we are moving to bonaire and so we need a car.
could anyone give me an email adress from used car dealers?
if we bring a car with us which car garages are on the island. for example could they repair a nissan navara and can i get the parts for it?

your best bet is to come on island and check the various sources. Word of mouth is almost always the best. I would not suggest bringing your car which was produced for the US market but rather looking for a good used Toyota as they are the easiest to fix and find parts for.

whats with nissan navara, isuzu d-max, mitsubishi L200to bring it whith me, or do you think it´s better the buy the car from a dealer at bonaire.

Oskar,

Do you have your residency on Bonaire? New residents do get privileges such as bringing their household goods, including a single vehicle to Bonaire duty-free within 6 months of becoming a resident. Having said that, you must own that vehicle for one year. You should check with Duane (customs) to see what the rules are currently to bring a vehicle to Bonaire for resident and non-residents. I think duty on vehicles is over 25% and is supposed to go up after the change over. I do not know what the rules will be for residence after change over.

We moved to Bonaire in 2007 and bought a used Toyota Hilux on Bonaire. Then became residents in late 2008 and had our Toyota Tundra that we owned for 8 years shipped duty free from California with our household goods in 2009.

I agree with Michael to check with sources when you are on the island. We brought trucks we were considering to buy to Tropical Car on Kaya Amsterdam and the Toyota dealer to have them evaluated/inspected before we bought them. A truck that a bank was selling told us the truck was a 2005, after taking it to the dealer we found out it was really a 2003! They could tell by the VIN # and service records.

Take into consideration shipping costs, insurance and handling charges on any vehicle you want to bring to Bonaire. Also shipping parts to Bonaire could take time and could be subject to duty and taxes. Once we had a package ship UPS 2 day air from California that took three weeks. Another time we had a heavy item ship from Florida through Amcar and it took about 6 weeks because of the schedule at the end of the year.

For us it was a no-brainer to bring our truck since we had a Toyota in excellent condition, plus Bonaire is our only home.

You can buy a Mitsubishi L200 on the island, but I don’t about the repairs for them.

I suggest that you visit the Duane Office on your next visit to see what rules will be in place when your move takes place or talk to Patricia at Rocargo on Kaya Industria, she is a wealth of information.

Good Luck.

hi Bonaire Tiki Girl aka Cindi

we have already bought a lot and start do built next year with building, now we travel more frequently to bonaire , so we need a cheap pickup on the island for this time.
fix we move their in summer 2011(it´s our only home) and the first time we rent a house ore an app. till the house is ready. after this we want to send our housholds and the car to bonaire.the idea was to buy here in austria an pickup and load it with all our things, than i think we can import all tax free.
regards

Hi Oscar,
You can buy second hand cars at different car dealers, or have a look at the supermarket and let the used car be checked by the garage. The L200 and Isuzu are all available. Don't be bothered by the the new laws,if you want to bring your car the new law will be less restrictive. The import duties will most probably gone when you definitely move to Bonaire. Good luck

“Don't be bothered by the the new laws, if you want to bring your car the new law will be less restrictive. The import duties will most probably gone when you definitely move to Bonaire.”

My understanding is there will be no import duty next year with some exceptions such as vehicles. I have heard that most items will only be subject to an 8% sales tax and not import duty. That is why it would behoove anyone moving to Bonaire to talk to the Customs Office or Rocargo to know what to expect.

The speed that things happen at on Bonaire.
On May 16 2010 I mailed a check from New York to Bonaire Reporter. On Aug 8 I emailed George DeSalvo and he said "I am just now looking at your check" As of today it has not shown up on my bank statement.
Mick