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I read somewhere that old vehicles in CR are exempt from some inspections. Is that right? I recently saw a 1965 Chevy Suburban for sale in CR. How do they look at a vehicle like that for inspection and license?
Thanks in advance

My friend tried this. He wound up spending more in repairs than the inspection would have cost.

A 65 as a daily driver ? Wow. That is old. Do you really want to wind around a slick mountain road in fog with 47 year old tie rod grommets ?

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

The tie rod grommets may not be 47 years old. Let the buyer beware.

My main car is 28 years old and my spare car is 48 years old. Both run as reliably as clocks. And nobody's wrench has been on them except mine.

28 years old is nothing. That could be a 1984 Mercedes or a Chevy Blazer but a 47 year old would be a 1965,...

Good for you. For me, "It works great until it doesn't work". Have you seen the crash test difference between a 1965 vehicle and a 2003-12 ? The dummies tell the tale.

I have a 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air in very good condition in Atlanta but you wont catch me driving it down the freeway.

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

Air bags are great. More reliable than your brakes.

I've put 4-point harnesses in all of my cars since 1965---mostly Chevys and Hondas. I used to drive an ambulance. I've put "dummies" into body bags, a shovel-full at a time, on many occasions. Some even had air bags in their cars.

We live in an imperfect world. That's why I'm trying to go broke by going to CR as often as I can.

Would you like to sell your '58 Bel Air before I go broke???????

You might be correct but I have never heard of a vehicle being exempt from the annual Riteve inspection other then new cars which are granted a 2 year exception.

Even if the car is a 1965 the important date is when was it imported into Costa Rica. Cars must meet the safety and air quality standards in place at the time they are nationalized in Costa Rica not the date they were manufactured.

A problem I see with a 1965 Chevrolet would be getting parts for anything that needed a replacement. A neighbor had a 1999 Chevy Blazer and wound up importing the parts from a Chevrolet dealer or a parts store in the states for many repairs.
.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I think what you said is what i was looking for.

"Cars must meet the safety and air quality standards in place at the time they are nationalized in Costa Rica not the date they were manufactured."

New TIE ROD ENDS make it the same as any other vehicle. Lot more Iron to protect you than in a little car.As for parts; There is not that much to wear out very fast with these vehicles. Set the points with a match book for a feeler gauge. IIRCC that would be .17. I used to do that stuff daily.

Lower standards for emissions and other items apply to vehicles depending on when they were first registered in CR. If you want to take advantage of this be sure to check the plate #, and the lower it is, the better (under 200000 is best). Be sure to check "fecha de inscripcion" on the vehicle's registry. Vehicles registered prior to 1997 or so, are laughably easy to pass emissions.

Again, God bless you. It's just not for me. A 1965 Suburban with a new part is still a 1965 Suburban.

I am speaking from experience. I used to have a fleet of Chevy and Ford vans. The 70's models drove a lot looser than the later models no matter what we did to maintain them. We eventually got rid if all the older units.

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

I will ride in the 1965 Suburban over a 2012 Hyundai any day of the week in CR.

Devo

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The most dangerous adversaries are the ones that come with a smile instead of a sword

Not a total daily driver.The term farm truck works very well in regards to this truck. I am not interested in driving this truck over 60 mph or so anyway.

Thanks. The kind of info you pay through the nose to learn or ask at this forum and save the headaches.

There must be some major loop-holes in the Riteve inspection, which I still don't know about. I get fined for every damn thing wrong. The signs at Riteve clearly state, if you offer a bribe, you are screwed. So, why and how are there so many crappy, smokey, unsafe and polluting cars, everywhere in Costa Rica? I know many ticos who can't get their cars past inspections. Do the people that drive these clunkers risk it or fake it? Its hard to believe either way.

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http://TipsCostaRica.com for pratical advice on living in Costa Rica.
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Last year my Honda had some issues in the front end suspension after hitting a large chunk of concrete at night which had been moved to the travel lane. I had a Tica friend go along for the inspection a few days later. Wearing short shorts and a plunging neckline top she started chatting with the young men who were on the inspection line. Before we knew it, several were buzzing about getting her phone number, etc. We breezed through but afterwards she said to me "geez next year I'll have to wear a bikini, one of the guys said you really need to get this car fixed".

Postscript: this year after a total rebuild of the front end I went with an old ex pat fluent in Spanish. We were failed and had to go back again. Perhaps they they do this to generate the extra income of the 2nd inspection. Proof: on the 2nd go around, they skipped the extensive test they gave me on the 1st inspection (talking about after the repairs this year) and breezed me through.