason I don't use credit cards, especially once issued by Latin banks is with most Latin countries and Latin banks There's no limit at all to the amount of interest they can charge you in fact, and this is scary It's not unusual for the average Latin person to pay 50 to 100 percent interest on his credit card Of course, most of them don't understand it or don't want to know they're just overjoyed to have that Even when you explain it to someone they don't seem to want to believe it In fact, some Latin consumer groups are just starting to realize how bad it is And they're going to the politicians in the courts to try to get those interest rates capped But they don't seem to be getting anywhere For example, this news story just came out of Guatemala It says the so-called credit card payment cap law was declared
[26:21] unconstitutional at the beginning of 2019 Turns out immediately after the credit card consumer protection law was passed Guatemala business chambers card issuers and the Bank of Guatemala filed legal appeals before the constitutional court to suspend that law Which was meant to cap maximum credit card interest rate to twenty five point six percent annually So it said with that new law declared unconstitutional We're back to where interest rates have no maximum limitations Which is how the situation stands with most countries in Latin America. Hmm. So how do you like them apples? That's credit cards now with debit cards. You can only spend what you've got in your account So you pay no interest on those. All right before we close out the show today
[27:07] Don't forget to go to the expat files comm slash healthcare to pick up my hundred page report That explains just how you can get first world health care at third world prices You know, it's one thing me ranting and babbling on the radio and podcasts on how to get first world health care in Latin America But it's another thing reading about the actual doctors hospitals clinics and insurance plans for yourself You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America If you need some help with your own plan B, you can schedule a one-on-one phone call with me But first download my free plan B questionnaire at www.the new expat comm better Yet if you want to get your plan B going from right up there in the states Just sign up for my 9-hour expat essentials course get the perfect plan B blueprint by going to the expat files comm
[27:57] Academy